Character Concept...

[The Oakenshield]

I will be playing in my first game using ToB soon, and I have been thinking of a character (unsurprisingly).

Here he is:


Ancus Premb, LN Human Crusader

Ancus is a wandering warrior. His self-set purpose in life is to seek out powerful opponents and crush them in single combat. The more prideful the foe, the greater the victory is.After a duel he has been known to kill old rivals, but only if they have committed some great crime against Ancus or in his presence.

He fights in heavy armour, and carries a black shield, with the hands of his greatest opponents, once long standing rivals, now slain, nailed into the front. His favoured weapon is the warhammer. His face is scarred, and his hair dark, long and unkempt. He towers over most men, with a height of almost 7 feet. He is strong and fast, but most who have seen him fight
remember his great, almost unnatural toughness in the face of grievous wounds.

He is not what most would consider an "adventurer" to be, he does not complete quests, loot dungeons, or rescue maidens, he is simply a proud, boastful thrill-seeker. He has been know, however, to join bands of adventurers so he can fight powerful monsters or villains, and make a little money in the process.


What do you think?

I don't really know what maneuvres of feats to take...

Also, what are good prestge classes for this character? I will have access to ToB, CA, CW.


-Edited

[SamsDisciple]

Honestly from your description he is screaaming blackguard, you would have to be evil for that but there are alternative paladins like the paladin of slaughter that could get you there but if you want to not be evil you might need to tone down a few things ex. Hands nailed to your shield...

[Susano-wo]

Chaotic Evil, I'd say, thoug hI might buy neutral. The only thing I'd say is to make sure that he will mesh with the rest of the party. the hands nailed to the front screams psycho, and some players and characters might not even want to party with that guy...aome may even feel the need to fight him

Which is all fine if the group is cool with that...just talk it over with em ^ ^

Also, he said he was doing crusader in the OP, as well as using ToB >.>

[Ravens_Wing]

Yeah the severed hands on the shield does kinda scream Evil. If you wanted to make him more socially acceptable I would suggest perhaps collecting a scrap of fabric off his fallen foes, or a locket of hair. Something that could show that they were defeated but not necessarily dead...

Also depending on how into role playing a character you are you might find issue with the fact that most combats require group efforts and also the fact that most parties go on quests as adventurers. If thats not what your character is into then you need to find a reason for him to be with the party.

As for Feats from that description I would suggest Endurance and Die Hard. At the very least. Then possibly into the Power Attack Tree to get Improved Sunder.

[Marnath]

Crusaders aren't allowed to be neutral.....this guy sounds chaotic evil anyway.

[Escheton]

True neutral. He cares for nothing but the challenge. Though because he has to actually have beliefs CN.
He doesnt seem like the type of person that groups. Unless it caters to his needs specifically. So it might be hard to fit him into the champaign, whatever it might be.

[KillianHawkeye]

Yeah, a Crusader can't be Neutral. Also, I fail to see how fighting the strongest opponents you can find counts as a "cause to follow", although that may not be strictly necessary depending on whether or not your DM thinks that part is purely fluff or not.


As for maneuvers/stances (and assuming you're starting at Level 1 since you didn't say), Crusader's Strike, Stone Bones, and/or the Martial Spirit stance are good for keeping you on your feet. Beyond that it depends on how much of a team player you want to be.

[mucat]

True neutral. He cares for nothing but the challenge. Though because he has to actually have beliefs CN.
He doesnt seem like the type of person that groups. Unless it caters to his needs specifically. So it might be hard to fit him into the champaign, whatever it might be.

Nonsense. If he seeks out opponents solely for the challenge they present (and not because they have committed any wrong against him or anyone), and kills them, then he's thoroughly evil. Though if most of his challenge fights are only for bragging rights, and do not leave his opponents dead or crippled, then neutral could work. (Which means the guy with the hands was an exceptional case, and there was some legitimate reason to kill him beyond just "to show I was stronger than him.")

For the most part, I would not want to play alongside this character, even in an evil campaign. He sounds like a self-absorbed attention hog who would add nothing of interest to a campaign. (As a villain, he could be fun, but not as a party member.)

[Susano-wo]

the evil part hinges on whether he accepts refusals, really. IF he kills em anyway, evil, if he grumbles and moves to the next chalenge, neutral

[KillianHawkeye]

Nonsense. If he seeks out opponents solely for the challenge they present (and not because they have committed any wrong against him or anyone), and kills them, then he's thoroughly evil.

I have to agree with this part entirely. It's basically the same motivation as Akuma from Street Fighter. At least, according to the backstory from the Street Fighter Alpha series, Akuma never fought anyone who wasn't a worthy challenge, but he always fought to the death and never showed mercy to an opponent.

[Godskook]

Chaotic? The guy sounds like Zoro from One Piece(except for the hands on shield part). Screams lawful to me, but more honestly, the description is *VERY* lacking in alignment-specific tendencies. Does he:

-Kill all challengers, regardless of their personal desire to live instead of die fighting?
---This would indicate very much if he were more good or evil in my mind.
-Respect local law as concerns dueling? Some places allow it, others don't, and some have restrictions as to how you go about it.
---Indicates his respect of law or embrace of anarchy.
-Does distinguish between antagonistic opponents and innocents?
---Another good/evil question

And why(and under what conditions) does he take the trophies? This could easily swing his alignment quite a bit depending on your answer.

[The Oakenshield]

I did not picture him as killing all challengers, he might one and awhile, especially those that try to kill him.

I might actually use him as a villain in one my adventures...

As a character though, is CN the best option?


Thanks for all the replies so far!

[Runestar]

He screams more warblade than crusader. A straight warblade with an emphasis on diamond mind and iron heart (maneuvers which model "pure skill!" should suit your needs.

Reminds me of a character in the Fung-Yun (wind and cloud) comics - Huang Ying (Royal Shadow). After surviving an encounter with bandits, he took to the sword because he felt it would protect him better than all his wealth. He would later acquire a sword (lonely shadow), and in order to "bond" with it, forsook all his wealth and family.

He constantly seeks strong opponents to fight to test and improve his skills. He isn't really evil (in the sense that all he is interested in is fighting), but he has no qualms about killing his opponents (so long as it is part of a fair fight). He also has a strong sense of honour and his own set of ethics (eg: won't kill more than 1 person each day, never breaks a promise, especially to those who can earn his deep respect etc).

I would peg your character at LN. He may be brutal in combat, but he is no mass murderer.

[Escheton]

He would make a good sword for hire. That has an additional demand besides just the cash. That he can face worthy opponents. If not, he might come back to "challenge" the contractor.
If the party tends to get in trouble a lot, specifically with powerfull foes he might relish in sticking around them. Possibly even opening up now and then after a particularly glorious fight. Or when he has lost, or gained a life-debt from any of the members.

[d13]

Actually, by the description, it seems more like a Warblade with Heavy Armor Proficiency

Mostly by this part:

Ancus is a wandering warrior.
His self-set purpose in life
is to seek out powerful opponents and crush them in single combat.
The more prideful the foe, the greater the victory is.

And yeah... Nailing someone's hand to your shield, screams evil to me. Not particularly Lawful/Neutral/Chaotic, but evil xD

[Grendus]

That's not a crusader. Crusaders are the ToB paladins, they're holy warriors who use maneuvers rather than poorly scaling smites. They fight for a cause, not because they can, and while they can be evil they still serve the cause of some god. If you want to fight only for your own power, that's a warblade. And it sounds like an evil one to boot, maybe chaotic evil, maaaaaaybe chaotic neutral (if, for example, he only killed people who he felt challenged him and gave them time to prepare rather than just killing them for the thrill of it).

[prufock]

I have a hard time imagining him in a traditional party. After all, most of the time the most powerful and prideful warriors in a given time and place are the PCs.

[The Oakenshield]

Aren't crusaders simply devoted to a cause, not necessarily a god?

Anyways, there have been suggestions for LN, CN, and CE...

I'm still undecided.

[cattoy]

Should rename him Leroy Jenkins.

[The Oakenshield]

Edited OP with new ideas.

[The Oakenshield]

I do seriously need help with the manoeuvres and PrCs. Don't think his entire fighting style is based on endurance, that was more for fluff...


Thanks,

[The Oakenshield]

Nothing?

Not interested?

[Runestar]

What lv are you starting? Your basic stub would be warblade1/fighter2/warblade+X.

If 1st lv, here's a sample list. Assuming 28 point buy, str/dex/con/int all 14, wis10, cha10. Skills - choose 7 to max out (assuming human).

1) steel wind (for hitting multiple foes), sapphire nightmare blade (a bit of extra damage), moment of precise mind (to compensate for poor will saves), punishing stance (extra damage).

2-3) take 2 lvs of fighter for heavy armour prof and bonus feats.

4-5) quite a few good ones to choose. Mountain hammer/emerald razor for more damage, wall of blades/action before thought for defense.

6-7) Swap out SNB. Bonecrushor or insightful strike to keep up your DPR, iron heart surge or mind over body for more defense. Pearl of doubt or absolute steel stance.

Depending on when you expect your campaign to end, you may want to start considering splashing 1-2 lvs in swordsage for more maneuvers, then prc'ing into master of nine.

[The Oakenshield]

Starting at 8th level.

Is Fighter/Warbalde superiors to Crusader?