Make a character you could genuinely live as!

[TalonOfAnathrax]

D&D is a game where we create characters who aren't us, give them life, and send them on adventures. It's fun, but deep down we all know that there's no way we would want to do most of what they do (especially if we were them and didn't know there was a GM out there tailoring quests to our level).

I've been lurking for a while, and I've seen characters with great fluff and with great rules. But what character would you make if you would actually be him?

Rules: You suddenly die and are reborn in a random area in a "classic" D&D campaign world. You will survive until you reach your starting age, and the experience will change you and allow you to learn new things - effectively you're a level one character. No crazy races or templates that would make you go over level one, but feel free to go crazy optimizing otherwise! From then on you effectively only have what a normal lv1 character would have, plus some memories of a past life that aren't really enough to give you a huge advantage in anything, or even extra skill points. Use 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 for stats.

And before you start thinking like an ASOIaF SI and decide to kickstart an industrial revolution, remember that it's actually way harder than people online make it look. And do you really know how things work, how to make them, or how to recognise salpeter?
I'm not saying it's impossible but I suggest making a PC with the skills to try. And the influence not to have his "genius inspiration" co-opted by someone else.

Note that training for exotic prestige classes or even PC classes may be hard to come by. You get the one you start in somehow (like any PC does at level one) but assume you'll probably have to find an instructor of you want to multiclass. And multiclass to get into Sorcerer or Warlock? Or Wu Jen in the west? Or Wizard in less than five years of training? Ha!
But if you're willing to chance it, feel free to build a PC made to level up quickly and fight until he gets to cast whatever optimised spell combo is needed to rule the world.

Here's mine!

Level one human druid (Neutral Good - well, I think I'm neutral good).

This character isn't intended for combat, although it isn't entirely helpless either. I don't like fighting and don't want to risk my life adventuring. Instead, this is a PC who has everyday skills, a pretty good chance of living past fourty, starts with a pet and an "intimate relationship" (so probably a close family member, lover or close friend) with a fey and who will be reborn again and again after death (unless I somehow get the attention of something powerful enough to cast Trap the Soul or something).
I'm hoping to live a quiet and happy life. I picked druid because even if I end up a beggar I won't die of hunger on the street or something (and pets are great). I'll aim for a job as an animal handler, a forester or a guide. Something where I don't have to be too social if possible, and get to learn things and explore! And I know a Fey and speak Sylvan, so that can't hurt with discovering things or widening my horizons.
As safely as I can of course.

HP: 8

Str 8 (-1)
Dex 10 (+0)
Con 12 (+1)
Int 14 (+2)
Wis 15 (+2)
Cha 13 (+1)

Saves: Fort +1, Ref +0, Will +4

Skills: Start with 32 skill points, or 29 if Nymph's Kiss isn't multiplied at lv1.
Diplomacy 4 ranks
Handle Animal 4 ranks
Knowledge (nature) 4 ranks
Spellcraft 2 ranks
Heal 2 ranks
Spot 2 ranks
Listen 2 ranks
Survival 4 ranks
Sense Motive (cross-class) 2 ranks (4)
Remaining ranks (1 to 4 depending on how Nymph's Kiss works) to be split between everyday craft skills and Concentration.
And all of these skills have good synergy!

Flaws: Frail (-1hp/level)

Feats: Wedded to History (Hand of Prophecy background) (from a Dragon Magazine). Not only does it explain how this happened, but it allows for a kind of immortality!

Nymph's Kiss (book of exalted deeds) - start with an intimate relationship with a fey, and as long as you maintain it you get +2 to charisma based rolls, +1 to saves Vs spells and an extra skill point per level.

Wild Cohort: basically, it's an extra pet!

Gear: The basics. I probably won't bother with any kind of armour or shields (too inconvenient in everyday life, and I'll try to avoid fighting), and will instead get items to make my life more convenient (most PCs seem to start without even taking a bedroll! Or extra clothes!).

Spells: I took druid to have access to spells to heal and feed myself from level one. So I'll mostly use those! Let's not die of hunger like a medieval peasant! (Or worse, be a medieval peasant).

Animal companion: A wolf or war-trained riding dog (if I live near a city). Dogs are miles better than cats, no matter what internet memes say! Another one for my wild cohort.

I'm terrible at optimization. What would you prefer? What would you have done?
Is there a way to get "sustenance" (like the Vow of Poverty ability) at level one somehow? Which craft skills do you think are best for a druid who isn't looking at maxing them out or putting a lot of ranks in them?

[BaronDoctor]

Massive amounts of power, divine patron, lots of animals? I'm not sure I could handle that kind of expectation.


Neutral Good (at least that's what all the alignment tests say) Human Bard 1 (Bardic Knack variant)
Str 8
Dex 12
Con 13
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 15

Flaw: Murky Eyed (roll twice and take worse when attacking into concealment)

HP: 7
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +2

Feats:
Wedded to History [Elder of Legend] (Flaw) -- immortality is nice. I was torn between Elder of Legend or Wanderer, but because I'm getting the big benefit from Wanderer via feat and ACF, I went with this instead. Bonus to social skills is nice.
Nymph's Kiss (1) -- a close relationship with fey is a handy thing to have at level 1. Separate bonus to charisma based checks is also nice.
Jack of all Trades (Human) -- able to use all skills as trained skills. This plays nicely with Bardic Knack. Very nicely.

Skills: (Nymph's Kiss bonus at 1 assumed to multiply, otherwise Gather Information can be a 1; NK )

Bluff 4 ranks = +11
Concentration 4 ranks= +5
Diplomacy 4 ranks = +11
Gather Information 4 ranks = +8
Listen 4 ranks = +4
Knowledge (history) 4 ranks = +6 [Flavor choice. The character lived this stuff, they probably know what was going on.]
Perform (storytelling) 4 ranks = +8 [Flavor choice. Intermingles with history. "Did I ever tell you about the time King Arthur worked as a scullery servant?"]
Sense Motive 4 ranks = +4
Spellcraft 4 ranks = +6
UMD 4 ranks = +8

Gear: Basics. Light armor and long sword are fine. Tack on convenience items.

Spells: Ghost Sound (special effects), Dancing Lights (more special effects), Mage Hand (convenience), Prestidigitation (because who doesn't take Least Wish?)

Bard to 20 works fine. Traveling the world telling stories and correcting the history books would be a lot of fun.

[arkangel111]

Realistically? Commoner w/ vow of poverty and a gm that nerfed the bennies... pretty much there already...
Oh I guess if I get to choose the class ill post that in a bit but the first answer I know I could play as since I already am.

I'd like to say druid, the idea of wildshaping has always been a favorite power but at level one that'd be a long wait to get. more likely I think I'd be a Paladin, I'd fight evil especially if I knew with absolute certainty my god is backing my every move. I wouldn't need immortality since the afterlife would be guaranteed to me. Plus being a champion of the gods has an amazing ring to it. if I could pick a race it'd probably be hengeyoki for wildshape-lite plus fly.

[SirNibbles]

Tattooed Monk 5 (Complete Warrior, page 82) with the following tattoos: Crane; Ocean; and Chrysanthemum. You're immune to non-magical disease, all poisons, and aging penalties; you never need to eat, drink, or sleep; and you heal in sunlight, even if you're unconscious/disabled/helpless for some reason. You can live a peaceful life in quiet isolation. Qualify with 3/4 levels of Ranger/Mystic Ranger.

[Goaty14]

I won't lie. I'm probably a commoner.
While you can't really boost the economy, you can utterly destroy it by taking the chicken infested flaw.

[TotallyNotEvil]

The temptation to go Elan is too great to realist, IMO.

[martixy]

I could totally genuinely make Pun-Pun work.

[mrguymiah]

Just have a necromancer bring me back as an intelligent bloody skeleton and try to get an item of gentle repose. Immortality without looking terrible. Then I either live an honest life watching the world advance to the post atomic age. Then I invent D&D so I can play.

Or... that necromancer goes mad with power and I get to be his undead lieutenant and eventually killed by adventurers. Maybe I can trade the arcane knowledge of the fundamental rules of the universe for my life before they do?

[Esprit15]

Good old human factotum, obviously. Knowing and being able to do a little bit of everything is just more interesting than unlimited arcane power.

Male NG Human Factotum, Level 1, Init 1, HP 10/10, Speed 30ft
AC 16, Touch 11, Flat-footed 15, Fort 2, Ref 3, Will 0, Base Attack Bonus 0
Spiked Chain 1 (2d4, 20/x2, Reach)
Chain Shirt, Dastana (+4 Armor, +1 Shield)
Abilities Str 12, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 10, Cha 8
Feats EWP: Spiked Chain, Nymph's Kiss
Skill Points: 40
One point into every base skill, one point into profession (siege engineer), one point in autohypnosis, one in psycraft, and one point in knowledge (Arcana), (Nature), (Local), (Dungeoneering), (The Planes), (Psionics), and (Religion).
Take (Nobility) and (History) next level if I live that long, and start bumping up the identifying skills so that I can take Knowledge Devotion.

[flappeercraft]

pazuzu pazuzu pazuzu

[Tohsaka Rin]

Elan Aegis. The simplest choice.

Gives me plenty of time to learn whatever I need to know to either get back home, or make myself a comfortable living. At level 1, I can repair things (slowly) with but a touch, making me incredibly useful to everyone, even smiths. ("Touch up your hammer in a jiffy, so you can spend more time crafting, master smith?")

I don't need to pay for food, I can just use repletion (OP, that's mechanically sustenance, like you were asking about) to keep myself going, I only sleep half as much (well, trancing, but mechanically it's the same thing), giving me more time to fix things. If I save up enough to get a ring of sustenance, that drops to almost nothing.

From there, it's multiclassing to summoner, I guess, giving me a free worker to do heavy lifting, and I become a one-man/one-summon repair/build team. It's technically a long, but mostly danger-free path to wealth and power, by association with enchanters and craftsmen. (As long as there's no DM complaining that "this is boring, hurry up and adventure already".)

[Blackhawk748]

Hmmmm this is interesting, i've got several things i could live with, a Rogue, a Warlock, hell a Fighter (or other general Swordswinger) or the good old Sorcerer. I may just make all 4 and list the various positives of each. Ya probably gonna do that.


Lesser Tiefling Rogue1/Swashbuckler 1/Swordsage 1/Swashbuckler 2/Avenger 1/Rogue 1/ Avenger 9/ X 4

1 TwF
3 Shadow Blade
6 Daring Outlaw
9 Craven
12 Darkstalker
15
18

Str 14
Dex 17
Con 12
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 6

Skills: Hide, Move Silently, Sleight of Hand, Craft: Alchemy, Knowledge (a few)

Pros:
Im very good at killing things
Im sneaky
I work for an organization

Cons:
Im a Tiefling, and everyone hates me
I do not belong in a straight up fight
I need to work for an oranization



Wood Elf Whirl Pounce Wolf Totem Barbarian1/Horseman Fighter6/Barbarian 1/Figure it out later X

Feats:
1st Mounted Combat, Ride By Attack. Flaw: Wild Cohort (Valenar WarHorse)
2nd Quick Turn Horseman Ability
3rd Steady Hand Horseman Ability; Trample
5th Spirited Charge
6th Cavalry Charger
7th Power Attack
9th Improved Bull Rush
12th Shock Trooper

Str 16
Dex 17
Con 10
Int 12
Wis 10
Cha 8

Pros
Im a terrifying armored Juggernaut
Im on a rocket horse
I look damn sexy in my armor

Con
Im a Fighter (mostly)
I need my horse to not suck
My equipment is expensive



Lesser Tiefling Warlock 2/Binder 1/Warlock 6/Hellfire Warlock 3/Warlock 8

1 PBS (Flaw: Mortal Bane)
3 Improved Binding
6 Precise Shot
9
12
15
18

Str 8
Dex 17
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 10

Prose:
Hellfire Bindlock baby!!
Naberius makes me feel better, also i get neat other abilities if i want them
I shot lasers
I have spammable magical powers

Cons:
Tiefling again, but sexier
I have a Spirit hanging out with me
I have a pact with a thing, sorta




Lesser Aasimar Sorcerer 5/Frostshaper* 7/Other neat Prestige class X
*its a Sandshaper with a flipped spell list for the frozen north

Feats: To lazy to do now

Spells: A farily generalist list. Frostshaper helps expand this a lot.

Str 8
Dex 14
Con 13
Int 12
Wis 12
Cha 17

Pros
Im a sexy (partial)God Man
I cast spells
I have a lot of spells
Like, a lot of them

Cons
I have to live in the North
Which has White Dragons
Im also stupid squishy

[Segev]

Wizard would be pretty straight-forward. Between unseen servant, endure elements, and prestidigitation, my comfort would be assured. Especially when I got high enough level to make a wondrous item of command-activated unseen servant. The actual direction I take it after that depends on a lot of specifics of the setting. I could even take it down the path of giving it all up to be an Elan if I felt that a better and more sure path than just STARTING with Elan as follows:

The next option would be to seek to become an Elan ASAP. Then go Psion (telepath) and follow my plans to become a Beholder Mage. This is more "ultimate power" than pure happiness and comfort, but the power does lend itself back towards the comfort and happiness when I get high enough level to use certain spells.

But just straight wizard gives all the utility/comfort spells I would need, and the flexibility to make items of convenience.

[Celestia]

Tibbit. Put the 15 in charisma and take max ranks in Handle Humanoid. I live a comfortable life as a rich person's pet.

[DMVerdandi]

Dragon 319 Erudite (Convert Spell to power ACF).
Eventually I would move into thrall herd.


So, Why, Well, I like psionics. I like how it approaches power from an internal standpoint, the point based system of use, the flexibility, and the lack of need of...fetters. You don't need bat guano, or diamonds, or anything ridiculous. You need concentration, and experience getting to that place in your head, rather than attempting to thomas jefferson lightning.

Further than that, I enjoy that build there because it is showing how the mind can accomplish anything, even using principles of spells to make new psionic powers out of them. It's drastically closest to that sort of "copycat/mime" archetype that I love so much. It's just a dude that can learn pretty much everything, and then make it all happen through psychic might. Love it.


With that, I would journey around the world accumulating power and consuming spells like candy. Once I was done, then I would take my thralls and carve out a piece of whatever for myself, Geas-ing all my followers into a nation. Then we would make a Polis, and it would be good, because it would be mine.

15 int
14con
13cha
12wis
10dex
8STR

[Elkad]

Wizard. Good enough. Anything ageless and humanoid will do as a race, just for convenience of not having to chase immortality.

As to starting an industrial revolution, yes, it is that easy. I could be a permanently-level-one commoner and manage that - assuming physics works the same and I can get a bankroll.

I won't be inventing the semi-conductor chip, but everything we invented up to 1900 or so is pretty basic knowledge.
Bicycles, horse collars, bellows, waterwheels, keeled fore&aft rigged ships, plows, harrows, moveable type, paper, etc. All things people didn't think of for a very long time, but if they saw a picture, a medieval craftsman could make it.

Sanitation (including the beginnings of modern medicine).
Blood transfusions. Storing it is harder, but live transfusions just take a microscope to determine blood type.
Sterile conditions + transfusions = population boom. Better invent the condom too.
Pressure canning food.

If physics work the same (not a given), you can go even farther easily.
If I can find good coal (or trap tiny fire elementals, or do bunker-fuel quality oil distillation), crude steam engines are easy. Now we have machine power for everything. Ships, trains, pumps (mass irrigation!), refrigeration (and the all-important air conditioner).

Cement is EASY. The Romans had it.

With a lot of time and cash I can probably manage windings for electricity generation (even ignoring the whole Wizard thing), which gives me lights, telegraph (and with better windings, telephones and electric motors).

Black powder. I'd need to collect saltpeter crystals from manure piles at first, I've got no idea where to mine it. But I could manage.

I'm no chemist, but if there is an Elemental demi-Plane of metallic Aluminum so I don't have to mess with getting it out of Bauxite with Cryolite and Lye, I can figure out how to melt it. Actually making Aluminum from Bauxite is much harder, but I could puzzle it out given a couple decades and enough money.

With some skeletons (or anything else immune to radiation, or lots of disposable slaves), I can probably manage a crude fission pile. It'll be nothing more than a giant fixed water heater, but it's useful.
Heck, just solar hot water would make me a ton of money in the right climates. Or windmills.

If you add wizardry, Force effects would be handy as hell for containing fusion reactions.

[Kobold Esq]

If I were to pick the character that real world me would like to live as, I'd go with a Changeling Beguiler (and assuming I can make whatever build I want, Changeling Beguiler1/Wizard4/Ultimate Magus+) and stay in an urban environment most of the time.

Give me high int for skill points and a bunch of utility spells and I'll be fine. I wouldn't be a dungeon delving adventurer, most likely. I mean real world me is an educated attorney, not a soldier/explorer/hitman.

[Amphetryon]

LN Gold Dwarf Cleric, Community & Craft Domains. Adjusted stats STR 8 DEX 8 CON 14 INT 13 WIS 15 CHA 14.

I could have a useful, reasonably profitable & quiet life.

[Drakevarg]

NN Warforged Rogue (Bonus Feat variant).

STR 12
DEX 8
CON 12
INT 15
WIS 12
CHA 11

Make a living as a general handyman, enjoy functional immortality (provided I stay out of harm's way), bury myself or something if a dragon attacks since I don't need to breathe.

[Elkad]

... Warforged ...


Nope.
While there might be an attachment for that, Diplomacy checks of the sweaty grappling sort just wouldn't be the same.

[Sagetim]

Well, while my stats are more lopsided in real life (in that they don't fit neatly in the Elite Array), oh well. The main idea would be to lose as little of my mental faculties as possible. Because even if the dnd rules don't include the ability to physically train your stats up higher, that does work in real life (and should be something I could manage at some point).

I'm going to choose to interpret this as a Pathfinder question, and I'd be going with an Elan Psion (Shaper), since that would net me (eventually) everything I'd really want to be able to do. With Expanded Knowledge, a starting 17 int, retroactive skill points increase from int boosts (thank you Pathfinder), I could make due. Repletion, no age limit, Psionic Talent as a bonus feat at 1. Nice.




Str 8
Dex 13
Con 10
Int 15 + 2 racial = 17
Wis 14
Cha 12

Feats
1 I dunno, something. Elan Repletion for not having to spend a power point?
Elan- Psionic Talent +2 power points
Psion 1- Access Psionic Talent (Conceal Thoughts, Empathy, Crystal Light, Psionic Repair, Far Hand)
3 Craft Wonderous Item
ps5 Craft Magic Arms and Armor

Traits:
Magical Talent- Prestidigitation 1/day

FC Bonus: +1 skill point
skills

Autohypnosis 1 rank
Spellcraft 1 rank
Knowledge (Psionics) 1 rank
Craft (Carpentry) 1 rank
Craft (Jewelcrafting) 1 rank
Craft (Sculpting) 1 rank

Talents: Crystal Shard, Ectoplasmic Creation, Detect Psionics, Conceal Thoughts, Empathy, Crystal Light, Psionic Repair, Far Hand
Powers Known: Astral Construct, Control Flames, Matter Agitation

The general idea being to not really go into combat and just enjoy living. Be a handy man (with psionic repair) be a carpenter, etc. Matter Agitation is handy for making a fuel-less steam engine, while Control Flames is handy for fire related shenanigans (or even putting fires out, at higher level), while Astral Construct is, well, Astral Construct. Meanwhile, talents are handy, prestidigitation makes it easy to clean things (at least for an hour each day) and repletion would cover not needing to shell out for food when I don't want to. Leveling up plan would include grabbing more craft skills at at least 1 rank and using masterwork tools to help make up whatever difference is needed, and taking advantage of Shapers being the best at Fabricate (a 4th level power) and Greater Fabricate (a 6th level power). Expanded Knowledge to grab Healer's Touch or Natural Healing or what have you, and fit in some other powers in from anywhere else I want them (generally things for curing diseases or healing ability damage would be high on my list of priorities). After all, it's easier to get the entire town on your side when you consistently help them for free with things that would normally kill or bankrupt them.

[Kallimakus]

As to starting an industrial revolution, yes, it is that easy. I could be a permanently-level-one commoner and manage that - assuming physics works the same and I can get a bankroll.



I won't be inventing the semi-conductor chip, but everything we invented up to 1900 or so is pretty basic knowledge.
Bicycles, horse collars, bellows, waterwheels, keeled fore&aft rigged ships, plows, harrows, moveable type, paper, etc. All things people didn't think of for a very long time, but if they saw a picture, a medieval craftsman could make it.[/QUOTE]

I'd imagine that everything short of bicycles and moveable type is already present. (If Golarion counts as a classic D&D setting, it also has moveable type, though it hasn't caught on). And I doubt that the more crude bikes (I'd imagine that the standard bicycle chain is beyond what you can convince a skilled enough smith to forge given funds, so you'd need a get-rich-quick scheme.


Sanitation (including the beginnings of modern medicine).
Blood transfusions. Storing it is harder, but live transfusions just take a microscope to determine blood type.
Sterile conditions + transfusions = population boom. Better invent the condom too.
Pressure canning food.

I'm having a few points here too. Sanitation in form of sewers I'd imagine exists, or if it doesn't, is quite laborious to integrate to an existing system. I'm fairly certain I couldn't pull off either blood transfusion, storage or blood typing despite having theoretical (and semi-practical) ability to do each using modern means.


If physics work the same (not a given), you can go even farther easily.
If I can find good coal (or trap tiny fire elementals, or do bunker-fuel quality oil distillation), crude steam engines are easy. Now we have machine power for everything. Ships, trains, pumps (mass irrigation!), refrigeration (and the all-important air conditioner).

I am fairly certain that physics are assumed to work (though interactions with magic I'd rather leave alone personally. This is a bold-faced lie. I would experiment! FOR SCIENCE!


Cement is EASY. The Romans had it.

True enough. So why would you assume the fantasyland doesn't? You could have plenty of new applications though.


I'm no chemist, but if there is an Elemental demi-Plane of metallic Aluminum so I don't have to mess with getting it out of Bauxite with Cryolite and Lye, I can figure out how to melt it. Actually making Aluminum from Bauxite is much harder, but I could puzzle it out given a couple decades and enough money.

I'm not sure what makes aluminum so great in fantasyland. From a quick wiki dive, you want aluminum to be alloyed, and you've already got Mithril or whatever as the light but super handy metal.

Now with the replies out of the way, I'd be a wizard. Specific build is not really important. I'll start a laundry service with prestidigitation, at low prices and hope that Wizard mafia calls me in on their magic pyramid scheme instead of breaking my legs. I'll be part of the secret system that keeps magic from being commonplace. And plot my inevitable rise to power...

[Kobold Esq]

Now with the replies out of the way, I'd be a wizard. Specific build is not really important.

I mean this little bit should basically be the answer to everything in this thread. Unless you intend to be a professional combatant, a dedicated spellcaster (particularly those whose spells known are not limited like a sorcerer or bard) will put you worlds ahead of any non NPC-classed character at basically any professional field. Hell even a warlock with the bluff/diplomacy invocation will be living on easy street almost immediately.

[Seto]

I'd be a minor Aristocrat of some sort. Random feats. Good starting wealth, nice lot in life, not too much danger. Or maybe a Monk. Possibly a Sorcerer, 'cause hey, magic is awesome.
In either case, I would stay put and mind my business, not go adventuring and essentially live an NPC life. That's who I could genuinely live as - enjoying life, not trying to lose it by facing monsters.

[Elkad]

I'd imagine that everything short of bicycles and moveable type is already present. (If Golarion counts as a classic D&D setting, it also has moveable type, though it hasn't caught on). And I doubt that the more crude bikes (I'd imagine that the standard bicycle chain is beyond what you can convince a skilled enough smith to forge given funds, so you'd need a get-rich-quick scheme.

A penny-farthing bike, or a recumbent tricycle (which would be basically a kid's BigWheel) doesn't need a chain. Shaft drive is possible as well. The chain (specifically the roller chain) is pretty complex, but you can manage without it. And it's the most energy efficient form of transportation ever devised.




I'm having a few points here too. Sanitation in form of sewers I'd imagine exists, or if it doesn't, is quite laborious to integrate to an existing system. I'm fairly certain I couldn't pull off either blood transfusion, storage or blood typing despite having theoretical (and semi-practical) ability to do each using modern means.

Blood typing is easy, if you don't mind the few minutes of time it takes. Draw blood, centrifuge (string tied to test tube and whirling it around your head works fine), mix your samples, microscope to handle the viewing. Making the microscope is far harder.
You have to start with basic cross-matching donor and patient, but you can build a database eventually. Of course multiple races will complicate that a lot.
Making reagent cards? Way over my head.


I'm not sure what makes aluminum so great in fantasyland. From a quick wiki dive, you want aluminum to be alloyed, and you've already got Mithril or whatever as the light but super handy metal.

The benefit of aluminum is bauxite "ore" is super common and easy to mine. But crude methods of making aluminum made it more expensive than gold. Once you have electric furnaces and cryolite (especially chemically made cryolite), it becomes super cheap. And the fact that - once you have it - recycling it is super energy efficient is nice as well. An aluminum-steel-nickel alloy approaches the quality of Titanium (which might as well be Mithril) and it's cheaper than steel.
It's also a crappy-but-workable substitute for copper, which is actually pretty rare. So if I decide to start transmitting electricity around, it will do.

[Sagetim]

Furthermore on Aluminum- once you have access to Fabricate, you can potentially cheat and use it on Bauxite Ore to get Aluminum out of the ore while skipping all other parts of the process. Craft (Alchemy) might be necessary, while Craft (Blacksmithing) or Craft (Smelting) might be what you need to get you to making Alumium or other ingots out of ores while skipping the whole laborious part of smelting them. Doesn't net you alloys though.

For that you're going to want to use, essentially, mud sealed brick ovens that you feed a steady supply of oxygen into to keep the heat up high enough to make things like crucible steel. Which is a rather higher end steel than most anything in the actual middle ages. As for DND, I'm not sure. It might be the common steel type, or it might be vastly superior (I'd assume that the game rules are for standard medieval steel, rather than high quality crucible steel).

[Elkad]

A hillside "dragon" kiln easily hits 1400C wood-fired and drawing it's own air. 1500 is possible.

With Fire Resistance to work inside, you can work every common metal.

You aren't even halfway to Tungsten though. Better hire some Fire Elementals and Oxygen Elementals if you want Tungsten alloyed steel.

[Coidzor]

Recognizing saltpeter and sulfur and mixing carbon with it is trivial given any ranks in Craft Alchemy.

The tricky part is knowing the proportions

[Elkad]

Recognizing saltpeter and sulfur and mixing carbon with it is trivial given any ranks in Craft Alchemy.

The tricky part is knowing the proportions

Doesn't everyone know 15:3:2?

Getting grain consistency is a harder problem if you want accurate weapons.

[Blackhawk748]

Doesn't everyone know 15:3:2?

Getting grain consistency is a harder problem if you want accurate weapons.

I didn't know its exact ratio but i knew it was something like that. And from what i've seen in recipes it doesnt even have to be that exact, just near enough. Blackpowder is funny like that.

[ahyangyi]

Wizard level 9, arcane thesis. That'll get me a PhD degree.

[Florian]

Hm... I´ve just come back from one week at the largest beverage business trade fair and not only managed to pitch my idea, but also interest some investors who were quite impressed by how I work.

Using PF terms, overall I guess I´d do well as a Fetchling Oracle with some kind of addiction-based curse and maybe the Lore mystery.

[Tohsaka Rin]

Take five smart DnD players, lock them in a room with a pile of books, and they turn fantasy land into 'the real world, but with magic'. :smalltongue:

C'mon, guys. Put your brains on hold for a while, and think smaller, more selfish.

Who wants a statue of themself made out of Electrum? :smallbiggrin:

[Coidzor]

Take five smart DnD players, lock them in a room with a pile of books, and they turn fantasy land into 'the real world, but with magic'. :smalltongue:

C'mon, guys. Put your brains on hold for a while, and think smaller, more selfish.

Who wants a statue of themself made out of Electrum? :smallbiggrin:

You can do that in Pathfinder as a level 1 character with a single rank in Profession by taking 10 constantly. Within a couple of months, even.

Also, anyone with knowledge of modern comforts would want to replicate or exceed them, especially when they have access to the potential to become a veritable or actual god.


Doesn't everyone know 15:3:2?

Getting grain consistency is a harder problem if you want accurate weapons.

No, they don't. I know a fair amount of trivia compared to the average person, possibly even the average player, and I couldn't recall it offhand, though I also am only casually interested in how to massively advance human technology if I found myself at a random point in the past.

Also, I believe figuring out the proportion was at least something of a thing historically.

[Quarian Rex]

This is an interesting question. What would you do if you had a mulligan on life and had the opportunity to restart in a world with magic and access to your current accumulated wisdom? What do you want to do with the rest of your life, and can you live with the consequences of that?

If we stay away from homebrew and most 3rd party material (assuming that this reality would be governed by a slightly conservative DM) and stick to 3.P I would have to go with an Alchemist (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist) with the Blood Alchemist (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/archetypes/paizo-alchemist-archetypes/blood-alchemist-alchemist-archetype/) and Polymath (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/path-of-war/classes/martial-class-templates/polymath-template/) archetypes (they are compatible). Stay human and the stats would look something like this...

Str. 10
Dex. 14
Con. 12
Int. 17 (after the racial bonus)
Wis. 8
Cha. 13

Grab the trait Unorthodox Method (Primal Fury ->Thrashing Dragon), start with Two-Weapon Fighting and Keen Intellect (Int bonus replaces for Will Saves -Drag. 318). From there I'd get the Discoveries Tumor Familiar (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo-alchemist-discoveries/tumor-familiar-ex) (with the Protector (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/wizard/familiar/familiar-archetypes/protector-familiar-archetype/) familiar archetype), Alchemical Simulacrum (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo-alchemist-discoveries/alchemical-simulacrum-su), Doppelganger Simulacrum (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo-alchemist-discoveries/doppelganger-simulacrum-su), and Greater Alchemical Simulacrum (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo-alchemist-discoveries/greater-alchemical-simulacrum-su) (and maybe somenting in the direction of Infusion (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo-alchemist-discoveries/infusion), Spontaneous Healing (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo-alchemist-discoveries/spontaneous-healing-ex), and Bottled Ooze (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo-alchemist-discoveries/bottled-ooze-su)). Along the way I would pick up the Craft Wonderous Item and Fleshwarper (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/item-creation-feats/fleshwarper-item-creation/) feats, and take some time to research an extract version of Sculpt Simulacrum (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/sculpt-simulacrum). The question now is... why?

The average D&D world is a dangerous place. There usually isn't much in the way of centralized government/protective military presence, and even if there is response times are abysmal. Even if you decide to live a quiet life of luxury it is only a matter of time before your home is invaded by an orc horde or the army of some lich king or another. Eventually you will be under threat, best prepare for that. Polymath gives me access to maneuvers from Thrashing Dragon, Solar Wind, and Steel Serpent, turning me into a blazing, ginsu wielding, surgeon-ninja with enough tricks to keep me alive. My extracts would give me (and my party) buffs and recovery to make staying alive easier.

Blood Alchemist gives me Alchemical Circles, an ability that turns select tactical advantages into massive strategic boosts. The standouts here seem to be limited at-will castings of Make Whole (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/m/make-whole), Masterwork Transformation (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/m/masterwork-transformation), Magic Vestment (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/m/magic-vestment/), Greater Magic Weapon (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/m/magic-weapon/), Stone Shape (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/stone-shape), Fabricate (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/f/fabricate), and the holy-crap grand-daddy that is Polymorph Any Object (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/p/polymorph-any-object). Equip and entire army with masterwork equipment and buff half of them for the next battle? Check. Stand on a mountain-side or outcropping of bedrock and shape yourself an acropolis with enough Knowledge (Engineering) checks? Check. Taking the entire corpse harvest of the last war and Polymorph Any Object-ing them into a (mostly) guilt free slave labor force of Int 5 meat golems (among so many other interesting things)? Hella-check.

Looking at the discoveries, Tumor Familiar would keep me alive by taking hits for me (thanks to the Protector archetype) and then keep healing like a boss. Then comes the joy that is the simulacra. Doppelganger Simulacrum is functional immortality. Any time spent in doppelganger bodies leaves your body as inert flesh that does not rot, and so does not age. You can now engage in whatever risky behaviour you might need (or want) to engage in and each extra life only costs you 1000gp. That is massively useful when, on your 300th birthday, you decide that you want to seduce a red dragon. Not all of my decisions are good ones and I think it's a good idea to plan for my own hubris.

While there are many gaming advantages to having simularcra it can go further than that. If I plan to be functionally immortal I'll have to plan for my own sanity, and part of that is maintaining meaningful ties to humanity (or what have you). While my friends and loved ones can be raised and such, that has hard limits, like having access to a body and a caster capable of bringing them back. Eventually age will foil that as natural death cannot be reversed. Even if I can maintain the youth of those I care about they will eventually die (this is D&D after all) and perhaps... they may not want to come back. The afterlife can be hard to turn down. With simulacra they can always come back (thinking of Leto II and the Duncan Idaho gholas in God Emperor of Dune). This can be extended to the common folk as well. What's that kid? Your mom was eaten by goblins? Yup, you mom is in heaven. Come back tomorrow and you can take your mom home.

This can be useful in the recruitment of reluctant allies as well. Just defeated the ogre barbarian chieftain? Make him pledge his loyalty without requiring him to fight for you. His only job is to kill any disloyal simulacra of him. Having to murder yourself a few time would do wonders for the loyalty of future copies.

Add Fleshwarping and Sculpt Simulacrum here and there and you have functionally kickstarted transhumanism. That could be a future interesting enough for an immortal to care about.

[Grim Reader]

Elan Psion for me. I want immortality, and Wedded to History doesn't work without an exceptionally generous DM. I want powers, but not the kind that is alignment dependent or dependent on living up to the code of some alien divinity.

Str 10 -its a medieval world.
Int 14 -its a class requirement.
Wis - 12 -making good decisions keeps my life from derailing.
Dex - 8 -best place for it
Con - 15 -good health is pretty important even in our world, far more so in a medieval setting.
Cha - 11/15 -11 in 3.5, 15 in Pathfinder. For making friends and lovers.

In Pathfinder I may go Elan Vitalist. The ability to heal is always appreciated.

I was tempted by Changeling, but the short lifespan is a turnoff.

[weckar]

Dwarf or gnome artificer (race depending on local factors such as fantastic racism) to go into stoneblessed for the other. Being capable of taking every single good crafting thing will make me prosperous enough.

[Sam K]

Quite, comfortable life isn't likely to work imho. Narrative imperative dictates that any city that lives in peace for a while will come under attack by kobolds, giants or dragons (depending on how big/prosperous the city is). As for breaking the economy, your wealth is still attached to a single hit dice. It's just a matter of time before some chaotic neutral adventurer robs you blind and dominates you into dancing naked in the city square just for good measure.

I would also stay away from anything that depends on a single point of failure, like wizard (your DM may not make a habit of constantly stealing your spell book, but you shouldn't rely on benign DMs for your survival). Based on that, my top picks would be:

1. Crusader. Crusader is possibly the toughest character you can make at level 1, with self healing and damage reduction options. ToB in general is extremely powerful the first few levels, which are also the levels when you are the most vulnerable to random natural hazards (death by goblins or house cats being considered a natural hazard). Going crusader means not aiming for real ultimate worldbreaking power (unless the world is considered a single breakable object...), but simply trying to get a few levels at a slow-ish rate, so that you can THEN live comfortably with the knowledge that you're not important enough for anyone truly powerful to bother with, but too tough for most random lowlives.

2. Druid. The T1 class with the strongest start. Animal companion really makes a difference (also, I like dogs!). Live in the woods and find a nice nymph to hang out with. At level 5 it gets REALLY interesting: "You and me baby ain't nothing but mammals."

3. StP erudite. Probably :elan: for long life and to reduce the risk of dying to a single house cat at level 1. Weaker start than druid- this is the option for those who expect to eventually reach high levels.

[Yahzi]

Rules: You suddenly die and are reborn in a random area in a "classic"
Er, how about if you walk through a gate by accident? 'Cause I'm writing a whole series about that. :smallsmile:


kickstart an industrial revolution, remember that it's actually way harder than people online make it look. And do you really know how things work, how to make them, or how to recognise salpeter?
My character doesn't do anything I couldn't do. Except make ball bearings. Man, those things are hard.


Here's mine!
If you are going to be living around and interacting with other people, then Cleric is the best way to go.

My character starts out with rags and stick. :smallbiggrin:

[Sagetim]

With Pathfinder, there's also the Spell Sage option, for those times when you want to be a wizard, but still raise the dead and not drop large sums of money on the material components. For those kinds of shenanigans, you'd want Blood Money, and to start with 15 strength. Eventually, you'll want to get your hands on a belt for increasing your strength by +6. By that point, you would probably be over level 9, and could thus cast Blood Money and start working your way through the Spell Sage class ability of improvising a spell off the Cleric, Druid, or Bard list by dropping two spells of the same level as fuel.

This then, is how you could start your own religion, if you had a mind to. Or, if nothing else, you could use Raise Dead on your neighbors and keep them from dying of anything other than old age. Not having to drop 5k of diamonds every time is quite the monetary saver. Of course, you'll need a means of healing the 20 strength damage you take to do it, but whatever.

Of course, that's assuming you don't just abuse Fabricate to keep generating all your diamond needs with magic shenanigans.

And investing in Spell Mastery once or twice would probably be a good idea, because, as mentioned, there doesn't seem to be a DM with their hand in the work to ensure that things are 'fair', and avoid the whole messy business of stealing your spell book, or burning it, or etc.

[Eladrinblade]

In real life, I'd basically be a scout if I had a PC class. But if I could choose my build, I'd go with:

CG Male Half-elf Sorcerer 1
Snake familiar
F+1, R+1, W+1 (+1 vs spells)
Str 10, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 15
Nymphs kiss, Improved Initiative, Noncombatant, Alertness (familiar)
Arcana 6, Bluff 11, Concentration 5, Spellcraft 6, UMD (.5 rank) 4, Gather Info 6, Diplomacy 6, Listen 2, Spot 2, Cha skills 4
Common, Elven, Draconic, Sylvan
0 - Detect Magic, Mending, Prestidigitation, Read Magic
1 - Endure Elements, Identify
Explorer's Outfit, Light Crossbow, x20 Bolts, Backpack, Bedroll, Rations, Waterskin, Dagger, Material Components Pouch

I'd try to live in a CG elf or human realm. I'd offer to be the face/arcanist of a low-level group of adventurers (whether the roaming type or the military type), at least part-time. I can't imagine not traveling around and doing exciting things in a fantasy world, but squishy 1st-level mages need companions. Otherwise I'd hang out in various villages/castles/whatever employed as a sort of mage-for-hire, frequently visiting my nymph paramour. I can't say I'd be able to plan beyond that. I could cast mending and prestidigitation for regular folks in exchange for somewhere to stay/food/drink, and my snake could eat mice pests. Despite the massive bluff score, I wouldn't use it much. While I may not have combat spells, I could be supplied with scrolls or wands for a battle, if needed.

I chose sorcerer because they get all the perks of charisma and spell-casting with very little of the obligations that other casters have (bards have to perform and be social, clerics/druids have to be faithful, wizards have to study). If I did end up adventuring seriously, I'd go for a ring of sustenance ASAP, and a circlet of persuasion. I'd take light at 2nd level and start focusing on spells more useful in an adventuring context, and hire wizards and clerics to make me a ton of useful wands with most of my share of the treasure. My feats would be something like: eschew materials, silent spell, still spell, rapid metamagic, quicken spell, spell penetration (sorcerers really deserve bonus feats like wizards). Perhaps leadership with a nymph cohort and a village of elf followers. I'd like to take expeditious retreat, jump, and feather fall just for fun, but they don't make sense on a base sorcerer. Also, I would have preferred a bat or weasel familiar, but again, it wouldn't make much sense.

edit: Also, who needs immortality when you have arborea/arvandor to look forward to?

[unseenmage]

I actually have a plan for this eventuality, am currently customizing it for various campaign settings.

The tricky part is the beginning. Surviving a few levels and living comfortably doing it.

Avoiding epic NPCs and/or deities is a must. How to establish a few must have modern amenities without attracting attention? (I was raised using an outhouse, I much prefer indoor plumbing)

Cheese diplomacy and become a bowyer (everyone needs arrows) or a bookbinder (best mundane cashflow without poisonmaking).
Save up and retrain to the desired class as needed. Upgrade to artifice shop because it pleases me more.

Create Water + Water to Acid (St) and/or Distilled Joy + Elation farming as a low level Artificer or other class with access to divine and arcane spells for free gp. Both make consumable resources so the market will hardly get flooded, and even if it does I'm in a multiverse literally brimmimg with other markets.
Use of proxies, middlemen, and brokers should shield me from too much danger here.

Then minionmance and diplomance until every problem can be solved via brute force.

Then immortality plus Teleport Through Time and a few custom spells to jump realities until I can get home to my family once again. The plane of shadow or the dreamheart feature heavily here.
Campaign setting/edition jumping to make use of things like PF's superior construct crafting rules and a couple of 3rd party templates is useful too.

All of this assumes I'm starting as human me with no skills and a desperate need to get Remove Disease/Regeneration or whatever to cure a brain injury or two.


Remember that Int and Wis enhancement is a thing. As is memory retrieval magic. Anything I've ever known can be reknown. And I'll be the smartest version of me while I'm doing it.




Nope.
While there might be an attachment for that, Diplomacy checks of the sweaty grappling sort just wouldn't be the same.

Which is precisely WHY you go Warforged, so you can instead focus on the important stuff. :smalltongue: