Dunno, I'd have to think about it. I thought you were running with the barbarian/fighter combo, which obviously has feats to spare. But the ranger would offer good skills, of course. And yes, ranger is the favoured class, per (oddly - I found the reference at last) the Players Guide to Eberron.
My initial impulse would probably be to say no, but if you can think of a reasonable feat to put in the place of 2W-Fighting I might relent. Maybe 2W-Defence or something like that. Or the Valenar Blade Bearer (or whatever it is called from Races of Eberron - Dragonmann seems to know these off by heart, so his comments would be welcome). So, to contradict the first sentence in this paragraph, I seem to be talking myself into it. Boy, I'm conflicted....
My initial impulse would probably be to say no, but if you can think of a reasonable feat to put in the place of 2W-Fighting I might relent. Maybe 2W-Defence or something like that. Or the Valenar Blade Bearer (or whatever it is called from Races of Eberron - Dragonmann seems to know these off by heart, so his comments would be welcome). So, to contradict the first sentence in this paragraph, I seem to be talking myself into it. Boy, I'm conflicted....
Yeah, I was actually planning on getting the Bladebearer of Valenar feat in its place but I thought I'd run it by you first. I am still planning to do the barbarian/fighter thing as well, but I need some serious stealth skills to qualify for the Revenant Blade PrC from the Races of Eberron (I was looking over the PrC again today).
The 20-level build will look something like this:
Ftr4/Brb4/Rgr2/Tempest 5/Revenant 5
If ranger is my favored class, I'm still avoiding XP penalties and I need 2 levels of it to get the skills I need to make the PrC happen (I'd probably pick it up around level 13 or 14) since, with an 8 Int, my fighter, barbarian, and tempest skills aren't going to get me what I need even if I spend all my points on cross-class skills every level from here on out.
FWIW, the Bladebearer of Valenar feat is something that I qualified for at first level, so I wouldn't be skirting around anything by picking it up in place of the ranger's TWF. If it's a problem, though, no big deal. I can do without the PrC, but I think it really fits the image I have of the character. As DM, of course, it is entirely your call.
I agree - it is really just a swap between lvl 1 and lvl 2, so it's far from a massive and unwarranted violation of the rules. And I'd encourage you to take the PrC, since it is what your character is about, to some extent - the ancestors are a big part of what Runzyl is. So you can assume you have my formal agreement.
Whether we ever get to lvl 20, on the other hand....
A certain group of people we all seem to know and love put a few alternate Ranger combat styles in one of their magazines a while back. Specifically Dragon 326. Reference available Here, page 100.
And I have to be a real advocate of this argument since, I was hoping to convince you to have a "crossbow" style which would let me tke rapid reload instead of rapid shot...
Honestly, I think developing a Valenar style would not be hard, at a guess feat prgression would be Bladebearer of Valenar, Ride-By-Attack, and Mounted Trample, given their favored fighting style.
"As for Venk, you'll have to talk to the Keeper about him - he was found in an alley a couple of days ago. Nasty business - seemed to have had most of his skin flayed off him. We reckoned it was a deal gone wrong, and seeing as it was Venk we didn't see much point expending too much effort to find out who it was."
Keep this up and the number of corpses we encounter is going to exceed the number of living people we deal with. Of course, if Runzyl had his druthers, that would be the case anyway. :D
Also, thanks for allowing the ranger feat swap. It's not going to happen for about a dozen levels, but I always like to plan ahead.
Hola-
In a flurry of last minute activity I missed my opportunity to post and let you know that I snuck out the back door and into Greece for a while. I'm such an amazing procrastinator that I ended up staying up the last couple days I was in ny without sleep in an attempt to take care of everything I should have done in the last week or so. This isn't the move- more of a vacation. I'm here until the 16th. I'll have limited access as I'll be on a little island for a fair bit of the time. I'm terribly sorry for not letting you know ahead of time- I just kept thinking I was going to have time to post that didn't happen in the end. I'll read up and post when I can from here, but don't wait on me at all until the 16th. Thanks all-
-d
When we end up going shopping: the Heroes Feast sounds like a good idea, Lightbringer will be willing to contribute cash to it (although Im not sure that he would recieve the full benefit?)
Wand of CLW is also a good one, I'll throw in some cash if needs be.
If Ezrael is willing, Lightbringer may also purchase a scroll of repair light damage, for the mage to use on him in emergencies to get him back into the fight if he falls into negatives.
Well, I didn't really plan one to start with - the others have had the originally intended encounter in their spoilers - but I didn't want to disappoint you. And what Sharn adventure is complete without a run-in with the notorious(ly inept/corrupt) Sharn Watch?
As soon as I read your evil laugh in the last post before I logged off last night, I had a sneaking suspicion of who we might find waiting for us ... so went home and read up on my Sharn city laws (which one can know with a DC10 local knowledge check, Lightbringer can make this (just) by Taking 10.)
Seb - I know your schedule is pretty hectic right now. Any idea when you will be able to participate more fully?
Aubrey, I'm sorry, but I think you should write me off. Things have been busier than expected and the light at the end of the tunnel is not yet visible. I'm traveling tomorrow to close a deal and then I've got another two waiting in the wings for when I return. I feel guilty for not posting. I normally hit this place for a few minutes at a time and it takes substantially longer to craft an appropriate post for a pbp. I've got to think about what I say instead of firing off my usual brew of personal attacks and indisputable logic.*
There are people waiting in line to get into your campaign and I don't feel right using up that space when I am posting so infrequently. Maybe if a spot opens up in the fall I can rejoin. Sorry for any trouble and thanks for letting me participate so erratically for so long. It's a great campaign and it deserves an active and engaged player. At the moment, sadly, that player is not me.
Sebastian
*logic may not actually be indisputable
As soon as I read your evil laugh in the last post before I logged off last night, I had a sneaking suspicion of who we might find waiting for us ... so went home and read up on my Sharn city laws (which one can know with a DC10 local knowledge check, Lightbringer can make this (just) by Taking 10.)
I should penalise you xp for cheating.
Nah, you'll die fairly soon anyway.
As soon as I read your evil laugh in the last post before I logged off last night, I had a sneaking suspicion of who we might find waiting for us ... so went home and read up on my Sharn city laws (which one can know with a DC10 local knowledge check, Lightbringer can make this (just) by Taking 10.)I should penalise you xp for cheating.
Nah, you'll die fairly soon anyway.
Cheating! I prefer to call it reconnaissance...
The same way that I prefer to call dying being decommisioned.
Once Lightbringer has whatever answers he can get from the parishioner, (and everyone else is online) his suggestion is that they equip themselves asap, and then storm the tannery in Cliffside, aiming to liberate Erfan and Norn, and capture (or if needs be, kill) Gelb. He is fearful that Erfan may not have much longer.
He would prefer not to wait till morning, but if anyone has a good argument for resting the night, he might be swayed.
Lightbringer will purchase a Sunrod, a Thunderstone, a potion of Repair Light Damage, and a scroll of Repair Light Damage (to give to Ezrael). He will contribute money to a Heroes Feast and a wand of CLW for Nox if necessary.
OK - good choice RP-wise. I would suggest as an "in" that you have been assigned by the Church to track down Brother Erfan, rescue him and punish the miscreants.
It is worth noting that the Church is mildly racist - non-humans tend not to do so well in the hierarchy. This should have no bearing on what race you chose in the end: you can simply be a human, in which case you may display some "interesting" attitudes towards Lightbringer (or not, as feels right) or you can be a non-human, saddled with a fairly crappy assignment to find some minor priest of a piddling shrine in nowhereville.
Also, consider if you are a Thrane or not: most of the party are either Brelanders or not bothered, but Ezreal is a Karrnathi and a graduate of the Rekkenmark, their military academy. These is LOTS of aggro between Thrane and Karrnath, largely around the use of necromancy by Karrnath and the attrocities carried out on Karrnathi soil in the name of the Silver Flame.
It might be quite fun if you are more "career-focussed" than Lightbringer - a nice bit of mild conflict and debate between characters spices up the roleplaying.
In terms of politics, the Church runs Thrane as a theocracy. Because of the flexibility in cleric alignments allowed, there are some very dodgy types in senior positions in the Church: ordinary corrupt politicians who happen, because it is Thrane, to be clerics; froth-at-the-mouth fanatics who carry out attrocities in the name of the Flame; some who believe that the Last War should be started anew so that the Silver Flame can convert the whole of Khorvaire; and plenty of perfectly nice, reasonable types too. The Church in Sharn is run from Sovereign Towers in Upper Central, and as such the authority of the Church is obviously subservient to Brelish law. The senior figures are Thranes, but the rank and file are Brelish.
It is worth remembering that the Silver Flame is a militaristic, crusading organisation. It exists to stamp out evil in what it sees as a continuous and ongoing battle. As a cleric, you are a member of that elite crusading tradition - the parish priests are often experts or maybe adepts, but rarely full-blown clerics unless they are semi-retired or out of favour. So you are an agent of the Church and its representative, not a back-room boy.
It is also worth bearing in mind that there are number of things which the Church of the Silver Flame condemns out-of-hand: necromancy, evil outsiders and lycanthropes. In Thrane, these things would be a one-way ticket to being burned at the stake. Brelish law is different.
I'm not sure if a minor buff for 12 hours is worth the expenditure of 600+gp or not, but if everyone else goes for it, Runzyl will chip in his fair share as well.
The rest of my share is getting saved up for a masterwork double scimitar someday. +1 to hit on every single one of my attacks? Yeah, I like that idea.