darknite
2019-09-16, 08:19 PM
Well, AL's 9th Season starts this week and I've been wracking my brains over what PC to play in the upcoming BG:DiA hardcover. My goal was to review the emerging rules for the season and put together something relatively unique that I would enjoy to play.
The ALPG for the season explains a lot of rules and options available this year. Advancement and magic item allocation is simplified with items more easily available but a quota put in place based on Tier. There are select options for Aasimar and Tiefling races created for Season 9, too. Migration for legacy characters is pretty generous, overall, as well. Finally there are guidelines for DM rewards, as well DM reward conversions for Season 9. I note that Aasimars can be chosen as a race regardless of a PC's PH+1 choice for character creation. Once I digest that, I get to work.
So what do I want to play? While joking around a few weeks back I had told my gaming group that I wanted to make a PC based on a guy with facial tattoos I had spied walking his pit bull down the street on my way to the game. "What's the D&D equivalent of that guy?", I mused among them. The conclusion was obvious. "Barbarian/Paladin!"
After mulling it over a bit I decided to substitute the next best thing - a Zealot Barbarian from XGtE.
But only the Fallen Aasimar has the important +1 Str racial adjustment. I wanted one of the other two, and preferably the Scourge Aasimar, for my race because I wanted radiant damage over necrotic from their special attack mode. I could of been happy with a lower Str but that meant just having 2 ASIs to put into other stats or feats to play with. Because of the flight option I was thinking a reach weapon would be ideal in keeping the PC in position to attack but out of range for counterattack. That means Polearm Master. Which then leads to Great Weapon Master. And I don't like a PC intended to hit the higher levels to go without Resilience: Wisdom, because of common fear and mind-affecting attacks in the late game. So with only 5 ASIs I can't use 3 to develop Str and get the others I want.
So I side-stepped the need to improve Str via ASI entirely. I have a DM reward that allows me to unlock any item from Table F. That includes the Gauntlets of Ogre Power. That will give the PC a Str of 19 straight away. Of course it will be the only item they can have in Tier 1, no big loss, and require the use of an attunement slot in future Tiers, but that's okay for a melee character. I've got a Belt of Fire Giant Strength waiting in the wings for Tier 3, too. This allows me to choose the Scourge Aasimar and stat it as follows...
STR:(13->19); DEX:(14); CON:(16); INT:(8); WIS:(13); CHA:(11)
The Scourge's Con bonus allows them to boost HP significantly and benefit the Barbarian's Con Save proficiency. Int had to fall but I've learned to enjoy playing dim but relatively wise characters, so I'll just have to avoid illithids. Wisdom remains odd so that a Resilience will boost it to the next modifier level. Dex goes to 14 so they can make the most of medium armor. Str is set to make them eligible to multiclass to fighter at some point if I want (and I think I do). Skills are Athletics, Acrobatics, Perception and Insight. HP start at 15 and go up 10 per level. No tool proficiencies, but two add'l languages - Infernal and Abyssal. I can deal with that.
The first eight levels will be in (Zealot) Barbarian, choosing the Polearm Master and Great Weapon Master feats as 4th and 8th level. Levels 9-12 will be Fighter (Champion) to get a Defensive Fighting Style, Action Surge and an expanded Crit range (I expect to Reckless Attack a lot). Then the remaining 8 levels go back to Barbarian. The damage output will be pretty impressive with expanded Crit chances, the Zealot's Divine Fury, GWM and the aasimar's Radiant Consumption factored in, all of which should be on line and ready to go by Tier 3 when I expect adventuring in Avernus to be particularly hazardous.
But, I hear the gentle reader asking, what about the character themselves? These are just mechanical meanderings, building a perfect beast. But where's the heart, you say?
So the backstory is this Aasimar was a low ranking Celestian soldier in Zariel's foray to Hell that resulted in her fall years before. As the rest of the host was destroyed, the contingent the PC was in managed to fight their way to the banks of the River Styx, hoping to succor a ferryman to carry them off to a friendly plane. But it was not to be and it was there that the PC fell, struck hard and toppling into the dark waters of the Styx. Yet, they did not die, their body carried out into the river to float through space and time upon the eddies and bights of the great River until they were washed upon the shores of another place. Bereft of memory, the PC was found by a priestess of the Red Knight, who's visions had brought her to that place to discover a tool of interest to the Red Lady. Nursing the wretch back to health they traveled together to the Outlands but were accosted by vile followers of Asmodeus for reasons unknown.
They slew the priestess but the aasimar lived on, retrieving the powerful red leather gloves of his fallen benefactor. As such he followed the attacker's trail to the Prime Material plane, guided by memory-clouded dreams and vowing vengeance upon the devil worshipers. A strange visage upon the roadstead, this threadbare, rangy celestial-blooded wanderer. When asked his name, he has no reply as he can't remember, and so it comes to pass that he is referred to only as 'The Hellborn'.
The ALPG for the season explains a lot of rules and options available this year. Advancement and magic item allocation is simplified with items more easily available but a quota put in place based on Tier. There are select options for Aasimar and Tiefling races created for Season 9, too. Migration for legacy characters is pretty generous, overall, as well. Finally there are guidelines for DM rewards, as well DM reward conversions for Season 9. I note that Aasimars can be chosen as a race regardless of a PC's PH+1 choice for character creation. Once I digest that, I get to work.
So what do I want to play? While joking around a few weeks back I had told my gaming group that I wanted to make a PC based on a guy with facial tattoos I had spied walking his pit bull down the street on my way to the game. "What's the D&D equivalent of that guy?", I mused among them. The conclusion was obvious. "Barbarian/Paladin!"
After mulling it over a bit I decided to substitute the next best thing - a Zealot Barbarian from XGtE.
But only the Fallen Aasimar has the important +1 Str racial adjustment. I wanted one of the other two, and preferably the Scourge Aasimar, for my race because I wanted radiant damage over necrotic from their special attack mode. I could of been happy with a lower Str but that meant just having 2 ASIs to put into other stats or feats to play with. Because of the flight option I was thinking a reach weapon would be ideal in keeping the PC in position to attack but out of range for counterattack. That means Polearm Master. Which then leads to Great Weapon Master. And I don't like a PC intended to hit the higher levels to go without Resilience: Wisdom, because of common fear and mind-affecting attacks in the late game. So with only 5 ASIs I can't use 3 to develop Str and get the others I want.
So I side-stepped the need to improve Str via ASI entirely. I have a DM reward that allows me to unlock any item from Table F. That includes the Gauntlets of Ogre Power. That will give the PC a Str of 19 straight away. Of course it will be the only item they can have in Tier 1, no big loss, and require the use of an attunement slot in future Tiers, but that's okay for a melee character. I've got a Belt of Fire Giant Strength waiting in the wings for Tier 3, too. This allows me to choose the Scourge Aasimar and stat it as follows...
STR:(13->19); DEX:(14); CON:(16); INT:(8); WIS:(13); CHA:(11)
The Scourge's Con bonus allows them to boost HP significantly and benefit the Barbarian's Con Save proficiency. Int had to fall but I've learned to enjoy playing dim but relatively wise characters, so I'll just have to avoid illithids. Wisdom remains odd so that a Resilience will boost it to the next modifier level. Dex goes to 14 so they can make the most of medium armor. Str is set to make them eligible to multiclass to fighter at some point if I want (and I think I do). Skills are Athletics, Acrobatics, Perception and Insight. HP start at 15 and go up 10 per level. No tool proficiencies, but two add'l languages - Infernal and Abyssal. I can deal with that.
The first eight levels will be in (Zealot) Barbarian, choosing the Polearm Master and Great Weapon Master feats as 4th and 8th level. Levels 9-12 will be Fighter (Champion) to get a Defensive Fighting Style, Action Surge and an expanded Crit range (I expect to Reckless Attack a lot). Then the remaining 8 levels go back to Barbarian. The damage output will be pretty impressive with expanded Crit chances, the Zealot's Divine Fury, GWM and the aasimar's Radiant Consumption factored in, all of which should be on line and ready to go by Tier 3 when I expect adventuring in Avernus to be particularly hazardous.
But, I hear the gentle reader asking, what about the character themselves? These are just mechanical meanderings, building a perfect beast. But where's the heart, you say?
So the backstory is this Aasimar was a low ranking Celestian soldier in Zariel's foray to Hell that resulted in her fall years before. As the rest of the host was destroyed, the contingent the PC was in managed to fight their way to the banks of the River Styx, hoping to succor a ferryman to carry them off to a friendly plane. But it was not to be and it was there that the PC fell, struck hard and toppling into the dark waters of the Styx. Yet, they did not die, their body carried out into the river to float through space and time upon the eddies and bights of the great River until they were washed upon the shores of another place. Bereft of memory, the PC was found by a priestess of the Red Knight, who's visions had brought her to that place to discover a tool of interest to the Red Lady. Nursing the wretch back to health they traveled together to the Outlands but were accosted by vile followers of Asmodeus for reasons unknown.
They slew the priestess but the aasimar lived on, retrieving the powerful red leather gloves of his fallen benefactor. As such he followed the attacker's trail to the Prime Material plane, guided by memory-clouded dreams and vowing vengeance upon the devil worshipers. A strange visage upon the roadstead, this threadbare, rangy celestial-blooded wanderer. When asked his name, he has no reply as he can't remember, and so it comes to pass that he is referred to only as 'The Hellborn'.