Pauljathome: Cool. I'll begin lining up submissions, giving feedback, noting what else needs to be added soonish but we still have nearly two weeks until the deadline.
Nikolaus: Hmmm.... I think I would allow the vampire template. If it ends up proving detrimental to game function, then I might tweak it a bit to bring it in line but I probably wouldn't ban it outright.
I don't think the young characters rules would make sense here and I'm not going to count NPC classes as less than PC classes. That would just open up a whole new can of worms and I've seen NPC classes be used quite effectively.
CR 1 monster with the young template could take the vampiric template, yes. That would be allowed by my rules. Again, if it turns out to be too OP, I'll balance it back later with a tweak here or there. Strong builds aren't a problem for me. Only if they're are so much stronger than the rest of the party that it makes it difficult for the game to function in a way that's fun for everyone.
A telekinetic ooze
A wyrmling
An imp
An undead orc
A vampire spawn
Quite the party thus far!
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Oh, I had been thinking about some sort of clockwork construct that as he “levels” he tinkers with himself and makes modifications.Alright, I'm a tad torn between two concepts, and I'd love some input on which one might work better for this campaign.
** spoiler omitted **...
I was thinking along those lines too but didn't end up going that route... Just a suggestion, but what if an AI was the true character and he transfers his consciousness to different robots?
There is an AI template.
The half levels as character level max makes me question my first idea of an atomie sorcerer with sylvan bloodline - you get an animal companion with it and having it half (max) of my total level means it will not be very powerful. Also, the progression of atomie with fey levels makes me unsure of the potential for that to work out - there is no clear progression of fey like that. And being a primary spell-caster would be impossible with half class levels. Although maybe pattern the gained abilities similar to other higher CR fey. Darn, I'd already written a two page backstory :D
One of my other ideas was a ghast archer type. Do a young ghast (so a creepy child undead - she'd been converted when she was a child - no ability to "grow up" just permanently a child undead). The ghast has really good stats for mental, so something like an eldritch archer magus type. Would that be too many undead? Although an undead cleric might be useful to heal all of the undead in the party.
Similar to Helix - any input as to which one would be better? We seem to be meatshield heavy, so the atomie brings super stealth and social skills to the mix. My other idea would bring either ranged or healing/support to the mix.
I think I'll have to go research templates some to see how those would help progression.
Well I actually still think that full casters will do alright. They'll generally have some nice little monster SLAs and they can do utility tricks or perhaps fight on their own. As stated originally, if everyone builds a meat shield then the one person who made a party face, healer, or something else will have an advantage when I need to select the party.
I don't mind having a couple undead so ghast archer is fine.
I like the atomie idea a little better, though, but don't worry about that overly much. What you want to play is the first considering. Regarding advancing an atomie, a pixie seems like a reasonable choice. That slight dip in charisma would hurt a little but they are very similar creatures so the character continuity would make sense. But yes picking up an animal companion probably isn't a great idea here in terms of its power progression, unless it is a utility AC or something like that. There are still plenty of other things that a sorcerer can do that can be incredibly useful to the party, e.g. casting grease, etc.
@GM Monster: Oh yeah, the PvP tourny.
I'm still not sure if I'm happier that I used my fun wizard build instead of the What-The-Feta super cheesy one, but that was fun xD
As for this game, I think I'll have to look into those 3pp negative traits so that I can play a dragon that tends to her master's flock (of undead) hehehe...
Which reminds me that I'll need a wand of CLW or infernal healing in order to be the team medic, but I'm not sure if I can start with a wand. Wyrmlings get "triple treasure", but I have no idea what that means. Triple what? Is there a table that lists encounter treasure by CR? Would I get triple what it lists for CR 2?
Also, I'm thinking cleric of Baalzebul would be most convenient so that I can grab the Undeath domain and worship one of the archdevils. Would the wizard have any tomes or servants from any archdevils? :3
edit: finally found treasure per encounter table. Should I use 3x the medium progression for my starting equipment?
Yes, I prefer the "atomie with an attitude" character I'd been working up as well. Give her disguise self and she could even pass as a short gnome/halfling for being the party face.
There are other sorcerer options (and yes grease was #1 on my spell list :D it's both prankster-ish and useful). With boon companion I could get to the 8/9 level of usefulness with it. Then she could "transform" via some form of butterfly chrysalis process into a different type of fey (your reworking process you mentioned). Going down the list of fey on the the pfsrd site there are plenty of options to switch to over time. And some nice fey-ish templates along the way.
The reason for the companion is that the character idea is similar to Kaylin the Renegade from the Red Dragon Inn game - if you turn your head and squint enough. Basically a pixie sorcerer with an attitude far beyond her size and an animal companion to back her up with enough muscle so that she can hold her own physically and not just get squished every time she gets mouthy.
Here's a rough writing of her backstory I was working - I still have a number of things to add to meet your submission requirements. She's a bit meaner than I'm used to writing for a character, so I'm not certain of all of the pieces.
"Arrrgh!" Xeria stomped out of the fairy gathering and into the dark woods, "If I have to listen to one more effin happy song. Or dance around the fairy circle one more effin time..."
She turned around, continuing to walk backwards as she gestured rudely towards the gathering. When she turned around again to walk forward she tripped on a tree root and nearly tumbled to the ground before her wings caught her and lifted her into the air.
"Effin trees are out to get me too," she grumbled as her wings buzzed and carried her farther from the celebration. "And if effin Winky wants to show off his la-de-dah curly toed shoes with the effin bells one more time, so help me...," she growled, turned her head back towards the celebration, and shook her fist, "I'll punch him in his effin face and wipe that imbecilic smile off of his idiotic mug."
"Arrrrgh!" she yelled again, not that anyone could hear her out here in the woods, the music and lights from the fairy circle were too bright and too loud for anything she said or did to be noticed by anyone back there.
She continued to buzz off into the night, churning over moments of the festival angrily in her head. Occasionally, she'd growl out loud and she only half-heartedly paid any attention to where she was going. A few times she nearly ran into tree trunks.
The list of grievances she'd gathered over the years burst out again. In a high nasal voice she said, "Sit like a lady. Stop playing with the swords. Learn to cook and tend the mushrooms. Put down that bow this instant. Stop cursing, it doesn't look pretty when you do that. Stop carving your name in the table. You know that Winky is a fine young atomie, his father owns that large mushroom farm, that'd be a right smart match there. And he dresses ever so well."
In her own voice Xeria spat out, "If you like his shoes so well mom, I'll give them to you so hard that when you sneeze the bells will ring," accommpanied by wild gestures indicating the improbable anatomical route by which she intended to place the shoes in her mother's nasal cavity.
She continued in a deeper voice, "Now Kitten, listen to your mother she knows what she's talking about. Please stop throwing those knives at that drawing of Winky on the wall. You'll mark up the wood and I'll have to sand it out. That young Winky sure does have very racey curled toed shoes. His have three, I counted them, three curls. You know I turned your mother's head with only a single curl, but back in my day we didn't have anything as risque as three curls."
Memories of the way her feather leered at her mother at that point came back to haunt her and she gagged remembering his voice trailing off as he escorted her mother out of the room. He already wasn't thinking of Xeria anymore, "Now you be a good girl and keep playing with those knives, your mother and I have something to talk about in the other room."
She gagged and spit some more at the memory, "How do they not effin get it? I can't stand that grinning idiot and his I-Don't-Care-How-Many-Curls-Your-Shoes-Have effin shoes."
Continuing in a tone of complete disbelief, "How do they not get that all I want to do is stab things," while gesturing as if she'd stabbed something, "strangle things," with her hands wrapped around an imaginary neck, "and kick them in the nads!" she kicked upwards so hard she tumbled head over heels in the air.
Eventually, her anger simmered down into an ugly, cruel mood and she started to look around for targets to take out her frustrations on. After a while and right before she was about to turn around for home she spotted a deinonychus tending its nest with its handful of dark grey mottled eggs.
An idea occurred to her and she flew over towards the nest. When she was in range, she gestured towards one of the eggs and it rose into the air and came towards her. The dinosaur was confused and leapt after the egg and finally saw the tiny atomie in the sky and the egg heading towards her.
Xeria was moving the egg towards her, sticking out her tongue, and turning to wiggle her rear at the dinosaur when it leapt far higher than she thought it could and only a last instant flip of her wings kept her out of the fang filled maw. She giggled and proceeded to dangle the egg above the mother who leapt frantically up to get the egg. She soon tired of the game when a new idea came to her. She turned her head and looked back towards the festival as a truly wicked smile crossed her face.
She imagined dangling the egg above the dinosaur and maneuvering the snapping angry bundle of teeth and claws towards the festival. She could hear the laughter and singing turn to shrieks and screams as the angry dinosaur stumbled into the circle. In her imagining, the music stopped and she could see all sorts of fairies scrambling about to get out of it's way. The dinosaur mother would began to snap at the confused and terrified little creatures then a few of them would hit it with color sprays, instantly dropping it to the ground before it could harm anyone. She could almost hear the voices at the festival began to loudly argue about what to do with the big unconscious dinosaur before it woke up and began eating them again. She was certain they'd stop it before it hurt anyone. But then again, if they didn't, not even Winky and his ever so pretentious shoes deserved to die.
Instead she merely flew high enough amongst the leaves the dinosaur couldn't see her anymore. Wistfully sighing, Xeria flew home with the egg and left it hidden amongst some leaves next to a warm rock that caught the sun's rays for a few hours a day.
For the next few weeks she tended the egg everyday and kept it warm so it would hatch. She'd been practicing her magic everyday and had been looking for a likely creature to link with. A raging whirlwind of fangs and talons sounded like a good companion. On the day it started to hatch, Xeria sat with the egg and chanted the ritual she'd been taught, seeking to link to the creature's mind as it single-mindedly tried to break out of the shell.
An overly large head on a spindly neck wobbled out of the hole it broke in the egg and it's large reptilian eyes turned to focus on Xeria, it croaked, "Mama?"
She's basically a grumpy teen-aged girl who ran away from home because she didn't want to fit into normal, boring fairy society. She'd be the type to shave her head or do a mohawk just to get a rise out of people. And her sense of trickster-ish humor is more similar to Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes, she'd imagine doing bad things, but deep down she could never bring herself to actually be evil.
The goal for her future would be that she'd 'grow up', start to realize what she wants is a group of "people" who accept her for her, and that her talents can be channeled into more productive things than just bugging the heck out of people. Sort of a Puck to Titania progression.
Alright, well, while trying to figure out my wolf I came across the hivemind template, and it really speaks to me. I choose a swarm, add the template, it goes up by however many I need so it's really easy to work with. thing is, I want a specific type of swarm which isn't allowed by our CR limit. any thoughts? I was thinking I might pick up different insects as things go on allowing me to switch. It also gives me spell progression as though I was a psychic.
I'm eyeing something really out there, which makes communication a bit of a thing - Would Psychic Creature be an allowed template?
I am really interested in this, reading your list of monsters i was drawn first to the raktaverna but then thinking more about play in the future, i think a cacodaemon would be excellent. a soul trader.
1. how you came to be in the employ of an evil wizard guarding her lair,
2. what your motivations are,
3. what the personality, quirks, habits, etc of your character are,
4. what your character looks like, and
a lot like a fantasy version of this
5. a way that you could see your character developing over the course of the game.
Background for my worg character along with some initial thoughts.
Fang was the youngest pup in the pack, though he made up for it. He was a very powerful worg even being so young. He hoped one day to start his own pack and maybe even have more than just the forest as the hunting grounds. But everything went wrong on their last hunt.
They sometimes came upon people during their hunts, and it usually ended with the person dead. But this time it was different the man couldn’t be bit and then things went bad, really bad. The man started to fly up and hen all of a sudden a massive fireball exploded where he pointed at. In this moment Fang’s life changed, his pack was incinerated and those that survived were swiftly killed by the floating person. Shooting rays of heat from her hands. In little more than a a few seconds only Fang was left alive. Then as the man descended he watched as the man said a few words and he started to feel his eyes become heavier and he soon fell asleep.
He woke up chained in a cave, the woman appeared in an entryway and with a feeling of unbridled fury Fang tried to tear her throat out, but the chain stopped him from reaching the entryway. But to his surprise the woman threw him a piece of meat, it was large and delicious though he knew he shouldn’t eat this meal from this murderer. But he was so hungry. He waited it out till the meat became rancid, and then the routine repeated until eventually Fang caved and ate it. As time went on he began to get used to being fed knowing that without him he wouldn’t be able to survive. Then one day he was set free the chain removed.
But the woman reminded him that if she wanted him dead he would die, and fed him again. And this is how things went as she explained to him that he would guard her this entrance from anyone and that if he did it she would keep him fed and alive. Eventually she would give him greater rewards if he did well. This arrangement lasted for what seemed like forever until one day she didn’t come to feed him. After several days of waiting Fang finally went looking for her confused as to what happened.
Fang is motivated to try and become the master of his own pack as he always wanted to be a pack leader. He also wants to explore more than his packs old hunting grounds, to maybe make it not just the small part of the forest but even larger.
Fang is a very gruff worg having seen his entire pack killed, and unlike others didn’t feel any joy serving the master. So with his new found freedom a large amount of excitement and wonder have been placed in his path. Though through all this he is still very much a young pup who is scared that his family is gone and is going to find someplace where he belongs again.
He is the size of a normal wolf as he is a still young for a worg. He has a grey patch over his right eye, along with white paws. His eyes are red as blood.
Crunch wise I see him as a mix of striker, controller, and scout. My plan for him is to try and gain as much control and damage absolute as possible while maintaining his mobility.
I’m thinking a couple levels of barbarian, and several templates until CR 7 then upgrading to the elder worg. Then picking a casting class. With several templates to fill the gaps.
Fluff wise I see his arc enveloping him coming to terms with the fact that he now has to find his own way in the world, and has to find a way to accept the fact that his new pack isn’t normal but it works for him. Then once he has his new “pack” he starts to find his place in it. Possibly working in his learning and understanding of his connection with nature somehow, though i don’t know how I will do that.
Okay, probably taking my Umbral dragon and modeling it using the Nightmare Dragon base- it seems to fit the best thematically, and I like the ability scores on it most- it's a bit awkward for it to actually have higher scores currently than it will when he becomes a 'regular' Umbral, but ah well.
Anyway, what's a cool concept without a cool story to back it up? Here's what I have so far, more to come! I'm trying something different, I hope you like it.
There was…. Something. Something reached out into the darkness, into the void, and poked the awareness. Then, it was gone. Prodding, looking for something
There it was again.
And it was back.
This time, the thing didn't simply touch, but instead grasped the void, taking the smallest mote of quintessence, but what may as well have been everything, so far as it knew. Suddenly, It was no longer everything, but a simple mote. Smaller than a soul, smaller than a Summon. Summons, It knew. It had experienced that before, where something- usually a Shaper- would reach into the void and grab a… hand-full, that was the expression, and the Shaper would use their words and their gestures to form life. But not true life, just the semblance of it. Enough that it might last a few seconds, not long enough to become aware of itself, just long enough for the Shaper to command it for a task, usually fighting. Then, the Shape would vanish, either because the Shaper could not hold the Shape together, or because something else destroyed the Shape. Then, It would return to the void. Still nameless, still shapeless. Forever.
This was not a Summon. This was more controlled, more methodical than that. This time, the Shaper (for what else could it be?) didn't take a random hand-full of It, but rather a single drop of the most potent, the most powerful mote of It. For all It knew, the Shaper had taken all of it, because this time, It felt no connection to the void- It was completely severed.
This not-Summon was taking a long time. Longer than any Summon had lasted. It was swirling, just outside the Material, hovering in the Shadow. It liked the Shadow, it felt like the Void. Then, it broke through the Shadow, and coalesced on the Material. It was in some sort of crystal- forced into some form, one that It had never been in before. One It had noted as being in the Shadows, but similar to the Void. This was an interesting form. It noted the Shaper who had called It- not one of the ancients, but a young one. The Shaper seemed pleased, and the pleasure- was that pleasure?- spread to It. It heard the Shaper speak, but didn't understand the words. The meaning, though, the meaning was joy, and It felt It's purpose and nature clear.
I am Athlikas. I am the Menace. I am the Shadow. I am fear, I am death. It- no, not It- Athlikas thought, as he was formed.
Athlikas learned quickly- it was a benefit of the Shaper- Wizard who had created him- his mind was sharp, his body grew quickly, and he served the wizard as best as he could. In return, she gave him a home- he couldn't explain his love for coin, beyond a deep desire that went beyond his first memories in the summon-crystal where he had been created. Something ancestral, something key to being a dragon, even though he was descended from no Wyrm. His mind was as sharp as most humans already, and he understood the nature of his existence, along with brief flashes of his existence before he was created. But his entire life was simply serving the wizard, his breath serving well to extinguish the kind of pest life that so often sprang up, while being harmless to many of his mistress' creations. Or, when needed, he could dispose of the creations themselves, even the ones who didn't have a body, in any meaningful sense. In addition, despite being no larger than an average housecat, he was still stronger than his mistress, physically. One time, he even managed to drive off an intruder all by himself! He felt hints of magic, and would occasionally try to study alongside his mistress.
In time, Athlikas' true purpose felt clear. He was a shepherd, guiding others from life to death. Life… life was all the same. But in death, so much variety was to be found! The same person, dying the same death, could bring rise to one of the mindless zombies his mistress created, or to simply bring life to a minor object somewhere in their home, and when he consumed such minor after-life, he could feel himself shepherd them towards their final rest, once their purpose had been fulfilled. He knew it was his destiny, his duty, to become a shepherd, moving people from life, to unlife, to final death, moving them along when it was their time.
He would become a god, to join Pharasma and Urgathoa in the pantheon of Death. However, unlike Pharasma, who scorned the 'second life,' or Urgathoa, who shunned the third, Athlikas saw and felt the need for all three. Only He could properly guide souls along their path, and would do so, once he was strong enough. And he would become strong enough.
As was his duty, curse, and goal, Athlikas sensed his mistress' life about to come to an end, and while he was sad, it was in shepherding her soul from death to final rest- she had no purpose for a Second life- that he felt his potential truly unlock, and felt that in time, he might be able to truly grow in strength, no longer locked to this form, below even the lowest of his kind.
So, he ventured out, eager to join the fellow servants of his mistress, both in defense of his home (and the chance to shepherd the souls of the fallen), and that he might use those shepherded souls to grow in size, strength, and magic, that he might rise as a god.
I finished up my "atomie with an attitude", Xeria, and have the background, motivations, description, party role, advancement, etc. all entered. I need to update with the crunch once I finish putting it into the desired format.
Edit: The crunch is now there as well.
@Tiessa: I'm sad now. We could have had a fun creepy undead kids vibe going...
Will look at creatures today.
I’m probably going to submit a wyrmling as well. Still trying to decide what type. Did I understand correctly that you will allow the Young Template for Dragons? The other -1 CR template, Degenerate, is...a lot more painful, so given my druthers I’d prefer the Young template for knocking a CR 3 wyrmling down a peg.
how about the Drunk template? Could be fun to play a creature that needs to sober up. A monster that became an alocoholic because his precious master just died.
Update to Buggles: Added a CR-Progression plan
New progression plan:
CR2: Draugr
CR3: Advanced Draugr
CR4: Nightmare Creature Template
CR5: Nightmare Lord upgrade
CR6: Mythos Undead Template
CR7 and 8?: Shadow Lord Template
CR9 and 10?: Hellfire Creature Template
CR11-20: Class levels, as I’ve tapped out templates. Either Ghost Rider Cavalier, Slayer or Ninja. Depends on how character has progressed
Lots of undead and shadow themed templates. Plenty of interesting powers. Should represent an undead creature becoming more powerful quite nicely.
Scegfod: You only get specific equipment listed in the bestiary (generally because the monster depends on it) like a draugr's greataxe. So wyrmlings don't start with anything. That's ok. You guys will have plenty of equipment soon enough as I'm a pretty generous GM. It will just be fun to see how you make use of it.
Regarding healing, imagine your primary party healer is a life oracle 1 with life link and they have fast healing. Not running out of healing so fast now, are they? That's an example supporting my position that monsters combined with PC levels will have plenty of opportunities for awesome synergy to make stuff work with even a few PC levels.
Ellioti, Tiessa, Tenro, Daedalus, Xeria, and Mythicman: Cool! I'll do a roundup of submissions later today and start keeping track to make sure everyone gets feedback.
Yorick: Phew there's a lot going on with that template. Which type of psychic creature are you considering and what do you want to do with it?
Ouachitonian: Yes dragons can take the young template. Fine by me.
Ellioti: Drunk template seems hilarious and balanced. Fine by me as long as it can make sense with the character. A drunk construct would be kind of weird!
Yorick: Phew there's a lot going on with that template. Which type of psychic creature are you considering and what do you want to do with it?
I am eyeing a Darkmantle and I was going to take the Empathic specialty. I have a backup plan if that doesn't work for you, though!
Yorick: Phew there's a lot going on with that template. Which type of psychic creature are you considering and what do you want to do with it?I am eyeing a Darkmantle and I was going to take the Empathic specialty. I have a backup plan if that doesn't work for you, though!
Yes I think that's totally fine. Doesn't seem OP to me at all.
Weighing up a few options - most of them revolving around the evil wizard having lost a child and resorted to some extreme measures to try and bring it back. Including: A Young Doppelganger, A Soulsliver, A Soulbound Doll or a Homunculus, possibly mixed in with Young/Vampire/Psychic Vampire templates if those are allowed...
Interesting. This hasn't come up but Ms. Evil Wizard has a son who has manifested nearly zero wizarding ability and she is disappointed with him. So if you want to play something related to the wizard's family, we'll have to figure it out. But I'm open to it.
The empath psychic is allowed so far. I don't think psychometer is balanced since it seems like it just grants you some minor abilities absolutely for free. But assuming you mean the psychic vampire template (rather than the psychic creature or vampire creature templates :P) then yes, that looks fine to me. Again, players are clever and I might ok something without realizing how broken it would be then have to reign it in later.
Good point about the lifelink thing.
I'll think about what I wanna do xD
Yes I think that's totally fine. Doesn't seem OP to me at all.Yorick: Phew there's a lot going on with that template. Which type of psychic creature are you considering and what do you want to do with it?I am eyeing a Darkmantle and I was going to take the Empathic specialty. I have a backup plan if that doesn't work for you, though!
Hilariously, I misread, and only the Telepath specialization gets Telepathy - which in retrospect does sort of make sense - but also likely means that this template won't work for me and I'm going back to the drawing board, but I do appreciate you approving it!
Yorick: I was wondering how you were planning to get telepathy. :P
Here are the submissions so far, the role I see them playing, my feedback on the submission, and whether or not it can be considered complete yet.
Gorthug: Gorthug, I like the backstory but please put it and the CR-progression plan in the alias. Also, I'd like to hear a little more about what Gorthug is like right now and ways that he might change in the future. Status: Almost complete.
Buggles: Just note (for your sketched out progression) that we aren't using a standard racial HD progression. I think it would be messier to have that as an option alongside templates, class levels, and being a new monster. So we're just sticking to those three options. I'd like to hear a little bit more about Buggles' unique characteristics and how he might develop as a character in the future. Almost complete.
Xeria: Question: How do you have an animal companion with one sorcerer level since it's granted at druid level = your sorcerer level-3? Seems like your AC is at druid level -2 right now and therefore doesn't really exist yet. If I'm understanding this correctly, then we could do either of the following: Take the boon companion feat or RP as having the AC only for flavor until it gains actual HD. Funny that disguise self makes you up to one foot taller, which is a huge height increase when you're tiny. XD Nice choice. Nice character development ideas too. Xeria seems interesting. Other than my question about the AC, I think this submission is complete.
Daedalus: Interesting! I'm curious to see the crunch, possible party roles, and character development that you anticipate may or may not happen in the future.
Mythicman19: Interesting! I'm curious to see the crunch.
Tenro: Interesting concept but I'd like to see more development of the flavor in addition to the crunch of course.
Gaagi: I'd love to hear a little bit more about the personality and possible development. You aren't required to stick to development ideas. It's just good to show you have some.
Helix missionary: Just an interesting concept for now. But there's no rush.
Bob's your uncle: Almost entirely complete so far but I'd like a little more info on possible character development story-wise. Again, it's just hypothetical so you don't have to feel bound to anything you hypothesize. How might Bob change when he ends up helping run a dungeon and save the world?
Please fill out some info for your submissions in this link to keep them manageable.
Okay, I have Stats for Athlikas up, which may or may not change as I figure out stuff that I like more. I may put on a small template if I find one that fits well.
GM MONSTER If I missed it I apologize, but I asked a question about swarm hivemind and being able to switch swarm type as we level up.
Everything added to profile. Sending a PM as to your other questions. Nothing nefarious, just clarification needed
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In the immediate short term, Bob will be figuring out that he is actually supposed to be a trap and maybe he can take it upon himself to be the evil trap manager of the dungeon and goes around testing the other traps to make sure they are up to snuff. I also would like him to be rather indiscriminate when it comes to killing dungeon creatures and eating them. It is done innocently at first but could also become a way to drive him toward evil or good depending on interactions with gm and other players. He will be very stupid and unwise initially with little self awareness and little discernment. He should believe anything anyone tells him. This can change as he gets older and more experienced.
I am really interested in this, reading your list of monsters i was drawn first to the raktaverna but then thinking more about play in the future, i think a cacodaemon would be excellent. a soul trader.
1. how you came to be in the employ of an evil wizard guarding her lair,
2. what your motivations are,
3. what the personality, quirks, habits, etc of your character are,
4. what your character looks like, and
a lot like a fantasy version of this
5. a way that you could see your character developing over the course of the game.
as for development, the crunch is the same as the basic monster as it is already that CL, unless i missed it and we have to roll or buy stats.
i was thinking in two levels making him a Consuming creature, as that would be an interesting development. in game i had planned on him trying to negotiate for tributes or prisoners to fuel his hunger and needs. perhaps looking for a new wizard boss (especially if one of the other PC's becomes a spellcaster) to replace the one he lost, as he can't do everything himself.
Xeria: Question: How do you have an animal companion with one sorcerer level since it's granted at druid level = your sorcerer level-3? Seems like your AC is at druid level -2 right now and therefore doesn't really exist yet. If I'm understanding this correctly, then we could do either of the following: Take the boon companion feat or RP as having the AC only for flavor until it gains actual HD. Funny that disguise self makes you up to one foot taller, which is a huge height increase when you're tiny. XD Nice choice. Nice character development ideas too. Xeria seems interesting. Other than my question about the AC, I think this submission is complete.
Thank you for the feedback!
Good question about the AC:
From the SRD:
Animal Companion (Ex): At 1st level, you gain an animal companion. Your effective druid level for this ability is equal to your sorcerer level – 3 (minimum 1st).
I do plan to take boon companion and it will be my very next feat to keep the AC up to speed. I was thinking of doing that for 1st level because of a gap of two levels where the AC would lag behind. Then I found the trait, Ascendant Recollection (UC), which makes my sorcerer level effectively one level higher for my 1st level bloodline power. It's how I can eek out one more level of usefulness for the AC at the top end before it becomes a beloved pet.
I was surprised about the "adds one foot" part of disguise self too - I was thinking I'd have to wait until alter self to get much more height - nice thing it doubles my height :D
Daedalus: Ok looks interesting. I wouldn't allow the breath weapon to heal undead for free but maybe we could come up with a homebrew magic item so you could do it for a price.
Wilhim: Yes you could switch between swarm types as you leveled if you found swarms that made sense to progress between.
Gorthug: Gotcha. Your submission is complete.
Bob: Sounds good. Your submission is complete.
Tenro: I was asking more about character story development. Personality/belief changes.
Xeria: Ah I missed the paranthetical clause of minimum 1st. Very good. Your submission is complete.
Well, the more I worked on it, the more I realized that it's actually not that easy to write what's essentially a toddler dragon. Especially when it comes to motivations. Who can say what inscrutable things drive the mind of a two year old? But I have a first draft. So I present Caeruzeus, Degenerate Wyrmling Brine Dragon. I went with Degenerate over Young after all because it seemed easier to fit into the fluff: having known no other Brine Dragons his entire life and spent all his days in a wizard's lair, away from the open sea or even lakes or rivers, has stunted him, left him feeble, stupid, and surly. He'll grow out of it in time. But that did make it even harder to write his motivations without just saying "Argh, me hungry. Kill, eat, rule. Amass shiny things." So I've tried to leave it open to the development that he'll absolutely have to show in time. I want him to be intelligent, persuasive, and strong. He's none of those right now.
I am, of course, open to questions, comments, etc. As far as party role goes, inherent Fly and Swim speeds make him a good scout, and a breath weapon makes him a pretty good blaster. Those will only improve in time, and in time he'll develop significant spellcasting. Maybe even the sort of spells needed to polymorph himself and serve as a face. He'll be somewhat adaptable to party needs.
I had misunderstood the character creation limits at level 1 so I'm changing the initial character to be a CR1 witchcrow with 1 level of witch.
I won't have time to do that tonight, I'll do it tomorrow.
I'm not sure if you were asking about mechanical level advancement or character development so I'll give you both :-)
Level Advancement Plan
At about L9, if allowed, I'd go with some other way of advancing the Greater Witchcrow (adding hit dice). If not
L3 : Greater Witchcrow
L4 : +1 level witch
L5 : +1 level witch
L6 : +1 level witch
L7 : Advanced Greater Witchcrow
L8 : +1 level witch
L9 : Advanced Giant Greater Witchcrow
L10: +1 level witch
L11: Advanced Fey Creature Greater Witchcrow
L12: +1 level witch
L13: Advanced Giant Fey Creature Greater Witchcrow
L14: Young Vilderavn
L15: Vilderavn
L16+ : Levels of witch
Personality (note, includes previous stuff so all in one place)
He is cocksure and full of himself and somewhat sarcastic and condescending when dealing with others. He greatly respects intellect and loves to spar intellectually with others.
Although he IS a team player he is a bit of a coward and a bit selfish.
He very definitely likes "shineys", especially magic ones, and thinks that they should all belong to him.
He likes his creature comforts, be they eyes, a good grooming, or just riding on somebody elses shoulder so he doesn't have to exert himself
He certainly starts out as somewhere between neutral and evil in that he is only really interested in himself and those he considers part of his flock. That said, he isn't particularly hostile to others, at least not to those he doesn't consider a threat. He has no desire to actively harm others, he just isn't at all restricted by morals or ethics if others are in his way.
Perhaps pragmatic is a very good word to describe him.
He definitely understands the need to make allies and will happily do so. He will generally NOT betray allies. Not for ethical concerns but for pragmatic ones. If you get a reputation for lying it is harder to get others to trust you later.
He definitely has a sense of humour and will play tricks on others, even members of his own flock. The sense of humour goes both ways, however, and he will take a joke in good spirit.
Character Development (note, includes previous stuff so all in one place)
It will depend a LOT on what the group is and how adventures go. Mechanically, see above
From a character perspective, I expect him to come to a far more realistic assessment of his actual abilities and capabilities and I hope that he'll come to have actual respect and friendship with at least some of his companions.
He will definitely try and become the leader of the group. He will accept a secondary position behind somebody that he can respect or that can beat him into submission but he'll look for signs that the new leader is weak and, if possible, make a new play for leadership.
He will definitely try and gather allies in the group to back any leadership plays that he makes.
He will NOT betray the leader, however. Any rivalry will be constrained to only happen within the family and only when the power struggle is safe.
I am expecting that he will become far less sarcastic as time goes on. It is also very possible that his morals will change depending on what happens in game.
I'd love it if he ended repenting his selfish ways and ended up embracing good. But that will depend hugely on how things go.
Okay, sounds fair enough. Anything else you need from my submission?
Ouachitonian- It could be interesting, if we both get in, to have a pair of Primal dragons in the party. Might be a bit of an interesting dynamic.
I think I'll give up on using spells for healing and just do the life-link thing. Can I start with a Young (-1) Drunk (-1) Mutant (+1) White Wyrmling (cr 2 normally) with a level in Oracle? :3
If so, I'll figure something out fluff-wise for my fountain of fast-healing-5
You know, beyond wizard's experiment and stolen egg xD
Buggles: Just note (for your sketched out progression) that we aren't using a standard racial HD progression. I think it would be messier to have that as an option alongside templates, class levels, and being a new monster. So we're just sticking to those three options. I'd like to hear a little bit more about Buggles' unique characteristics and how he might develop as a character in the future. Almost complete.
too bad, I thought this the simplest way to get some important hit dice (hd=skills, feats, hp)
I decided to stick with advanced Witchcrow to start (the mental stats are more important to my concept than the hexes)
Everything should now be in my alias
Ouachitonian: Sounds like it could be cool.
Gaagi and Daedalus: Your submissions look complete.
ScegfOd: Sounds interesting. I will just let you know that a friend of mine is lurking here considering doing the life link fast healing thing and we already have several dragon applicants. But first and foremost you should apply with something that interests you.
Ellioti: Well I wouldn't worry too much about advancement plan far in advance. Maybe I'll loosen up as I get more used to GMing for monsters. And in PBP it takes so long to advance for many levels I wouldn't worry yet about what one will do at CR 8 or whatever.
I'll take that as a yes.
And I can't figure out how to make Undead Lord work here, so I'm mostly just interested in playing a dragon. Healing just seems like a thing we'll have most trouble with (and with only single target healing, we might want a second healer anyway), but thanks for the heads up :3
Also, I'll be busy IRL this week, so I might be a little slow to get all the details ready...
Tenro: I was asking more about character story development. Personality/belief changes.
ah, i didnt really have any of those planned, i usually let that change naturally based on what happens to him in game. right now he is fairly young, just a regular cacodaemon who has only known this world from what the wizard has told him / read in books / what he has been sent to do. once he goes out there more, and encounters stuff, he might see that the wizard wasn't truthful, or didnt know something (likely since she got disappeared).
I understand that character development should happen organically rather than in a force manner but I want to see that it's something you've put a little thought into. You don't have to stick to your projections of possible character development but you should at least have some ideas from which to deviate instead of a totally blank slate. That's what this GM would like to see, at least.
Dotting
hmm well his beliefs would certainly change over time being on the material plane and away from the lower planes for so long. instead of soul trading for power below it would be for power here. instead of climbing up the insane ladder of lower plane politics, he could more easily make a comfortable world here for himself and his allies (but of course gets tied up in a plot to save the world)
Thanks, Tenro! That's helpful for me to see where your character could go in the future.
Gonna withdraw interest in this one - it's a super cool idea, just having trouble getting something in under the CR limit.
Someone asked in a PM so I realized that a very important clarification is that we will be using fractional multiclassing for mixing saves and BAB progression of monsters and classes. Overall, this will be a little more math but make your characters tend to be stronger.
Math! My one weakness!
Funny though. This is the one time saves don’t scare me that much. Undead are immune to Fort saves (almost all) and are nearly immune to Will saves. Ref, though, will mess their day up.
Math! My one weakness!
Funny though. This is the one time saves don’t scare me that much. Undead are immune to Fort saves (almost all) and are nearly immune to Will saves. Ref, though, will mess their day up.
I also suspect that with undead PCs the chance of running into anti undead shenanigans (eg, Dirge Bards) goes significantly up :-(