Tyrael
2007-10-10, 03:08 PM
Now that I got your attention with the (edited) title... :)
So, I was recently reading an article about medieval knights, and I thumbed through the PHBII Knight, and I realized that while I've played a skillmonkey sniper and a THF dragon-killing tank, I've never actually played a Good character (the sniper was Chaotic Selfish, and the tank, with 9INT, was Neutral Stupid in a lovable sort of way).
So, I've decided to create a knightly character who's dedicated to the cause of Good. He knows he's a drop in the bucket, he knows he'll probably die horribly in agony, but he's going out there to make a difference anyway, because if he can bring hope to even one soul in the world, then his mission is complete.
So, I was prepared to make the stereotypical knight-in-shining-armor schtick, but then I thought--"hang on. What if I play a Knight...who nobody thinks is a Knight?" I just got this mental image of a party beaten and battered and bruised, then their kindly middleaged hireling smiles at them and says, "Sometimes hope can come from the most unlikely source imaginable." Then he touches his Ring of Arming and transforms into a bright, shiney Fullplated Knight In Shining Armor(tm), promptly running forward and Saving The Day(tm).
So the basic idea behind this PC is that he's this sweet, polite old man who disguises himself as something humble and unassuming (a farmer or a friar or a cleric) until it's time to Slay The BBEG or something, at which point he reveals himself and rushes out to protect/save everyone. His rationale behind it is that in the world things are often far more than they appear under the surface, and people are too quick to make judgements. He sees Evil in the world, but he's also seen the little piles of ashen remains of Knights who charged out to Slay The Dragon. While he has courage, he's not Lawful Stupid, and so does Good in the world by doing all the little things that nobody sees or hears about, but that still improve the lives and hopes and spirits of everyone around them. He donates to beggars, helps peasants with their laundry, nabs shoplifters, assists the town guard, helps the sheriff round up some bandits, makes a house call to comfort a dying girl...Kinda like a DnD Jesus in Plate Mail (well, not actually doing miracles, but just doing all the little thankless jobs to help people out in the world).
So far I have him as a straight Knight6, but with Bluff and Diplomacy as crossclass, I'm wondering if that's the best class to pick. Despite his social orientation, this guy's still got to be good in combat, because he's not afraid to fight to protect people. So ideally, we want something with a full BAB and good proficiencies.
Since he's a fighter, he'd rely primarily on items to get his stuff done for him. I'm thinking a Healing Belt (MIC, to heal people) and Shiftweave (MIC, to help with disguises). I'm also looking at giving him a Morphing Longsword +1, so he can adapt to whatever situation he needs to (and it also comes in handy when he needs his farmer's rake to turn into a battleaxe or whatever).
So anyway, this whole thing is kinda complex, but I really dig the fluff/concept behind it. What do you guys think? Is this sort of thing really workable? Level range is 6-12, midrange. Our DM doesn't like highlevel stuff, because things get A) broken and B) too epic for his mundane campaigns. Remember to keep in WBL.
So, I was recently reading an article about medieval knights, and I thumbed through the PHBII Knight, and I realized that while I've played a skillmonkey sniper and a THF dragon-killing tank, I've never actually played a Good character (the sniper was Chaotic Selfish, and the tank, with 9INT, was Neutral Stupid in a lovable sort of way).
So, I've decided to create a knightly character who's dedicated to the cause of Good. He knows he's a drop in the bucket, he knows he'll probably die horribly in agony, but he's going out there to make a difference anyway, because if he can bring hope to even one soul in the world, then his mission is complete.
So, I was prepared to make the stereotypical knight-in-shining-armor schtick, but then I thought--"hang on. What if I play a Knight...who nobody thinks is a Knight?" I just got this mental image of a party beaten and battered and bruised, then their kindly middleaged hireling smiles at them and says, "Sometimes hope can come from the most unlikely source imaginable." Then he touches his Ring of Arming and transforms into a bright, shiney Fullplated Knight In Shining Armor(tm), promptly running forward and Saving The Day(tm).
So the basic idea behind this PC is that he's this sweet, polite old man who disguises himself as something humble and unassuming (a farmer or a friar or a cleric) until it's time to Slay The BBEG or something, at which point he reveals himself and rushes out to protect/save everyone. His rationale behind it is that in the world things are often far more than they appear under the surface, and people are too quick to make judgements. He sees Evil in the world, but he's also seen the little piles of ashen remains of Knights who charged out to Slay The Dragon. While he has courage, he's not Lawful Stupid, and so does Good in the world by doing all the little things that nobody sees or hears about, but that still improve the lives and hopes and spirits of everyone around them. He donates to beggars, helps peasants with their laundry, nabs shoplifters, assists the town guard, helps the sheriff round up some bandits, makes a house call to comfort a dying girl...Kinda like a DnD Jesus in Plate Mail (well, not actually doing miracles, but just doing all the little thankless jobs to help people out in the world).
So far I have him as a straight Knight6, but with Bluff and Diplomacy as crossclass, I'm wondering if that's the best class to pick. Despite his social orientation, this guy's still got to be good in combat, because he's not afraid to fight to protect people. So ideally, we want something with a full BAB and good proficiencies.
Since he's a fighter, he'd rely primarily on items to get his stuff done for him. I'm thinking a Healing Belt (MIC, to heal people) and Shiftweave (MIC, to help with disguises). I'm also looking at giving him a Morphing Longsword +1, so he can adapt to whatever situation he needs to (and it also comes in handy when he needs his farmer's rake to turn into a battleaxe or whatever).
So anyway, this whole thing is kinda complex, but I really dig the fluff/concept behind it. What do you guys think? Is this sort of thing really workable? Level range is 6-12, midrange. Our DM doesn't like highlevel stuff, because things get A) broken and B) too epic for his mundane campaigns. Remember to keep in WBL.