[3.5] An artsy War Hulk

[Uncle Pine]

It's that time of the year again... Which means my players come back from abroad and we have a holiday-themed session.

Last Christmas they recovered a ruby-eyed solid gold idol shaped like a fat old man from the sunken temple of Niko Laju, which had been hidden inside the ancient snow Globe of Storms unbeknownst to mortal eyes for centuries. This time they'll be in a stereotypically anime high school setting taking down an Absurdly Powerful Student Council which is preventing them from leaving the school for spring break. There will naturally be a series of quirky minibosses/club presidents to fight against, all around CR 7. One of these will be the president of the arts club: a War Hulk swinging a giant brush as an improvised weapon.

For now I've written him down as a Barbarian 5/War Hulk 2 because I want him to have Great Swing, but while I've given him an extremely French beret and I plan to wildly decorate the boss room I keep wondering... How can I make a character with 0 ranks in all Intelligence-, Wisdom-, and Charisma-based skills (thanks to No Time To Think) feel more artsy?

[SirNibbles]

Just have critics around him say he is a great artist and it shall be so.

Leadership/Intimidation, perhaps?

[Arael666]

It's that time of the year again... Which means my players come back from abroad and we have a holiday-themed session.

Last Christmas they recovered a ruby-eyed solid gold idol shaped like a fat old man from the sunken temple of Niko Laju, which had been hidden inside the ancient snow Globe of Storms unbeknownst to mortal eyes for centuries. This time they'll be in a stereotypically anime high school setting taking down an Absurdly Powerful Student Council which is preventing them from leaving the school for spring break. There will naturally be a series of quirky minibosses/club presidents to fight against, all around CR 7. One of these will be the president of the arts club: a War Hulk swinging a giant brush as an improvised weapon.

For now I've written him down as a Barbarian 5/War Hulk 2 because I want him to have Great Swing, but while I've given him an extremely French beret and I plan to wildly decorate the boss room I keep wondering... How can I make a character with 0 ranks in all Intelligence-, Wisdom-, and Charisma-based skills (thanks to No Time To Think) feel more artsy?

If you willing to compromise, the captain of the arts club could be replaced by a captain of the swim team (swim skill), instead of a giant brush he could swing pool lane dividers (spiked chain), or, he could be the captain of the gymnastics club (tumble skill), swing giant batons (club).

Now that just wrote that, I'm leaning towards the later example, I recall watching an anime where there was a macho man using a colant infiltrating the gymnastics club, I just can't remember the name.

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--KyGr2ir5--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/k1nr0adsjs6uhrrf8za1.png

[daremetoidareyo]

iaijutsu master? maybe?

all you need is a way to make untrained skill checks for DCs above 10...

jack of all trades?

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Say he's got some psychological issues. His cut-rate psychologist has been messing with him, giving him bad meds which are messing with his mind. As a result, he has multiple personality disorder to a startling degree. Mechanically, he's a greater doppelganger. His base personality is that of a beret-wearing, Starbucks-chugging artist, but one of his other personalities is a psychic warrior/war hulk (using expansion to qualify for his PrC before he begins to rage and 'roid out). His other personalities can lend themselves to other minibosses you have planned, or you could plan out a multistage battle where the party has to trigger and then defeat all of his personalities. Perhaps he has some sort of tarrasque-style regeneration that continues until all of them are tripped and then defeated.

[Hand_of_Vecna]

iaijutsu master?

Doesn't Iaijutsu run or Charisma?

[Jowgen]

Tactile Trapsmith makes Disable Device key off Dex. Perhaps your artsy guy could be into making modern art, created by partially disassembling constructions?

Alternatively, there is Perform weapondrill. You get half your BAB and a +2 from a bunch of weapon-based feats to it. Can get you a respectable score even without ranks.

[Uncle Pine]

Just have critics around him say he is a great artist and it shall be so.
This is brilliant. Doubly so considering that in Italian you can use the same word for both great and big.
"<Insertnamehere>, you're such a great artist!"... Cue mountain rage transformation sequence. :smallamused:


If you willing to compromise, the captain of the arts club could be replaced by a captain of the swim team (swim skill), instead of a giant brush he could swing pool lane dividers (spiked chain), or, he could be the captain of the gymnastics club (tumble skill), swing giant batons (club).

Now that just wrote that, I'm leaning towards the later example, I recall watching an anime where there was a macho man using a colant infiltrating the gymnastics club, I just can't remember the name.

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--KyGr2ir5--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/k1nr0adsjs6uhrrf8za1.png
Good suggestions, but I already have an archer (with probably a little bit of soccer and track thrown in) for the sports/gymnastic club and the idea of someone hitting people with a giant brush went unused for too long for me to discard it now that I can actually use it. I'm basically using this one shot as an excuse to use a bunch of crazy ideas I had lying around, including a dwarf playing Yu-Gi-Oh! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22894131&postcount=4) as head of the "nerd people club".

... that image under spoiler though. :smalleek:


iaijutsu master? maybe?

all you need is a way to make untrained skill checks for DCs above 10...

jack of all trades?
Iaijutsu Master requires 9 ranks in Iaijutsu Focus (Cha-based), so that's a no-go. I also don't feel like jumping through hoops to give the guy +1d6 or +2d6, as if I feel the damage is lacking I can just give him a heavier, denser brush.


Say he's got some psychological issues.
A greater doppelganger is waay higher in CR than what I'm going for, but a delusional artist with "issues"? That is an exaggerated and overused trope that I'll absolutely make use of. It fits so well with the whole Barbarian/War Hulk setup. Thanks for reminding me about it.


Tactile Trapsmith makes Disable Device key off Dex. Perhaps your artsy guy could be into making modern art, created by partially disassembling constructions?

Alternatively, there is Perform weapondrill. You get half your BAB and a +2 from a bunch of weapon-based feats to it. Can get you a respectable score even without ranks.
Good finds! Using a brush as improvised weapon means he'll get -4 to Perform (weapon drill), but it's definitely better than nothing. :smallwink:

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Mechanically a half-illithid changeling illithid savant who "eats" a greater doppelganger for his multiple personalities? Half-illithid means the CR could be low enough to make it fit.

[SirNibbles]

Just have critics around him say he is a great artist and it shall be so.

Leadership/Intimidation, perhaps?


This is brilliant. Doubly so considering that in Italian you can use the same word for both great and big.
"<Insertnamehere>, you're such a great artist!"... Cue mountain rage transformation sequence. :smallamused:


You can go with a Pierre Brassau (http://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/pierre_brassau_monkey_artist) plot; the artist has no actual talent, and often ends up ripping the canvas as he swings at it randomly with his brush. He picks it up with his hands before the paint is dry, smudging the painting around the edges. "Knowledgeable critics" praise his work, commenting on his "powerful strokes" and "deep emotional expression" because they're scared to say anything bad about him, or they blindly follow him because of his charisma, or they just want to sound intelligent. Perhaps they've been faking it so long that they have started to believe their own lies, becoming deluded into thinking the art actually is good.

[flappeercraft]

No Time to think is an Extraordinary ability. Use Trait Removal and Astral seed to remove it permanantly.

[Seerow]

Warhulk requires size:large to enter.

Use Goliath Mountain Rage to qualify, either by being a Goliath, or by being any other race with the Stoneblessed prestige class.

Now, when you rage you become large and are now a warhulk, gaining the no time for thought ability and losing all of your skills. Once the rage ends, you go back to your normal mild mannered artsy self, and have all the fluffy skills you want.

[flappeercraft]

Warhulk requires size:large to enter.

Use Goliath Mountain Rage to qualify, either by being a Goliath, or by being any other race with the Stoneblessed prestige class.

Now, when you rage you become large and are now a warhulk, gaining the no time for thought ability and losing all of your skills. Once the rage ends, you go back to your normal mild mannered artsy self, and have all the fluffy skills you want.

Soooo, the Hulk?

[Seerow]

Soooo, the Hulk?

That is one interpretation, yes. Green skin optional.

[daremetoidareyo]

get a familiar and use its skill ranks instead of your own.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

get a familiar and use its skill ranks instead of your own.Only if the ranks belong to the familiar before it became such. Any skill ranks it would have had due to sharing your own ranks drop to 0 because of your war hulkiness. :smallmad:

[Uncle Pine]

You can go with a Pierre Brassau (http://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/pierre_brassau_monkey_artist) plot; the artist has no actual talent, and often ends up ripping the canvas as he swings at it randomly with his brush. He picks it up with his hands before the paint is dry, smudging the painting around the edges. "Knowledgeable critics" praise his work, commenting on his "powerful strokes" and "deep emotional expression" because they're scared to say anything bad about him, or they blindly follow him because of his charisma, or they just want to sound intelligent. Perhaps they've been faking it so long that they have started to believe their own lies, becoming deluded into thinking the art actually is good.
This keeps getting better and better. I didn't know about Pierre Brassau, it's quite a hilarious story.


Warhulk requires size:large to enter.

Use Goliath Mountain Rage to qualify, either by being a Goliath, or by being any other race with the Stoneblessed prestige class.

Now, when you rage you become large and are now a warhulk, gaining the no time for thought ability and losing all of your skills. Once the rage ends, you go back to your normal mild mannered artsy self, and have all the fluffy skills you want.
I was forgetting about that but it works, thanks.


Soooo, the Hulk?
According to Google Translate, the correct spelling is le Ponton.

[ShurikVch]

There is the possible alternative interpretation: what if he was really good at painting before becoming the War Hulk?
Then, when he entered that PrC, he's suddenly lost notable part of his artistic skill, and really mad about it!

But even now, he may be not as inept in painting as we assuming: Craft (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/craft.htm) skill is Int-based, and isn't trained-only; what if he was really smart - Int 16, or even 18 (you're don't becoming an arts club president by being dumb as a sack of hammers!)

Specialized (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterTraits.htm#specialized) trait will give +1 more

Masterwork Artisan's Tools for +2 circumstance

Then the feats:
Skill Focus (painting or visual arts) +3
Artist (must-have feat for such character!) +2
Markings of the Maker - allow to roll d20 twice, and chose better result
Craft Expertise (Dragon #339) doubles the monetary value of the progress you make in a given period

Focused Skill User may give +2 competence (but required psionic focus)

Cobalt Expertise - unclear if it should work for non-combat skills (but even if yes, you will need some source of essentia)

If you choose Stoneblessed route over simple Goliath, then how about the Arctic Elf (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/environmentalRacialVariants.htm#arcticElves)? Racial +2 to craft, and - being Elf - access to Elf Dilettante (+1 on untrained checks) and Focused Mind (+2 on all "take 10" and "take 20")

Maybe, our War Hulk was so desperate about his skill loss he even called to some... darker powers?
That +1 luck from Disciple of Darkness, Scion of Sorrow, or Thrall to Demon may be useful, when he will paint the Evil painting (TO RULE THEM ALL!!! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwyOsWQgsVw) :smallbiggrin:)
(I even thought about the Chosen of Evil, but it works for just one turn, and I doubt he will be able to produce the painting in 6 seconds flat)

[Telonius]

This is what I imagine when I think about the OP...
https://i.imgur.com/0YjYqsO.jpg

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Goliath binder/mountain rage barbarian/war hulk? Drawing those binding runes is a lot harder when you metamorph into a hulking rage beast.