Noxangelo
2018-12-03, 08:39 AM
So this coming weekend i will be joining a group of my friends in their casual gaming session.
they are not big RPG'ers, the session is more of a social gathering with 3e, 4e and as of last weekend 5e characters running around and the DM is fast and lose with the rules.
I figured this would be a great opportunity to play around with stuff no sane DM would allow in their game. as long as play it lightly and let the everyone in the group have their fun, no-one will even look at my char sheet and I get to play around with stuff I couldn't in a normal game.
However, while i regularly trawl these forums for fun, I have very little gaming experience, so I need to recruit the experienced players here to help me.
i'm thinking to make a mindwitness Beholder Mage, Ur-Priest, Illithid Savant :smalleek:
I want to take the feat: miser with magic and just run with that concept. make him consider obstacle and encounters as problems for his great intellect to solve he will have priority list he will work through to solve the problem and the further down he has to go, the more of his resources he has to spend to overcome the problem and therefore, the less effective his solution.
the list looks like this.
1: intellect- he has high Int and Wis and first tries to think his way around a problem, avoiding it entirely if possible.
2: application of skills not involving tools (his or others): knowledge checks, social skills, climb etc.
3: application permanent, unlimited magic items: ring of at will prestidigitation counts, ring of 1/day stoneshape doesn't.
4: application of permanent, limited use magic items: the ring of 1/day stoneshape.
5: application of mundane tools: here for RP reasons (wear and tear) a magic ring won't break, a hammer might and may be difficult to replace before it is needed again.
6: application of permanent/unlimited magical/supernatural effects: beholder mage's arcane hands, at-will cantrips if allowed.
7: mundane consumables (cheap, craft-able, sometimes recoverable): acid, poison, pitons
8: magical consumables: wands, scrolls, potions.
9: personal magical power: last resort, lowest levels first.
0: (not a typo) physical confrontation and violence: worst case scenario
where I need help
1: the build itself.
- i came across a build that started with human monk that had beholder mage 1 by level 4 or 5 and double 9's at 15 or 16. however i have recently lost the link (and almost all my others). i will need to find it again and take another look.
- i also want to see if i could make some changes. such as begging the DM to lose the feat tax on Ur-Priest.
- i would also like to possibly play with the multi headed template and get some multiattack/multi-weapon fighting going on. stacking natural attacks and/or getting some bayonetta style combat with some extra knee and elbow blades happening.
2: the classes
- i was going to look at wizard and sorcerers guides for the beholder mage. is there anything i should keep in mind that make it different in play from those two and how
- was going to do the same with cleric for the Ur-priest. is there anything that will make it play differently from a cleric. also, it will be a goal to stay in a human form as much as possible, so the Ur-priest will be my primary, go to abilities.
- how can i go about staying in human form at all times
- illithid savant. what should i look at getting with it. was thinking archivist casting so i can potentially get access to all the spells ever. was also thinking about grabbing a bunch of touch based abilities like the soul drinkers or vampires energy drain, the dread necro's charnel touch and such, since they can be be used with the beholder mages arcane hands and combined with the monks unarmed strike and flurry of blows.
3: skills
a real sticking point for me, they are a massive part of his build and having read the commoners hand book, i know they can be incredibly powerful done right. but i just don't understand them enough to optimize them properly, and i just can't seem to find a decent skills handbook. so any help would be appreciated, what skills should i max? one point wonders? 5 points? please help :P
4: feats
i'm hoping to talk my way out of the feat taxes for Beholder Mage and Ur-priest. so what to do with those feats. i want miser with magic and thinking about DMM persist: divine vigor as a use for the Ur-priests turning if possible. also maybe leadership, but i'm going to have to think hard about how to do it properly.
5: equipment
i have looked at best equipment to get before so i have a few lists floating around (shax comes to mind) but i won't say no to any advice.
final notes
i'm not looking for an optimized build just and effective one. i have a chance to play with stuff you usually don't get so i just want to have fun with it. if i play it the way i want, he will stay in human form the whole time and no-one will know he is a PAO beholder and may not realize he can cast spells. if i play it perfectly, he won't ever cast a spell, relying mainly on skills and wits.
there is a lot more to this character but its mainly RP and this is long enough and i'm sure you don't want to hear all his motivations and know his planned story arc. though i will be asking other questions in other topics related to it and him, like if anyone can help me with mongoose's construct book when i get high enough a level.
they are not big RPG'ers, the session is more of a social gathering with 3e, 4e and as of last weekend 5e characters running around and the DM is fast and lose with the rules.
I figured this would be a great opportunity to play around with stuff no sane DM would allow in their game. as long as play it lightly and let the everyone in the group have their fun, no-one will even look at my char sheet and I get to play around with stuff I couldn't in a normal game.
However, while i regularly trawl these forums for fun, I have very little gaming experience, so I need to recruit the experienced players here to help me.
i'm thinking to make a mindwitness Beholder Mage, Ur-Priest, Illithid Savant :smalleek:
I want to take the feat: miser with magic and just run with that concept. make him consider obstacle and encounters as problems for his great intellect to solve he will have priority list he will work through to solve the problem and the further down he has to go, the more of his resources he has to spend to overcome the problem and therefore, the less effective his solution.
the list looks like this.
1: intellect- he has high Int and Wis and first tries to think his way around a problem, avoiding it entirely if possible.
2: application of skills not involving tools (his or others): knowledge checks, social skills, climb etc.
3: application permanent, unlimited magic items: ring of at will prestidigitation counts, ring of 1/day stoneshape doesn't.
4: application of permanent, limited use magic items: the ring of 1/day stoneshape.
5: application of mundane tools: here for RP reasons (wear and tear) a magic ring won't break, a hammer might and may be difficult to replace before it is needed again.
6: application of permanent/unlimited magical/supernatural effects: beholder mage's arcane hands, at-will cantrips if allowed.
7: mundane consumables (cheap, craft-able, sometimes recoverable): acid, poison, pitons
8: magical consumables: wands, scrolls, potions.
9: personal magical power: last resort, lowest levels first.
0: (not a typo) physical confrontation and violence: worst case scenario
where I need help
1: the build itself.
- i came across a build that started with human monk that had beholder mage 1 by level 4 or 5 and double 9's at 15 or 16. however i have recently lost the link (and almost all my others). i will need to find it again and take another look.
- i also want to see if i could make some changes. such as begging the DM to lose the feat tax on Ur-Priest.
- i would also like to possibly play with the multi headed template and get some multiattack/multi-weapon fighting going on. stacking natural attacks and/or getting some bayonetta style combat with some extra knee and elbow blades happening.
2: the classes
- i was going to look at wizard and sorcerers guides for the beholder mage. is there anything i should keep in mind that make it different in play from those two and how
- was going to do the same with cleric for the Ur-priest. is there anything that will make it play differently from a cleric. also, it will be a goal to stay in a human form as much as possible, so the Ur-priest will be my primary, go to abilities.
- how can i go about staying in human form at all times
- illithid savant. what should i look at getting with it. was thinking archivist casting so i can potentially get access to all the spells ever. was also thinking about grabbing a bunch of touch based abilities like the soul drinkers or vampires energy drain, the dread necro's charnel touch and such, since they can be be used with the beholder mages arcane hands and combined with the monks unarmed strike and flurry of blows.
3: skills
a real sticking point for me, they are a massive part of his build and having read the commoners hand book, i know they can be incredibly powerful done right. but i just don't understand them enough to optimize them properly, and i just can't seem to find a decent skills handbook. so any help would be appreciated, what skills should i max? one point wonders? 5 points? please help :P
4: feats
i'm hoping to talk my way out of the feat taxes for Beholder Mage and Ur-priest. so what to do with those feats. i want miser with magic and thinking about DMM persist: divine vigor as a use for the Ur-priests turning if possible. also maybe leadership, but i'm going to have to think hard about how to do it properly.
5: equipment
i have looked at best equipment to get before so i have a few lists floating around (shax comes to mind) but i won't say no to any advice.
final notes
i'm not looking for an optimized build just and effective one. i have a chance to play with stuff you usually don't get so i just want to have fun with it. if i play it the way i want, he will stay in human form the whole time and no-one will know he is a PAO beholder and may not realize he can cast spells. if i play it perfectly, he won't ever cast a spell, relying mainly on skills and wits.
there is a lot more to this character but its mainly RP and this is long enough and i'm sure you don't want to hear all his motivations and know his planned story arc. though i will be asking other questions in other topics related to it and him, like if anyone can help me with mongoose's construct book when i get high enough a level.