ajp1011
2019-01-30, 03:25 PM
Hey guys, below is a build for a Lvl 8 Umbral Kobold (3rd party) Cavalier, and below that is the backstory if you care to read it. This character is being made at level 8 for a homebrewed campaign taking place in the Pathfinder (Golarion) setting. The starting area is in and around Taldor, Oppara has been a pretty central area for the party so far.
I'm looking for feedback on the build itself, as well as the backstory (I would like to ensure it is logically consistent with the history of the world). Not looking to min-max or be a munchkin, but I do want him to be both effective and interesting to role play.
Thanks in advance for whatever feedback is provided!
Durok Duskclaw - Lvl 8 Albino Umbral Kobold Cavalier of the Order of the Shroud
Alignment: CG, Diety: Pharasma
Ability Scores (Point buy - 20)
Str: 18 (18 - 2 Racial + 1 lvl4-bonus + 1 lvl8-bonus)
Dex: 14 (12 + 2 Racial Bonus)
Con: 12
Int: 10 (8 + 2 Racial Bonus)
Wis: 9
Cha: 12
Skills all favored class bonus points added to skills (40)
Diplomacy - 4 ranks
Handle Animal - 6 Ranks
Intimidate - 4 ranks
Lingusitics - 1 rank, added Undercommon
Perception - 5 ranks
Ride - 8 ranks
Stealth - 4 ranks
Use Magic Device - 2 ranks
Craft (traps) - 2 ranks
Knowledge (local) - 1 rank
Knowledge (religion) - 3 ranks
Racial Abilities and Bonuses (11 RP):
Ability Mods - +2 Int and Dex, -2 Str
Natural Armor - +1
Crafty - +2 to craft-traps, profession-miner, and perception, stealth and craft-traps are class skills
(Alternate Racial Trait) Albino - Your scale pigmentation is bright white and you have red eyes, lose the light sensitivity racial weakness, -4 to stealth
Darkvision - 60'
WP: All simple and martial.
AP: All armor and shields except tower shields
Cavalier Abilities
Order Abilities:
Challenge - +1, +1 additional every 4 cavalier levels, morale bonus on attack rolls vs challenged undead for 1 minute
Spiritual Shield
At 2nd level, the cavalier can call upon the spirits of the fallen for protection. Once per day as an immediate action when
attacked by an undead target of his challenge, the cavalier can gain a deflection bonus equal to his Charisma modifier to
his AC against that attack. The cavalier must decide to use this ability before the attack roll.
Destroyer of the Undead (Su)
At 8th level, the cavalier’s weapons are treated as having the cavalier’s alignment for the purpose of overcoming the damage
reduction of undead creatures. Against an undead target of his challenge, the cavalier automatically overcomes all damage
reduction that undead possesses.
Stand Against Darkness (Ex or Su)
At 15th level, the cavalier can take revenge on undead that dare strike him or those he seeks to protect. Whenever an undead
creature that is the subject of his challenge hits the cavalier or an adjacent ally with a melee attack, the creature provokes an
attack of opportunity from the cavalier. The cavalier gains a +2 morale bonus on attacks of opportunity provoked as a result
of this ability. If an undead subject of the cavalier’s challenge threatens a critical hit against the cavalier, the cavalier gains a
deflection bonus equal to his Charisma modifier against the confirmation roll. This bonus functions as a supernatural ability.
Cavalier's Charge - No Armour Check penalty while charging.
Bonus Teamwork Feats
Lvl 1 - Distracting Charge
lvl 9 - Bonded Mind
lvl 17 - Coordinated Charge
Mount
Haven't locked this in yet, any advice would be appreciated and I'm still waiting on my DM to ok a couple options I am thinking of...
Right now I'd like to go for a Web Tyrant Spider or a Deinonychus if my DM will allow it
Elsewise I will likely just go with a Wolf, or maybe a Boar...
Feats:
1 - Mounted Combat
3 - Ride by Attack
5 - Weapon Focus (lance)
6 (Bonus) - Vital Strike
7 - Spirited Charge
Equipment 33000gp starting
Primary Equipment:
+1 Defiant (undead) O-Yoroi - In the early years of their friendship, Sullus helped construct Durok this suit from the pieces of his fallen brothers armor.
+1 Scimitar - Given to Durok by Sullus who had looted it from a Drow scout while his cavaliers were pursuing Xykon through the Dark Lands.
+2 Ghost Touch lance - Constructed by Durok from a piece of Sullus' lance after he died.
- Banner - Durok's personal Cavalier Banner is affixed to the end of his lance, it depicts a Black Claw on a red field hovering like a shroud above a white Kobold skull in profile.
*Shard from a shattered Umbral Kobold egg - Kept by Durok as a memento from the battle that ended his tribe.
Additional Equipment:
Mwk Composite(+5) Longbow
- arrows (20)
+2 Belt of Giant Strength
+1 Cloak of Resistance
Mwk Heavy Steel Shield
Mwk Backpack
Waterskin
Belt Pouch
Flint and Steel
Trail Rations
50' Hemp Rope
Squire's Outfit
Exotic Military Saddle - Whatever mount I end up with is going to be exotic...
336 GP Remainder
Final Notes
So basic strategy is gonna be coordinate with my teammates, stay mobile on the battle field, ride by attack charge and provide flanking where possible. One glaring weak point I see is my Will save, which is only going to be a 1 at lvl 8. His charge attack though
Backstory:
Many centuries ago a clan of Kobolds that would come to be known as the Duskclaws tunneled into the Five Kings mountains following a vein of gold that ran into the darkness. Digging down, deeper even than the Drow and the Deurgar dare to delve, the clan inadvertently pierced the veil between the Material Plane and the Plane of Shadow.
Stranded in a hostile land with no way back, the clan scraped out their existence in their new resource deprived home, and slowly, over generations, changed into something darker and stronger. The few surviving descendants of this clan became a new breed of Kobold, the Umbral Kobolds, and named their new clan the Duskclaws.
Durok was born to this clan 16 years ago; the hatchling emerged with pure white scales and piercing red eyes that stood in stark contrast to his black scaled, dark eyed brethren, and in the Plane of Shadow, standing out is not a good way to survive.
Durok quickly learned to fight along with the warriors of the Duskclaws, though he could not hide as well as the others in his warren, his bright scales were like a beacon to the lurkers in the dark. So Durok took another path, learning to stand his ground, and growing stronger because of it, until a fortunate meeting with a lost man changed the course of his destiny.
Sullus Ocellaicus was a Knight Commander in the Order of the Shroud, a chivalric order of cavaliers hailing from the plains of Taldor, whose sworn mission is to root out and destroy the taint of necromancy and all those who would corrupt the balance of life and death. Sullus and his fellows had tracked a Lich Sorcerer named Xykon to the base of the Five Kings mountains. Xykon retreated from the righteous fury of the Shrouded Cavaliers following the long forgotten tunnels dug by the Duskclaw's ancestors. As he withdrew, he gathered minions moving deeper into the mountains and wearing the cavaliers down through attrition in the caverns of the Darklands until reaching a final confrontation at the site of the planar rift that separated the two worlds.
The climatic battle tore open the portal anew, sending Lich and cavaliers together into the Plane of Shadow. When the dust settled an eerie calm greeted Sullus, and all around him the corpses of his fallen brothers in arms. With one final blow the Knight destroyed the Lich's phylactery, completing his mission. Sullus though was trapped now, lost and alone in a foreign plane.
Weeks passed and Sullus grew ever more weary, finding what little sustenance he could, until he came across a Duskclaw hunting party led by none other then Durok, the Albino Umbral Kobold. The Kobolds had never seen a human, much less a Knight of Taldor in their lives, and Sullus was met with extreme hostility. Durok though saw something different then his clanmates, he saw a survivor, another creature, clad in shining plate mail much like his own shining scales, and convinced his warren to take Sullus in.
With no other options, Sullus joined the Kobolds and soon began to teach them his ways. The negative energies of the Plane of Shadow provided no shortage of undead to destroy, and within a few years, the Duskclaws, under Durok's leadership, and Sullus' guidance, slowly became a bastion of holy light in those dark lands; until one fateful day.
The Lich's army struck the Duskclaw's warren with a speed and organization that they had never seen, cutting through Kobold after Kobold. It was clear that Sullus had been tricked, the phylactery that he had destroyed years ago was a fake! Xykon had returned and had turned his undead mind to revenge against the man who had nearly destroyed him. Standing before the Duskclaw hatchery, Durok and his strongest warriors stood side by side with the Cavalier and faced the mad Lich. The battle was hard fought, but without the strength of Sullus' Cavaliers, they were no match for Xykon.
Laying near death in the gore of the shattered eggs, his mentor's unconscious body next to him, a sudden moment of clarity came to Durok. With Xykon's back turned as he gloated in victory, the Kobold grasped Sullus' holy lance and drove it into the heart of the creature. Perhaps it was destiny, or a blessing from some inscrutable god, or perhaps it was just simple luck, but by some miracle the lance struck true hitting the tiny silver bead, no larger then a pebble, that hid Xykon's soul. The shattering cacophony heralded the final end of the Lich, but alas, also to the Duskclaw clan.
Bloodied and alone Durok looked about the carnage when suddenly Sullus groaned in pain. Sitting up as best he could as Durok knelt beside him he spoke, "You Durok have done that which an entire order of knights could not, you have brought low a great evil in this world, you have set right the scales of life and death, and you stood without faltering in defense of those who could not defend themselves. If ever there was a truer example of that which my order stands for I've not seen it." With that, Sullus summoned the last of his strength and taking his sword placed it on Durok's shoulders, knighting him in the Order of the Shroud, then slowly laid back, closing his eyes for the last time.
Durok gathered up the body of his mentor and what remained of the scant valuables his clan had obtained and headed out a few days later. He spent the next few weeks searching for a way back to the Material Plane. Eventually he found a Fetchling Umbral Escort who he traded the last of his wealth to for transport across the planes.
Standing on a hill overlooking the city of Oppara, Durok sighed deeply. Sullus had told him long ago that he had family here. Durok would return his mentor's body and tell his story, the least he could do for that brave man that had sacrificed everything. After that though, he did not know where his path would lead...
I'm looking for feedback on the build itself, as well as the backstory (I would like to ensure it is logically consistent with the history of the world). Not looking to min-max or be a munchkin, but I do want him to be both effective and interesting to role play.
Thanks in advance for whatever feedback is provided!
Durok Duskclaw - Lvl 8 Albino Umbral Kobold Cavalier of the Order of the Shroud
Alignment: CG, Diety: Pharasma
Ability Scores (Point buy - 20)
Str: 18 (18 - 2 Racial + 1 lvl4-bonus + 1 lvl8-bonus)
Dex: 14 (12 + 2 Racial Bonus)
Con: 12
Int: 10 (8 + 2 Racial Bonus)
Wis: 9
Cha: 12
Skills all favored class bonus points added to skills (40)
Diplomacy - 4 ranks
Handle Animal - 6 Ranks
Intimidate - 4 ranks
Lingusitics - 1 rank, added Undercommon
Perception - 5 ranks
Ride - 8 ranks
Stealth - 4 ranks
Use Magic Device - 2 ranks
Craft (traps) - 2 ranks
Knowledge (local) - 1 rank
Knowledge (religion) - 3 ranks
Racial Abilities and Bonuses (11 RP):
Ability Mods - +2 Int and Dex, -2 Str
Natural Armor - +1
Crafty - +2 to craft-traps, profession-miner, and perception, stealth and craft-traps are class skills
(Alternate Racial Trait) Albino - Your scale pigmentation is bright white and you have red eyes, lose the light sensitivity racial weakness, -4 to stealth
Darkvision - 60'
WP: All simple and martial.
AP: All armor and shields except tower shields
Cavalier Abilities
Order Abilities:
Challenge - +1, +1 additional every 4 cavalier levels, morale bonus on attack rolls vs challenged undead for 1 minute
Spiritual Shield
At 2nd level, the cavalier can call upon the spirits of the fallen for protection. Once per day as an immediate action when
attacked by an undead target of his challenge, the cavalier can gain a deflection bonus equal to his Charisma modifier to
his AC against that attack. The cavalier must decide to use this ability before the attack roll.
Destroyer of the Undead (Su)
At 8th level, the cavalier’s weapons are treated as having the cavalier’s alignment for the purpose of overcoming the damage
reduction of undead creatures. Against an undead target of his challenge, the cavalier automatically overcomes all damage
reduction that undead possesses.
Stand Against Darkness (Ex or Su)
At 15th level, the cavalier can take revenge on undead that dare strike him or those he seeks to protect. Whenever an undead
creature that is the subject of his challenge hits the cavalier or an adjacent ally with a melee attack, the creature provokes an
attack of opportunity from the cavalier. The cavalier gains a +2 morale bonus on attacks of opportunity provoked as a result
of this ability. If an undead subject of the cavalier’s challenge threatens a critical hit against the cavalier, the cavalier gains a
deflection bonus equal to his Charisma modifier against the confirmation roll. This bonus functions as a supernatural ability.
Cavalier's Charge - No Armour Check penalty while charging.
Bonus Teamwork Feats
Lvl 1 - Distracting Charge
lvl 9 - Bonded Mind
lvl 17 - Coordinated Charge
Mount
Haven't locked this in yet, any advice would be appreciated and I'm still waiting on my DM to ok a couple options I am thinking of...
Right now I'd like to go for a Web Tyrant Spider or a Deinonychus if my DM will allow it
Elsewise I will likely just go with a Wolf, or maybe a Boar...
Feats:
1 - Mounted Combat
3 - Ride by Attack
5 - Weapon Focus (lance)
6 (Bonus) - Vital Strike
7 - Spirited Charge
Equipment 33000gp starting
Primary Equipment:
+1 Defiant (undead) O-Yoroi - In the early years of their friendship, Sullus helped construct Durok this suit from the pieces of his fallen brothers armor.
+1 Scimitar - Given to Durok by Sullus who had looted it from a Drow scout while his cavaliers were pursuing Xykon through the Dark Lands.
+2 Ghost Touch lance - Constructed by Durok from a piece of Sullus' lance after he died.
- Banner - Durok's personal Cavalier Banner is affixed to the end of his lance, it depicts a Black Claw on a red field hovering like a shroud above a white Kobold skull in profile.
*Shard from a shattered Umbral Kobold egg - Kept by Durok as a memento from the battle that ended his tribe.
Additional Equipment:
Mwk Composite(+5) Longbow
- arrows (20)
+2 Belt of Giant Strength
+1 Cloak of Resistance
Mwk Heavy Steel Shield
Mwk Backpack
Waterskin
Belt Pouch
Flint and Steel
Trail Rations
50' Hemp Rope
Squire's Outfit
Exotic Military Saddle - Whatever mount I end up with is going to be exotic...
336 GP Remainder
Final Notes
So basic strategy is gonna be coordinate with my teammates, stay mobile on the battle field, ride by attack charge and provide flanking where possible. One glaring weak point I see is my Will save, which is only going to be a 1 at lvl 8. His charge attack though
Backstory:
Many centuries ago a clan of Kobolds that would come to be known as the Duskclaws tunneled into the Five Kings mountains following a vein of gold that ran into the darkness. Digging down, deeper even than the Drow and the Deurgar dare to delve, the clan inadvertently pierced the veil between the Material Plane and the Plane of Shadow.
Stranded in a hostile land with no way back, the clan scraped out their existence in their new resource deprived home, and slowly, over generations, changed into something darker and stronger. The few surviving descendants of this clan became a new breed of Kobold, the Umbral Kobolds, and named their new clan the Duskclaws.
Durok was born to this clan 16 years ago; the hatchling emerged with pure white scales and piercing red eyes that stood in stark contrast to his black scaled, dark eyed brethren, and in the Plane of Shadow, standing out is not a good way to survive.
Durok quickly learned to fight along with the warriors of the Duskclaws, though he could not hide as well as the others in his warren, his bright scales were like a beacon to the lurkers in the dark. So Durok took another path, learning to stand his ground, and growing stronger because of it, until a fortunate meeting with a lost man changed the course of his destiny.
Sullus Ocellaicus was a Knight Commander in the Order of the Shroud, a chivalric order of cavaliers hailing from the plains of Taldor, whose sworn mission is to root out and destroy the taint of necromancy and all those who would corrupt the balance of life and death. Sullus and his fellows had tracked a Lich Sorcerer named Xykon to the base of the Five Kings mountains. Xykon retreated from the righteous fury of the Shrouded Cavaliers following the long forgotten tunnels dug by the Duskclaw's ancestors. As he withdrew, he gathered minions moving deeper into the mountains and wearing the cavaliers down through attrition in the caverns of the Darklands until reaching a final confrontation at the site of the planar rift that separated the two worlds.
The climatic battle tore open the portal anew, sending Lich and cavaliers together into the Plane of Shadow. When the dust settled an eerie calm greeted Sullus, and all around him the corpses of his fallen brothers in arms. With one final blow the Knight destroyed the Lich's phylactery, completing his mission. Sullus though was trapped now, lost and alone in a foreign plane.
Weeks passed and Sullus grew ever more weary, finding what little sustenance he could, until he came across a Duskclaw hunting party led by none other then Durok, the Albino Umbral Kobold. The Kobolds had never seen a human, much less a Knight of Taldor in their lives, and Sullus was met with extreme hostility. Durok though saw something different then his clanmates, he saw a survivor, another creature, clad in shining plate mail much like his own shining scales, and convinced his warren to take Sullus in.
With no other options, Sullus joined the Kobolds and soon began to teach them his ways. The negative energies of the Plane of Shadow provided no shortage of undead to destroy, and within a few years, the Duskclaws, under Durok's leadership, and Sullus' guidance, slowly became a bastion of holy light in those dark lands; until one fateful day.
The Lich's army struck the Duskclaw's warren with a speed and organization that they had never seen, cutting through Kobold after Kobold. It was clear that Sullus had been tricked, the phylactery that he had destroyed years ago was a fake! Xykon had returned and had turned his undead mind to revenge against the man who had nearly destroyed him. Standing before the Duskclaw hatchery, Durok and his strongest warriors stood side by side with the Cavalier and faced the mad Lich. The battle was hard fought, but without the strength of Sullus' Cavaliers, they were no match for Xykon.
Laying near death in the gore of the shattered eggs, his mentor's unconscious body next to him, a sudden moment of clarity came to Durok. With Xykon's back turned as he gloated in victory, the Kobold grasped Sullus' holy lance and drove it into the heart of the creature. Perhaps it was destiny, or a blessing from some inscrutable god, or perhaps it was just simple luck, but by some miracle the lance struck true hitting the tiny silver bead, no larger then a pebble, that hid Xykon's soul. The shattering cacophony heralded the final end of the Lich, but alas, also to the Duskclaw clan.
Bloodied and alone Durok looked about the carnage when suddenly Sullus groaned in pain. Sitting up as best he could as Durok knelt beside him he spoke, "You Durok have done that which an entire order of knights could not, you have brought low a great evil in this world, you have set right the scales of life and death, and you stood without faltering in defense of those who could not defend themselves. If ever there was a truer example of that which my order stands for I've not seen it." With that, Sullus summoned the last of his strength and taking his sword placed it on Durok's shoulders, knighting him in the Order of the Shroud, then slowly laid back, closing his eyes for the last time.
Durok gathered up the body of his mentor and what remained of the scant valuables his clan had obtained and headed out a few days later. He spent the next few weeks searching for a way back to the Material Plane. Eventually he found a Fetchling Umbral Escort who he traded the last of his wealth to for transport across the planes.
Standing on a hill overlooking the city of Oppara, Durok sighed deeply. Sullus had told him long ago that he had family here. Durok would return his mentor's body and tell his story, the least he could do for that brave man that had sacrificed everything. After that though, he did not know where his path would lead...