Add a single line of physical description and Kessa is accepted, and you can proceed to the discussion thread. Unlike normal recruitment I'm not waiting for a specific date when choosing; the first four good applications are in.
Okay, I wish to present an idea to you just to see if you would allow it or not. I completely understand if you don't want to allow it, but I thought that I might as well go ahead and ask.
There's a third party book known as Noble Wild, and I was wondering if you would allow me to play a creature from the book. The book details how to play an awakened animal as a balanced character. It gives racial stats for many animals commonly seen in Pathfinder adventures, meaning that the creature can be played as a PC. I found that d20pfsrd actually had a page on the supplement, if you wish to take a gander at what I speak of.
I'd be playing the animal on the basis that it was an awakened performance animal kept by a theatre troop, and took on the roles of wild beasts, pets, or companion animals in the shows, depending on which species I pick. I was thinking that a civilization of intellect devourers would find an animal with human-like intelligence to be quite the interesting specimen indeed.
As for the size threshold rule that allows an animal to become a size category larger once it reaches a certain number of hit dice, I'd remove it entirely just to keep things balanced.
Edit: Keep in mind that the higher ability scores are offset by the fact that animals cannot use weapons.
Hrm. I've two concerns, one fluff and one crunch.
Fluffwise, I'd rather not add talking animals to my game world. On the other hand, I dislike races that aren't grounded in the setting nicely. Off the top of my head, I'd allow it on the condition that you play an awakened animal- a former druid Animal Companion or maybe some random animal that a druid Awakened in gratitude for helping them.
Crunchwise, off the top of my head I can see a few possibilities for doing broken things; free natural attacks, different sizes and the like are fruitful ground. So no approval until you give me some idea of the build you'd want to go; class choice, feat choice, etc. I'm not saying don't synergize your class with your race, just don't take ragelancepounce to a whole new level or the like.
Thanks for the consideration! I'll mention a few things here.
-The animal that I will play cannot speak languages other that equine, canine, feline, etc, though it can learn to understand languages with linguistics. Trust me, it feels as messed up to you as it does to me when animals start spontaneously talking. Other changes have been made to certain skills; slight of hand is able to be used with one's jaw, and ride being the ability to allow someone to ride the character.
-I'll avoid picking an animal with a size category larger than medium.
-I'll avoid choosing a class that gains a companion of any sort, whether that be a familiar, animal, eidolon, etc. It just feels weird.
-I'll avoid stupid broken pounce shenanigans and other obviously broken combos.
I'm only saying this for your current reference. I will continue to provide character information as I continue to build, and I understand if the whole animal schtick makes it more difficult for me to get in.
It'd be nice if you could pick a class early, nothing much else. Fine with a non-animal companion; Improved Familiar, Eidolon, etc.
Hmm, I'm thinking of going with a cat that is either a wizard or a witch. The character would probably neutral or neutral good. Here's what I'm thinking as a character concept:
In the heart of a large city stands the heart of its culture: a theatre. Throughout the ages, theatre has been used as propaganda, as entertainment, as a medium to discuss the world's ethics, and a way to remember and recapture societies long gone- perhaps that is why Millie chose to live out her days in the back of a playhouse. Millie's reasons for choosing to take up residence in a theatre are all but a mystery to the actors who spend their days on the particular stage, but none of them can deny that Millie has made their performances even more popular.
Millie herself is an unknown force within the theatre. The actors noticed a cat nesting in the back of the house, and one of them had the "bright" idea to use the stray in their upcoming performance, whether the cat wanted to participate or not. The human had dealt with animals in a theatre before, having trained a dog to serve as a companion in a play, and decided to train the cat as a new challenge. The cat reacted oddly well to the training, and quickly became a regular cast member of the theatre's productions. What none of the actors knew, however, was that the cat itself was as intelligent as they were- maybe even more so. The cat, who quickly became known as Millie, had been awakened months before simply by being at the right place at the right time. An urban druid had needed to gather secret information, and awakened a cat to sneak into a building and grab the parchment documents for him. Millie complied with the order simply because of the initial servitude required by the spell. After gathering the papers in her mouth and delivering them to the druid, Millie was a newly intelligent animal left to her own devices.
Still being as curious as a normal cat and not knowing what to do with her newfound consciousness, Millie decided to try observing the humanoids in her city to understand what intelligence was all about. Her quest for answers brought her to that fateful theatre, where she has resided ever since.
(It's late. I've got Millie's personality in mind, but I need sleep before I write any more. I'd love to hear what you think of the concept and class ideas so far!)
Two thoughts. Firstly, the cat should have been awakened for longer; level six is quite a bit to achieve suddenly. Probably have ended up in the production after quite some time. Secondly, I'd like it if the party knew you were intelligent and were friends with you. Also, preferably, if you being an intelligent part of the cast was publicly known. Up to you on that bit.
More physical description.
*facepalms*
I feel quite silly now. Leave it to my sleep-deprived brain to completely forget about the whole level six thing. Easy fix, though; months should be years.
As for the intelligence being known by others... Let me write my personality bit and rewrite some of the backstory, and it'll work in there easily.
---------------------------
Millie, though awakened, still carries many cat-like qualities, the most prominent ones being her boundless curiosity and her need to be amused. When she first nested in the theatre, these traits manifested themselves as an obsessive need to observe the actors. One in particular intrigued her, however: the wizard. This old actor rarely had major roles on the stage, mostly staying in the theatre's wings and creating special effects. Something about Millie's lack of ability to comprehend the magic drew her to it. The mystery of what the strange sounds uttered from the wizard'so mouth did, and how they did it, drew Millie to constantly, day after day, meow, gesture with her paws, and sometimes even draw her own blood in attempt to harness the mysterious arcane magic. Try as she might, she could not emulate the spells cast by the wizard.
In time, her hopes of casting magic shriveled and she succumbed to a cat's worst nightmare: boredom. It was then that she began to seek attention from the cast members. Millie occasionally started trotting onto the stage during their practices and realized that the movements and lines practiced by the humanoids told a story. Thus, Millie decided that if she were to have the attention that she so desired, she would have to work herself into that story.
While she never truly understood what sort of odd tale the actors were trying to tell, her persistance was rewarded when the wizard thought that it might be interesting to train the cat and work it into the show. It seemed to be comfortable enough around the humans to comply. Millie herself was quite proud when the man began to pick her up and plop her down in scenes, and the actors were quite surprised when she seemed to understand where to be on the stage at which times. The end product of the performance only benefited by Millie's participation in it. News of the "trained" cat circulated around the city, drawing in larger crowds and boosting the theatre's popularity.
--------------------------
Magic finally came to Millie in the form of a tragedy for the theatre's crew. In the the resident wizard's old age, his reflexes were nowhere as good as they were in his youth. When testing one of his more powerful spells as an effect during a rehearsal, he ended up toppling a large metal prop right onto himself. The impact on his brittle skull killed him instantly.
The entire episode shocked the cast. Several of the cast members immediately went to find help in properly gathering the old man's body and preparing the twisted carcass for burial, while another went to notify the man's daughter. The rest of the crew found themselves in a state of stock by the bloody scene, and either left for home or a temple in order to seek spiritual guidance in accepting what they had just witnessed. In any case, Millie found herself alone, staring at the corpse in horror before carefully approaching the mangled body. She never knew what drove her to approach the poor wizard, but later on guessed that some sort of magic was left behind in his body even after his soul had departed. All that she knew was that some sort of force was present in his eye. Something compelled her to stare into its depths, as if it were still very much alive.
It was. In a way.
Mere seconds after she saw the eye, she heard an explosive boom, as if a spell had misfired, and saw a metal bar hurling through the air at breakneck speeds toward her head. A sharp, mind numbing pain was all that she felt before realizing that she wasn't dead. She was still on her feet, staring at the now twitching eye.
The eye then fell out of the wizard's skull. Blood vessels trailed behind it, first laying limp and then curling up from their place on the floor, forming tiny, alien wings. Millie stood, frozen in her place on the floor, as the eye flapped its wings toward her, and shivered as she felt it brush against her shoulder. In that moment, a tingling sensation coursed through her body, magic flooding through her veins and into the tips of her paws. The magic that had been stored in the wizard's body would not be wasted; instead transferred to the nearest possible recipient, as though on its own accord, the magic decided that it was not yet ready to fade.
The god forsaken isitoq had made Millie its master. Without her consent, Millie had been turned into a witch.
-------------------------
Despite the fact that Millie didn't even know that she was considered a witch by name, she quickly became adept at manipulating objects with mage hand and practicing the few spells that she intuitively knew how to cast. Somehow, the magic itself was a guidebook in her mind for practicing spells, and her grotesque of a familiar was happy to store her spells within its essence.
Millie used the spells solely for her amusement at first. Her usage of the spells began by telekinetically shifting objects and purring slightly at the sight of the actors finding their belongings a few feet away from where they'd initially set them down. Trickery and little pranks was her true loves. Millie was so inconspicuous that it took the actors several months to realize that the cat herself was the creature haunting the theatre. Then it hit them- they were dealing with an intelligent animal. Not just smart, but capable of rational thought. The moment that they realized this, their entire relationship with Millie changed. She was no longer just a cat, but an integral actor in their shows.
The maneuvers that Millie began to pull off in shows were impressive, so say the least, once the crew realized that Millie could comprehend their wishes- not in Common, yet, but in a process of them demonstrating with gestures and expressions what they wished for Millie to do. They began using words when communicating with Millie, and she started to pick up a very rudimentary understanding of what the humanoids met when they made certain patterns of sound.
All the while, Millie's familiar remained hidden in the shadows of the theatre, watching from nooks and crannies and waiting for the humanoids to leave the building for the night so that it might come out and commune with Millie, and working to further establish their link. As years went by, not only did Millie's relationship with her fellow performers grow, but her understanding of magic as well. Her spell casting replaced the wizard's casting. Incidentally, he was the man who had offered her a place on the stage in the first place, as well as the one who had unintentionally given her the gift of the magic that she so desired.
Maybe the strange floating eye of a familiar was more than just a simple link between Millie and magic, but a link between Millie and the wizard as well. Those, however, are questions better saved for a later time. As play begins, Millie is perfectly content in her little theatre in the heart of the city.
To the theatre going members of the community, Millie is a widely debated specimen. She is obviously more intelligent than the average cat, but how much so is a different question entirely. Some think that she is a familiar herself. Some think that she is impeccably trained. The actors would never reveal the truth, for the debate that it causes continues to drive business their way, and would so until Millie dissapears at the start of the adventure.
Hmm.
-I'd prefer it if the wizard is a witch, to better explain why you'd become one after contact with the Isitoq.
-Being a witch involves making a pact with an unknown power; I'd like it if the Isitoq made contact and asked what you wanted, along with a little of the intelligence necessary to answer that question. Maybe you always wanted to be human etc, something that would make you want to become a witch.
-As a witch you should be quite intelligent, a long process of 'learning to associate certain sounds with actions' seems odd when it would be just allocating a single skill point into linguistics at levelup.
-Again you're level 6, unless you're specifically inheriting levels from the witch it'd be nice if you hadn't spent your entire life in the theatre, if you'd spent some time off adventuring/doing other XP-intensive stuff.
-Wouldn't mind if you were more intelligent and more friendly with the party than smart-cat. Otherwise could be hard to tie you into things.
-I guess I'll try and be clear; I'm hesitant about allowing a smart cat into the game. I'd be much happier to allow a person who has cat-form into the game. I'd suggest taking the point after you became intelligent, and writing it as if you were a normal PC.
Okay!
I gave it a shot, and totally understand that you aren't on board with the concept. I'll work on creating a human/other core race character from now on, and develop it instead!
No no, I think you misunderstand. I'm cool with you wanting to play a Noble Animal. I'd just prefer if your character's personality and backwstory was more like a normal person.
Hmm; is this recruitment still going? Could actually be fun, I enjoy performance-focused characters.
Currently we only have one accepted; first four good applications are in.
Alright... thinking maybe a Halfling or Gnome Telekineticist. Would get a bunch of cool theatricality powers, and also be the ultimate juggler. Will do some crunch later.
EDIT: Got the basics down. Do you anticipate this campaign involving any/much leveling? (looks like I can't actually get at-will invisibility until level 7, which is a shame because that's definitely a great acting trick)
Sorry for my misconstruing of your statement; I guess I just misunderstood the whole "person with a cat form" thing.
I shall continue with the challenge of making the perfect cat-PC.
In fact, I'm actually reconsidering the entire method of gaining intelligence now. What if the cat itself once served as a witch's familiar, but grew obsessed with taking its master's place as a witch when its master died?
Works.
The limp body of a human woman clad in a utilitarian robe and a humble shawl lay on the intricately chiseled steps of a great temple. All around the scene loomed log houses of thatched roofs, some glowing with the tranquil lights of candles and others lit only by the moon and stars twinkling from their places in the neverending void of space. The gentle breezes meandering through tree branches would have made the night feel perfectly serene- would have, if not for the handle of a knife puncturing a woman's shawl and robes and shirt and skin. The night would have been serene to a blind man, if not for the screams and hisses echoing from the temple square and into the night. Serene to a deaf man if not for the streams of red leaking down sacred stairs and onto a stone street.
The body, however, was not alone. Crouching next to the woman's head sat a ginger cat with a soft, white underbelly, its eyes wide with horror and its mouth hanging slack jawed. Several steps above both the woman and the cat stood the regal form of an inquisitor. His left hand was raised toward the heavens and his right was placed over his armored chest, right over his heart. His head was bowed in a silent prayer. Moments later, four short words escaped his lips; words that would be engraved into the cat's memory for years to come.
"Justice has been served."
With that, he spun on his heels and paced toward the temple's doors, ready to begin preparations for the old woman's burial. The cat was left alone for a few precious minutes, during which it spent its time rubbing its fluffy head against its master's cold cheek.
All of a sudden, it ceased its repetitive movements and stared intently at its master's face as if pondering a decision. In a voice no different than a meow to a human onlooker, the cat addressed its fallen master and friend for the final time.
"I shall carry on your work, my sister; make your time all worth while. Though your own time in this world has come to an end, I shall carry on in your name. Protect me, master; protect me, spirits of old."
The cat placed a tentative paw on its master's forehead, and heaved in a deep breath.
"I don't know if your soul has departed yet, my friend." Its feline voice quavered. "But if you have any time left to spare in this world of the living, please, I beg of you, watch over me!"
With that, the cat unsheathed its claws and ripped its master's eye from its socket. Before the eye could be damaged, the cat set it carefully upon the ground and muttered a sacred oath of old from beneath its breath. With a purple light and a pop, the eye's veins turned to vestigial wings, and it rose into the air of its own accord, as if pulled by a string.
"I shall keep you safe, master, if you only show me how."
The cat and the floating eye set off, side by side, into the night.
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I couldn't sleep, so I thought I might as well go ahead and write the first part of the cat's backstory. This will be the only written scene; the rest will be written more in the form of an explanation. Feel free to share any comments you might have about what I've written so far!
Alright, some blurbs.
Sly Rosco
Halfling Kineticist 6
CG (Desna)
With time, Rosco became an accomplished juggler and stage magician. With his growing telekinetic strengths, he could perform feats that defied explanation, all while lacking the obvious and ostentatious spellcasting or alchemy of many of Varisia’s magicians. Where he traveled, he went alone, leaving behind the family life of petty crime he had gradually become uncomfortable with. While never a celebrity, “Sly Rosco” earned a decent living in the cities he visited, affording his own horse, fine clothing, and a finer lifestyle than his profession should have accustomed to.
And, of course, that’s where things went South. Varisia is full of entrances to the Darklands, and while the solitary Rosco may have been a match for a few disorganized bandits, he could put up no fight against the organized raiders who caught him. But his skills were impressive and unique, valuable as a captive to those Darklanders who valued unique and psychic talents.
Rosco has served the Devourers of Ilvarandin longer than anyone else in the Theater of the Mind, surviving through a sort of Scheherazade story. So far, he has been inventive in his illusions, practicing on nights and holidays in an endless quest to keep his captors too amused to kill him. So far, desperation has been a powerful teacher for his developing powers, and he’s learned greater tricks than he ever knew on the surface—tossing huge boulders through the air, turning invisible while continuing to move objects about, and even juggling audience volunteers. But he’s quite aware that he’ll only be able to keep up this case for so much longer.
Character role:
-Scout/skills. Can turn invisible at will, move extremely large objects with his mind, and disable traps.
-Less optimized for combat, but can throw enemies at each other or knock them prone with reasonable effectiveness
Str 7
Dex 20 (24)
Con 15 (19)
Int 12
Wis 12
Cha 12
Defenses:
HP: 72 (6d8+24 Con) -18 burn + 12 temporary (force ward at 3 burn; regenerates 2/minute)
AC: 25 (Armor +5, Dex +7, Shield +2, Size +1), T: 18, FF: 18
Fort +11, Ref +14, Will +7
CMD 18
Offenses:
Init +7, Speed 30'
BAB: +4, CMB: +1, Blast CMB: +7
Telekinetic Blast, +14 to hit (3d6+11 damage)
(not including Point-Blank or Enlarge)
Foe throw, Fort DC 20
Feats:
-Point-Blank Shot (1)
-Precise Shot (3)
-Iron Will (5)
Traits:
Trap Finder
Well-Informed (+1 Diplo/Bluff/Intim when well-dressed, Diplo as class skill)
Wealth:
-16k gp
+1 Darkleaf Studded Leather Armor and Kilt (2.62k)
+1 Darkwood Buckler (1.21k)
Belt of Dex/Con +2 (10k)
Cloak of Resistance +1 (1k)
Various masterwork tools
Quick Runner’s Shirt (1k)
Languages:
-Common
-Halfling
-Undercommon
Skills:
*Denotes class skill
36 points (6 Int, 24 Kineticist, 6 favored)
*Acrobatics +12 (1 point)
*Bluff +9 (4 points, +1 trait)
Craft (alchemy) +7 (1 points, +2 masterwork, +2 racial)
*Diplomacy +7 (2 points, +1 trait)
*Disable Device +19 (6 points, +1 trait, +2 masterwork)
*Intimitade +6 (1 rank, +1 trait)
*Knowledge (engineering) +5 (1 point)
Knowledge (local) +2 (1 point, +1 trait)
*Perception +12 (6 points, +2 racial)
Perform (oratory) +3 (2 points)
*Sleight of Hand +16 (6 points)
*Stealth +30 (6 points, +4 size, +10 telekinetic invisibility)
*Survival
*Swim
*Use Magic Device
Racial:
Fleet of Foot (30’ speed)
Fey Thoughts: Perception, Bluff as class skills
Halfling Luck: +1 to all saves
Keen Senses: +2 Perception
Overwhelming Soul:
Internal Buffer 1
Elemental Overflow (+1/+2 per burn with kinetic blasts) (maximum level/3)
Gather Power
Elemental Focus: Aether
Infusion Specialization 1 (reduce cost)
Metakinesis (Empower, cost 1)
Elemental Defense (Force Ward, temporary HP)
Infusions:
-Extended Range (Universal, 1, 1), can extend range to 120’ (1)
-Bowling Infusion (Aether, 2, 2), can make free trip attempts on enemies hit (3)
-Foe Throw (Aether, 3, 2), Fort DC 13+Dex, save or be thrown into second enemy within 30’ and fall prone (5)
Utility Wild Talents:
-Basic Telekinesis (Aether, 0, 0), Mage Hand (10 lbs) (2)
-Telekinetic Haul (Aether, 2, 0), Mage Hand increases to 600 lbs, can throw heavy objects (4)
-Telekinetic Invisibility (Aether, 3, 0), Invisibility at-will, half bonus (6)
Kinetic Blasts:
-Telekinetic Blast (Simple, Aether, 0), 3d6+3 (25 lb object, it gets damaged too) (can throw weapons with Cha)
Liking the story. But going to need two changes. Firstly, level 6 is quite high I wouldn't mind you writing in Rosco having some combat experience; getting sucked into a quest or part of an AP, some time in some faction battling against a threat, etc. Secondly, your story is incompatible with the start of the campaign. As mentioned before, the party will be friends and working together occasionally on a theatre troupe in Absalom. The game will start an hour after you all get subdued and captured by drow and put on the road to High Ilvarandin. While I can see the benefits of having a PC be already established 'down there', I imagine the descent-part taking some time and being a big part of the party getting to know eachother as a party, so I'd rather you didn't miss that.
Got it! I was unsure of that part, so I'll change where he got the last few levels and follow up.
Hey, Kessa; thanks for the offer.
Currently, I have no idea what the final product of this character is going to look like; I have already gone through so many revisions to the concept. I'll think about the offer, though, and would probably end up trying to appear to be a "normal" cat sometimes anyway. I'm planning, gameplay-wise, to communicate using gestures, body language, and may attempt to dip my paw in ink now and then to "draw" a crude picture of a message that I'm trying to communicate. I may get some spells or abilities that will allow me to use telepathy occasionally, though would send you pictures instead of words.
This little cat's very smart, and will think of some creative way to communicate with you all no matter what the situation.
Unless, of course, one of the characters has the ability to speak to animals. Otherwise, a cat's mouth simply isn't shaped properly to make the sounds that would create an English sentence.
Edit: I should probably also mention that if this iteration of my character gets a passing grade, that it's great that you serve Shelyn and not Iomedae. It was an inquisitor of Iomedae that killed the cat's master, after all. But more on that once I get to writing the backstory...
Alright,
Like many of Varisia’s entertainers, Rosco was born to a large, traveling family, learning stage tricks, acrobatics, and a few canny knacks. Small and quick, his role in the family often involved working crowds, picking pockets and breaking into other wagons while a town’s audience was occupied. But eventually, as he reached adulthood, Rosco found real talent; a psychic knack stronger than anyone else in the family, letting him move and adjust the courses of objects with a thought and a gesture.
With time, Rosco became an accomplished juggler and stage magician. With his growing telekinetic strengths, he could perform feats that defied explanation, all while lacking the obvious and ostentatious spellcasting or alchemy of many of Varisia’s magicians. Where he traveled, he went alone, leaving behind the family life of petty crime he had gradually become uncomfortable with. While never a celebrity, “Sly Rosco” earned a decent living in the cities he visited, affording his own horse, fine clothing, and a finer lifestyle than his profession should have accustomed to.
But Sly Rosco attracted other sorts of attention as well. As a Halfling with obvious talent for hiding his actions and moving objects unseen, he was eventually approached by agents of the Bellflower Network, who sought his aid managing a safe house on Varisia’s Southern edge. Rosco was tasked with keeping secret tunnels clear of traps, and sneaking refugees across the border in the dead of night. It helped, of course, that he could slip in and out of invisibility while silently carrying a whole family of halflings through the air with his mind. While he was no trained infiltrator, his ability to distract guards and lift agents over walls was also nothing to trifle with, and Rosco earned a fair amount of respect in his organization. But eventually, growing somewhat bored with the new lifestyle and lack of pay, he began putting on his own juggling shows again in Southern Varisia, and attracting all too much attention once again he realized it would be wide to return to the road.
After a year or so on the road, Rosco found himself in Andoran, and once again sought out contacts in the Network. But this was still small-time work; and gradually he began to notice the fame and prestige that accompanied the local Eagle Knights, an organization with similar goals but a far flashier reputation. And while a young halfling with no real combat training was not seen as an obvious asset, in his attempts to join the Knights, he was given an initiation mission.
Sly Rosco has spent the last two years in Absalom, a relatively peaceful city. During the day, he works with various performance troupes, taking care to align himself with the more scrupulous and honest of the Island’s performers, and increasingly performing with the same group. And all in all, juggling is his main source of income, amusement, and time spent. After years of practicing, his mind is strong enough to lift and juggle willing audience members or even horses; he can vanish from sight at a glance, and throw just about anything at a target with unerring accuracy. But when the other performers are onstage, Rosco disappears into the crowd, observing the wealthiest and sternest members of the audience; and at night, he occasionally follows the more mercenary sort of merchants home, collecting information on their dealings, the local slave trade, and any outright criminal activities, and periodically reporting them to local contacts.
What party role would an intelligent cat fill? If it's a former familiar, spellcaster is a neat direction, and probably easier than, say, a rogue with its limited ability to speak.
She's a witch. That much is concrete.
Curses, you've exploited my hidden passion for the Bellflower Network. I actually ran a homebrew campaign about working for them.
One small suggestion- unless your character is set on the Eagles for personal reasons, might be better go go after the Twilight Talons, Andoran spies. Could suit the skillset better.
Otherwise; sheet seems legit. Write me one line just about Rosco's personality, and one line of physical description, and you can report to discussion.
Sunstone, no comments, let me know how the rest of it goes.
Thanks Kessa for reminding me. I'm going to have to nix the idea of your character being unable to speak normally, at least for most of the time. Gestures and writing is fine as a backup, but I believe for decent RP/party cohesion you'll at least need some sort of communication item. Possibilities- point in Linguistics to learn common, get someone else to put a point in cat sign language to interpet; get a familiar who can talk.
Speaking of pets! (Bumpy is all about communicating with animals)
Much fine tuning to be done, but here is Baumperth "Bumpy" Odenthorph, the Daredevil Pet Trainer.
He'll have a wagon, if the Drow are conscientious enough to bring it with in their abduction (should be, if their employers want to be properly entertained; it's necessary for the maintenance of his domesticated companions). Although the Halfling got his start as an entertainer, his affinity for animals soon brought his favored friends onto the stage with him. Sort of your stereotypical circus lion tamer. ("Lookit that halfling climb into the crocodile's mouth! He just dropped into that snake pit! That other one's moving stuff with his mind! Haha the little daredevil's still doing tricks with the animals in the background!)
Arkwright; I'm going with a big cat, crocodile & some other dangerous animals for companions. Can I have a Roc? I hope to ply the Handle Animal skill to great extent while in the Underdark - Bumpy's true passion is finding and taming exotic creatures. How do you feel about swarms as pets/companions? I'd like him to have a mess of venomous snakes in his wagon, & an eye toward acquiring a flurry of bats while underground (as well as giant scorpions & other interesting things).
For my own thoughts on domesticated swarms, 6 levels is definitely enough time to have reared a few large groups of tiny animals (point for adopting a swarm as a companion), but the nature of swarms makes them difficult to train & control - having a swarm's worth of snakes, he could instigate them into an attacking as a swarm, but I'm reticent on being able to recall them without them dispersing into the wild. Can we overlook that & let my Halfling keep his swarms? Or maybe start off with a few, and allow him to acquire more, so that even after the swarm disperses he still has others (until he pushes them all to far & has to wait for enough of the next collection to mature)?
I was kinda thinking about the idea of having a familiar that can talk, but the majority of talking improved familiars are available at level seven. In order to solve this problam, may I take a level seven familiar early, and give it a negative level until I level up?
Sunstone- eh, okay.
Bumpy- while I appreciate the fun flavor, I'm a little concerned that your bard/rogue multiclass will prove somewhat useless on the adventure, particularly since your archetype gives up Inspire Courage. And you likely wouldn't get to bring a whole wagon into the Darklands due to the journey being treacherous and varied. And, finally, your description doesn't quite match the necessary combat experience of a level 6 character.
Hmm. Will make those organizational changes (and take Undercommon off of his languages). Bellflower Network was actually just "eh, he's CG and a halfling."
Rosco is slight, even for a halfling, though he makes up for this with impressive dexterity. On stage, he wears layered coats of silk and brightly-colored velvet, topped with gold trim; with his ability to quickly appear and disappear, he prefers flashy clothing, vanishing only to reappear in a twirl of shining gold or a quick costume change. His broad hat is bent into a sort of wide bowl that he uses to "catch" objects during tricks, though off-stage he tends to dress more modestly and fashionably.
When he can, he enjoys being the center of attention; but unlearned in many of the languages and features of Absalom, he is often quiet, though he speaks up on what he knows. But like any good magician, Sly Rosco is a master of misdirection on stage and off. He often spends time observing situations invisibly before "entering" the room, and often speaks the loudest when he wishes to keep attention off of one of his fellow performers or allies.
@Bumpy: If you're looking for a way to get some pets, Carnivalist and Duettist are both pretty decent ways to do it (multiple companions tend to be effectively useless, and a familiar can be pretty decent while also giving you the eventual ability to command others of its kind). Otherwise, there's a feat chain to pick up a single companion.
Balance-wise, it looks like social skills and melee combat are things that the in-progress party could benefit from.
Thanks Thunder! I had a hard time picking skills as is, but I can add ranks for Intimidate or somesuch. Refocusing to mounted w/lance for melee. Why are multiple companions useless? The feat chain gives you a companion at significantly reduced level. I'll check out those archetypes & see about familiars.
Awww.. the performance gained in place of Inspire Courage makes the animals better at tricks though. The Daredevil archetype also has a small boost vs mind-affecting, which seems nice for dealing with Intellect Devourers. Mostly it's a matter of flavor, & I can go straight Bard, if you feel it'd add some utility.
Also I can drop the whip, restat for more Str, pick up a small lance & focus on mounted combat to make the panther-riding Halfling viable in combat. I mistook the theme to be the core focus of our adventure, & thought we wouldn't be seeing too much combat (foolishness).
Would those changes make him less useless?
No wagon; check. We'll just forget the swarms. Can I have a baby Roc & a panther as companions? His "combat experience" will be explained in the backstory as the adventures that lead to the capture & rearing of his two powerful pets, followed by various encounters with other dangerous creatures with those two at his side (big jungle cats don't much like it when you steal their cubs).
Aside from the odd bandit raid, Bumpy's had few fights with humanoids, but his love of beasties has certainly gotten him into (& through) more than a few scrapes. Lions, tigers & bears, with a few battles alongside local militia to defend the homestead when they need it ('Ah s+!& - go get Bumpy & that cat of his, should be no problem tracking those orcs down') oughta be sufficient combat experience. As a performing animal trainer, I figure most of his 6 levels of experience would be from those two things - maybe 45% would be direct combat experience over the years. It's a malleable thing, though, & this is thus far the most concrete info on the matter (no backstory set yet).
I would like to maintain the potential of acquiring more pets while in the Underdark, if possible. Bumpy enjoys putting on a show, but his true passion is, of course, animals & magical beasts. Gotta write up the fluff, but he'd likely join the Drow willingly if they asked, just for the chance to catch some of Golarion's baddest monsters.
Well, you need a few feats. Boon Companion is the third one to get full companion progression; a human with variant heritage orc or a half-orc can get beast rider, which is cool, but takes level 7.
A brownie actually seems to work well for our intents and purposes (and can be acquired at level five). Hopefully, I've got the concept nailed at this point.
Tonight was horrendously busy, and I'm not sure if tomorrow will be much better, but I should get some writing time in there somewhere. Thursday will be a good writing day for sure, though. I get a good five hours to myself in the afternoons.
-I guess my point is that while there is definitely a theatrical backdrop/element to this adventure, it is definitely not a pure-theater campaign. It's cool to build to have abilities that can be directed to aid in the theater, but not at the cost of your effectiveness.
-Yeah like you said, easy misunderstanding. I guess it's true from what I said that the adventure has the potential to become 100% theatre-based if that's what the party wants, but even then I'd throw in a few combat encounters to kep things interesting.
-A bard/rogue multiclass loses out on a lot of BAB; a bit concerning.
-Mounted w/lance... while I can't say for certain that there won't be enough room, enough open spaces for easy mounted-combat, I can say that there probably won't usually be enoug.
-Yeah but Inspire Courage giving a bonus to attack and damage is one of your nicest abilities, losing it just seems really painful for me.
-If the ability says 'any companion' and 'multiple companions', sure. I am concerned that having multiple companions means they'll be swiftly mowed down by the dangerous darklands. Can probably acquire some new pets in darklands of course.
If you want some build help while focusing on animal training... hmm.
-If you want to stick with bard, go Animal Speaker. No animal companion, but some cool Animal Summoning. Build as a summoner.
-Sylvan Bloodline Sorcerer and get a Roc/etc. Buff it up, ride it later, protect it.
-Beast Rider Cavalier
-Mad Dog Bar
-Huntmaster Cavalier
Shadow Puppeteer is also pretty great for summoning animals (you can eventually summon every round as a swift action), and is theatrical in its own way, but it's a very different sort of Bard.
Also, Wild Child Brawler.
Research slowed down. I am disheartened. Real poor with no plans for the weekend, so I'll push to make Bumpy into something viable.
Thank you for the advice; very well may go with a familiar, & just have a pet or two managed with handle animal (I've thought about a dweomer cat cub before - they seem fun)
How are we going?
ok I am still interested but I am having some trouble with a backstory. I know I am wanting a wizard focused in transmuting himself with some buffing later.
Aye, give me a shout if you need some help.
Off the top of my head, sounds a great concept for a big strong dumb wizard's assistant whose master died and is trying to learn his master's craft.
not so much on the strong with the strength score of 8. But that is an interesting idea. I am thinking I liking the Mockingfey. There could be a good chemistry on stage with the wizard transmuting himself for an act and the Mockingfey looking like a tiny version are dancing to mock him.
Oh aye, thought you were going the full-bore Transmuter 17-strength wizard.
Mockingfey could also be useful for imitating a person from the audience; as long as you pick someone with a good sense of humor, could be quite entertaining.
Well I could bump the strength and drop the dexterity or wisdom. That might be a better idea.
Well again it does depend what build you want to go. You can make a wizard who just has a few transmutation spells, or you can build a front-line melee-er who happens to be a transmutation wizard.
Thanks, Kessa.