Archetype-
2008-01-06, 08:18 PM
I guess I should start by saying how I came to this conundrum. See, I've been running a campaign of adventure on the high seas for about a year and a half now. It's the first game I've run, and it's been a surprisingly large success. The party started as a trio of lowly level one PCs (save one who was already multiclassed Rog1/Sor1; I ruled that the player could play the character and start at 1000 XP, but couldn't gain XP until the rest of the party caught up), and after a quick world tour and some furious fighting they now find themselves at seventh level and about to aid in a war effort whilst hunting for a really old shiny thing. As is part of my duty as DM, I've drawn up many concepts to both aid and assail the party. It's come as no surprise that quite a few of these are very tempting to use as a PC in someone else's campaign.
This leaves me with quite a few concepts I'd love to roleplay, but I can only commit to two at most. I figured I'd present my options to you guys and get your opinion on it all. These are the ones that stand out at the moment.
Jorvan Darkcloud: Jorvan is a wizard, sent by his parents (both wealthy merchants) to study at a large and prestigious college of magic. The reason why he was sent away was Jorvan was (and still is) a kid who loved playing outdoors until the weather got so bad he was in real danger of hurting himself, and he had to be escorted to his parent's manor by friendly bystanders. On top of all this, he is essentially an ADHD kid. His parents didn't want to deal with such a kid, so they sent him packing. They hoped that the discipline required to study arcane magic, but ironically it gave Jorvan a means to get closer to poor weather. He's in best spirits when the the wind howls, the rain makes small lakes, and lighting splits the sky. Should I choose him, I'll almost certainly go for the Stormcaster PrC at the earliest opportunity.
Kijalk: Kijalk's background is a lot less clear, mainly because I've not invested nearly as much time and thought in it as Jorvan. I do know that he will be a combat-oriented half-orc bard who wields (and eventually play) a greataxe. Yes, Kijalk will be a heavy metal bard. I know there are those among you who believe a dwarf would make a better heavy metal bard. I know dwarves are more renowned for being masters of shaping steel than the half-orcs, but to me the half-orc fits my mental image of the concept better than a dwarf does. I'd pick one of the bard PrCs from CAd, CAr, or CW for him if I go with this one.
Lo-Kag “Solitaire” Thurukalathi: Lo-Kag is a Goliath ranger who lives in self-imposed exile. Until about half a decade ago, his tribe was living under the tyranny of a red dragon. The wyrm forced the craftsmen of the tribe to make items and weapons (preferably magical) just so it could gather dust in his hoard. He would occasionally venture out to rob some hapless caravan of it's money and any valuable goods or meats it had. It was during one of these forays that the tribe planned to rebel against the dragon. When Big Red came around to collect his tithe, the tribe made their move. It was a bloody fight, but the tribe managed to force the dragon to flee back to his cave. Lo-Kag insisted on pressing the attack, but the elders and more experienced warriors bade him to stay his hand. There were many wounded Goliath that needed healing, and several lay dead. Angered, Lo-Kag grabbed his bow and stormed off to finish the dragon on his own. Unfortunately, the cave the dragon had called home was completely bare when he arrived. The wyrm had fled to find easier subjects rather then risk another fight against a group that could very well kill him.
Should I decide to use him, I'll end up making him a Scout/Ranger multiclass with the whole Swift Hunter-Greater Manyshot deal. I might also pick some feats from Draconomicon geared for dragon hunting.
”Space Marine Chaplain”: Right, this is going to need some clarification. In 40k, Space Marine Chaplains are fierce warrior-priests who fight at the forefront of every battle, their litanies driving his brothers to greater acts of heroism. They often carry a ranged weapon, but it's just so he has something to do until he gets into melee. That's what I'd like this concept to eventually become. As far as I can tell, the best way to do this is to go with the Crusader from Tome of Battle and loading up with Devoted Spirit and White Raven maneuvers and stances.
Garret Haymeadow (Redux): Garret was a halfling rogue of mine from a campaign that eventually went into epic levels. Garret didn't follow the party into epicness due to his lifespan being cut short by a Nightwalker's Finger of Death. I built him as a skill monkey and archer, and I have to say that he was the weakest of the party in combat. We had nowhere to sneak around to, we essentially did a bunch of open field fighting. I've repeatedly been inclined to remake him as a TWF Spellthief.
Kethatril Siannodel (Redux): Ah, Kethatril. He was a nice little gish. I pretty much abused True Strike, Arcane Strike, Leap Attack, and Scorching Ray with him. Last I left him, he was a Ftr2/Abjurer2/Elf Paragon3/Spellsword3/Eldritch Knight6. He was made after Complete Mage was released, and I don't have that book. This means I can't rebuild him with levels in Abjurant Champion because I don't have the book that the PrC is in. He was potent enough as he was, and it was fun telling the DM that this big bad Thayan Knight just took 116 (roughly half of it fire from the Scorching Ray) damage from my leap attack. He only had one downside, and that was a lack of resilience. I prioritised Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence when I made him, and Constitution ended up being his second-lowest stat (actually tied with his Wisdom of 10). Even with Improved Toughness, he only had 97 hit points. He was still a lot of fun to play.
And there we have it. I thank you for reading this sea of text. What do you folks think I should pursue?
Peace out,
- Archetype-
This leaves me with quite a few concepts I'd love to roleplay, but I can only commit to two at most. I figured I'd present my options to you guys and get your opinion on it all. These are the ones that stand out at the moment.
Jorvan Darkcloud: Jorvan is a wizard, sent by his parents (both wealthy merchants) to study at a large and prestigious college of magic. The reason why he was sent away was Jorvan was (and still is) a kid who loved playing outdoors until the weather got so bad he was in real danger of hurting himself, and he had to be escorted to his parent's manor by friendly bystanders. On top of all this, he is essentially an ADHD kid. His parents didn't want to deal with such a kid, so they sent him packing. They hoped that the discipline required to study arcane magic, but ironically it gave Jorvan a means to get closer to poor weather. He's in best spirits when the the wind howls, the rain makes small lakes, and lighting splits the sky. Should I choose him, I'll almost certainly go for the Stormcaster PrC at the earliest opportunity.
Kijalk: Kijalk's background is a lot less clear, mainly because I've not invested nearly as much time and thought in it as Jorvan. I do know that he will be a combat-oriented half-orc bard who wields (and eventually play) a greataxe. Yes, Kijalk will be a heavy metal bard. I know there are those among you who believe a dwarf would make a better heavy metal bard. I know dwarves are more renowned for being masters of shaping steel than the half-orcs, but to me the half-orc fits my mental image of the concept better than a dwarf does. I'd pick one of the bard PrCs from CAd, CAr, or CW for him if I go with this one.
Lo-Kag “Solitaire” Thurukalathi: Lo-Kag is a Goliath ranger who lives in self-imposed exile. Until about half a decade ago, his tribe was living under the tyranny of a red dragon. The wyrm forced the craftsmen of the tribe to make items and weapons (preferably magical) just so it could gather dust in his hoard. He would occasionally venture out to rob some hapless caravan of it's money and any valuable goods or meats it had. It was during one of these forays that the tribe planned to rebel against the dragon. When Big Red came around to collect his tithe, the tribe made their move. It was a bloody fight, but the tribe managed to force the dragon to flee back to his cave. Lo-Kag insisted on pressing the attack, but the elders and more experienced warriors bade him to stay his hand. There were many wounded Goliath that needed healing, and several lay dead. Angered, Lo-Kag grabbed his bow and stormed off to finish the dragon on his own. Unfortunately, the cave the dragon had called home was completely bare when he arrived. The wyrm had fled to find easier subjects rather then risk another fight against a group that could very well kill him.
Should I decide to use him, I'll end up making him a Scout/Ranger multiclass with the whole Swift Hunter-Greater Manyshot deal. I might also pick some feats from Draconomicon geared for dragon hunting.
”Space Marine Chaplain”: Right, this is going to need some clarification. In 40k, Space Marine Chaplains are fierce warrior-priests who fight at the forefront of every battle, their litanies driving his brothers to greater acts of heroism. They often carry a ranged weapon, but it's just so he has something to do until he gets into melee. That's what I'd like this concept to eventually become. As far as I can tell, the best way to do this is to go with the Crusader from Tome of Battle and loading up with Devoted Spirit and White Raven maneuvers and stances.
Garret Haymeadow (Redux): Garret was a halfling rogue of mine from a campaign that eventually went into epic levels. Garret didn't follow the party into epicness due to his lifespan being cut short by a Nightwalker's Finger of Death. I built him as a skill monkey and archer, and I have to say that he was the weakest of the party in combat. We had nowhere to sneak around to, we essentially did a bunch of open field fighting. I've repeatedly been inclined to remake him as a TWF Spellthief.
Kethatril Siannodel (Redux): Ah, Kethatril. He was a nice little gish. I pretty much abused True Strike, Arcane Strike, Leap Attack, and Scorching Ray with him. Last I left him, he was a Ftr2/Abjurer2/Elf Paragon3/Spellsword3/Eldritch Knight6. He was made after Complete Mage was released, and I don't have that book. This means I can't rebuild him with levels in Abjurant Champion because I don't have the book that the PrC is in. He was potent enough as he was, and it was fun telling the DM that this big bad Thayan Knight just took 116 (roughly half of it fire from the Scorching Ray) damage from my leap attack. He only had one downside, and that was a lack of resilience. I prioritised Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence when I made him, and Constitution ended up being his second-lowest stat (actually tied with his Wisdom of 10). Even with Improved Toughness, he only had 97 hit points. He was still a lot of fun to play.
And there we have it. I thank you for reading this sea of text. What do you folks think I should pursue?
Peace out,
- Archetype-