So I am trying to think up some ideas for a group of NPCs that would be a recurring theme in one of my games. The game is set in Sigil (Planescape), so there can literally be any race/class combo you can think of.
The purpose of said group would be to hunt fiends and undead for profit. I am leaning towards them being neutral-oriented with the usual variations. I figure the breakdown would be something like this:
A paladin type (but hopefully a more neutral version)
A clerical type (or a good PrC dealing with undead)
An arcanist of some stripe
A 'gadget man' possibly a magewright type of character
A couple of skirmishers, with a concentration on fiend/undead execution.
I have pretty much every WotC 3E book and all the relevant PF ones. Can anyone suggest good PrCs/classes for a party like this 8-10th level? And any good magic items dealing with it?
So I am trying to think up some ideas for a group of NPCs that would be a recurring theme in one of my games. The game is set in Sigil (Planescape), so there can literally be any race/class combo you can think of.
The purpose of said group would be to hunt fiends and undead for profit. I am leaning towards them being neutral-oriented with the usual variations. I figure the breakdown would be something like this:
A paladin type (but hopefully a more neutral version)
A clerical type (or a good PrC dealing with undead)
An arcanist of some stripe
A 'gadget man' possibly a magewright type of character
A couple of skirmishers, with a concentration on fiend/undead execution.I have pretty much every WotC 3E book and all the relevant PF ones. Can anyone suggest good PrCs/classes for a party like this 8-10th level? And any good magic items dealing with it?
I would recomend a ranger who's favored enemy is undead. Also you could try to incorpret the bracer's of dawn, a 3.5 item
Err this wouldn't be the silver rose Pbp game would it? If not then I would be happy to provide a few ideas. (Not sure it is wise or fair of me to be suggesting Npc ideas for a game I may be playing in.)
Yeah, it's Silver Rose. I need some ideas for the Black Tears story seed I dropped in.
I would recomend a ranger who's favored enemy is undead. Also you could try to incorpret the bracer's of dawn, a 3.5 item
Thanks for the ideas Ross, I'll loook up those bracers.
Say, anyone remember a class detailed in Dragon called the Fiend Slayer? It seems to be a 3.0 thing, I was wondering if anyone ever did a 3.5 rewrite, or what would be needed to bring it up to PFRPG code.
EDIT: Looks like it was in Dragon #287
You could give an Inquisitor from the advanced player guide Beta a shot.
Good idea, I really haven't checked that guy out yet ...
You could give an Inquisitor from the advanced player guide Beta a shot.Good idea, I really haven't checked that guy out yet ...
you should, it makes a great (flavor and mechanics) monster hunter, and given its an agent of a church, lots of reason for it to be going after undead. Also makes a good pair with a cleric.
I also liked the archavist from heroes of horror. A divine caster that is studious particularly of monsters and other enemies makes alot of sense as an undead hunter, though obviously a traditional cleric works well, this might add a little flair to your NPC group.
You may want to look at the unearthed arcana paladin variants for your
'paladin'. After all normal paladins are as far from 'neutral' as you can get. I dont think any of the variants are directly useful to you, but they can give you an idea of what changes to make.
For undead hunter, I also was fond of a ranger/3.5 scout mix with the swift tracker feat (its in complete scoundrel i think) at allows some stacking between the 2 classes and allows skirmish to damage favored enemies normally immune to it (though I am not certain if undead would be immune to skirmish anymore). I just happened to enjoy the mix in an undead themed game, so I recommend it. If the players arent used to scouts it again will add an unexpected bit to this NPC party.
You could give an Inquisitor from the advanced player guide Beta a shot.Good idea, I really haven't checked that guy out yet ...you should, it makes a great (flavor and mechanics) monster hunter, and given its an agent of a church, lots of reason for it to be going after undead. Also makes a good pair with a cleric.
I also liked the archavist from heroes of horror. A divine caster that is studious particularly of monsters and other enemies makes alot of sense as an undead hunter, though obviously a traditional cleric works well, this might add a little flair to your NPC group.
You may want to look at the unearthed arcana paladin variants for your
'paladin'. After all normal paladins are as far from 'neutral' as you can get. I dont think any of the variants are directly useful to you, but they can give you an idea of what changes to make.For undead hunter, I also was fond of a ranger/3.5 scout mix with the swift tracker feat (its in complete scoundrel i think) at allows some stacking between the 2 classes and allows skirmish to damage favored enemies normally immune to it (though I am not certain if undead would be immune to skirmish anymore). I just happened to enjoy the mix in an undead themed game, so I recommend it. If the players arent used to scouts it again will add an unexpected bit to this NPC party.
Thanks Kolokotroni! I had forgotten the Archivist from Heroes of Horror. That'll be good for my 'Giles' analog ...
I had fogotten the variant paladins, I'll pull my UA out too.
Great stuff, thanks!
Are these guys villians and foils or a living world party?
Are these guys villians and foils or a living world party?
They are a neutral-oriented party that could either be competitors or allies dependent on the situation. I have had a hankering to develop the Catacombs of Sigil in my PbP, and these folks could provide a lot of plot intros.
That and I want to put together a Sigilian-based 'Buffy and the Scoobies' crew.
There was a prestige class in on of the complete books (complete adventurer I want to say) along the lines of "hunter of undead." I played a paladin/ranger/hunter of undead once in a pretty heavily undead campaign and it was a lot of fun. One of the prerequisites for the PrC was that you had to have died, made for interesting role palying.
Thanks Kane, I'll try and find it. I do need some muscle in this group :)
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If I may make some suggestions...
Radiant Servant of Pelor(or other sun deity)
Temple Raider of Olidammara(or similar diety)
Complete Scoundrel
Gray Guard(for your pally type)
Spellwarp Sniper(the arcane hitman)
Complete Adventurer
Ninjas and Scouts(skirmishers)
Streetfighter(skirmisher)
Tempest
Complete Arcane
Wild Mage
Warmage
Warlock
Savage Species
Master of Flies
Survivor
Dragon Magic
Dragonfire Adept
Swift Wing(undead slayer)
Complete Warrior
Swashbuckler
Hunter of the Dead
Libris Mortis
Sacred Purifier
Master of Radiance
The Book of Exalted Deeds
Sword of the Righteoesness
Alternatively, if you want the paladin to be a bit more morally ambiguous, you can always take a level or two of Gray Guard from Complete Scoundrel. (Eases up on the code of conduct a bit and makes it cheaper to become a paladin again, among other things.)
As for the gadgeteer, I can't recommend anything else but the Artificer.
For the divine caster, yeah, I second the Archivist. Beyond this, I can only hope that I won't have to stab any of them in the back.
Alternatively, if you want the paladin to be a bit more morally ambiguous, you can always take a level or two of Gray Guard from Complete Scoundrel. (Eases up on the code of conduct a bit and makes it cheaper to become a paladin again, among other things.)
As for the gadgeteer, I can't recommend anything else but the Artificer.
For the divine caster, yeah, I second the Archivist. Beyond this, I can only hope that I won't have to stab any of them in the back.
Maybe I'll toss a rogue into the mix as a foil for the ever-surly Mr. Swire :P
If I may make some suggestions...
** spoiler omitted **
FAntastic suggestions Db3! A masterful list
Hmm, I have some reading to do ...