"Excuse me sir, for interrupting personal business, but might I offer a bit of friendly advice? If you are going to threaten people not to say anything, it generally helps if you do so in a back alley where there is no potential witnesses to the conversation, rather than directly in front of a busy door of a well known business. As it is now, I am left to ponder precisely what business it is that you don't wish this lady to talk about that warrants a public beating in the streets, and it's entirely because of what you have said and done and where you have chosen to do so." Andros speaks quietly to the gentleman. "Since, however, you have let the cat out of the bag, perhaps you can take advantage of the opportunity to find a more useful solution to your apparent problem than beating on a helpless woman. I am always on the lookout for employment, and depending on the problem, may be able to help you out, but the only way I can know for certain is if you take the time you would have spent beating your help, and spending it in a quiet parlor with myself where the situation can be discussed a bit more privacy."
Andros ignores the goblin as he turns to the others, "Shall we be off then? No point in standing around and drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves."
Never one for shying away from the direct route, and not having much chance of bluffing his way through this, Andros just smiles. "Sounds like a challenge to me. Perhaps the next words out of your mouth will prove to be wiser." He grins as his body starts to change form, and in a few short seconds, the goblin finds his back on the ground, and looking up the muzzle of a rather nasty, angry wolf into eyes that make it clear that there really are only two options.
Andros shrugs, "Guess we get to have our conversation outside." Dragging the goblin with him, he steps outside to a back alley close by. "Now then, I suggest you start filling us in on why you found our conversation so interesting before we have to get the information out of you the hard way."
"Yes, well, perhaps we can start with that hooded stranger that decided to listen on our conversation." Andros moves to get between the doorway and the stranger, trying to cut him (or her) off.
"My speciality lies in limiting my foe's ability to maneuver. Mostly this is done through manipulation of the battlefield, but I can take a more direct approach on occasion should the circumstances require it."
That's one reason I'm shifting Andros to help fill the role. It's already kind of part of the concept I have of him, so it's not that radical a change, and gives me something to focus on. He'll never be as effective as a full defender, but he'll be able to hold a few folks for a round or two, and be able to shape the battlefield to make it harder for people to move around him.
I was considering picking up the primal guardian theme for other reasons, but the encounter ability allows him to mark targets. He's not a substitute for a full defender, but he can hold folks for a round or two, especially if I pick up the Warden multiclass feat.
Probably heard about someone needing help, and volunteered. Andros isn't much of a city folk, spending as little time as possible in Sharn, preferring to wander around the outlying communities.
A scrawny looking human in furs and hides, Andros speaks quietly, "Can't say that I'm much of an investigator myself, but I am handy to have around when the investigation goes sour and/or the investigation reaches an end that requires more concrete action."
I don't think the individual components are particularly bad in and of themselves, but other programs and systems manage to do the same things as well or better without having the hassle of having to put up with a sometimes frustrating implementation of the whole package. The compendium and character builder are probably the strongest parts of DDI, and the compendium is hard to search for things unless you already know the exact terms needed to search, and the character builder, while not bad, lacks anything that sets it apart from any of it's competition. If the virtual tabletop had gotten off the ground, they would have had a much stronger package that would justify the monthly cost; as it is, I can see why some people like it, but I can see why a lot of people don't at the same time.
I'm thinking I'm simply going to pass on a theme for Andros. I just don't see any that really fit, and I dislike the idea of trying to shoehorn one on simply for the mechanical advantage.
I actually paid for a month of it just to get an idea for what was on there, and overall, I have to say that while great it theory, I can see why it never really took off as much as WotC would have liked. The character builder isn't bad, but it's not massively spectacular either. I tried to plug in Andros, and I have yet to get it to let me choose the human extra at will power instead of assuming I want the human power from Essentials. The themes are interesting, but I really didn't see any that truly fit; there were a few that came close, but between the lack of primal based and controller based themes, I am not sure which one I will end up using. All in all, I don't regret getting one month's worth of it, but I'd be hard pressed to justify a continued subscription for the majority of the stuff on there; it would be a lot easier if they had gone the route that Herolab did of buy it once, and be able to actually load the programs and files onto my own computer where I can access and use them much, much easier. Like most things 4E, the concept is solid, but the execution just never reached the level needed to sustain itself.
With that off of my chest, I have Andros mostly ready; just need to pin down the feats, and theme. Everything else is pretty much done.
So nowhere I can really access them as I have no room in my budget to even consider a DDI subscription right now. And WotC wonders why so few people play 4E. It sounds like once I find an income, I may need to pony up for at least a month just to get caught up.
Changing the level is one thing I need to do. As for him sticking around, I don't know how I'm going to handle that; he'll probably be around in the background in some way, but I haven't decided how or in what capacity.
Once he moves into position, Andros calls upon nature, and a localized cloud bank starts to form in the area between the group and the the wall.
Andros will stand at V3, centering the cloud bank on S6, which after 5 rounds will be burst 5 in size. That should give us cover while still allowing us to see the trap in the gap.
"If need be, I can fill a small area with fog. Otherwise, as I said before, the vast majority of my talents involve fire, which will do little against stone, though recently I have learned some tricks with cold that I haven't had a chance to test out yet."
"I, too, am a stranger in this lands, even while it is somehow a part of me, though nature has chosen to reveal itself to me mostly through fire thus far, instead of ice and thunder. I an Andros, pilgrim and wanderer." The tall young man speaks quietly as he turns his attention to the ruins in front of him, watching for signs of movement on that front.
Following behind the others, Andros watches his surroundings carefully, and upon observing an individual in the trees, stops to watch the lass, taking no further actions for the time being, but ready to react more strongly if required.
"I believe I shall see where your path heads for a while; perhaps it will provide the enlightenment I seek. Not being from this land, I fear my ability to interact with it on my own accord is rather limited. What is this Legion you speak of?" As you have a chance to appraise the newcomer and his words, you realize that he is probably actually still quite young and operating mostly on his own whim, luck, and bravado rather than knowledge and skill.
DM:
I don't see Andros understanding much about politics and society in any land, having grown up on the very fringes of civilization.
I went with Surging Flame (feat), Obscuring Mist (utility power), and retrained Pounce to Savage Rend because I realized that Pounce only works as a basic attack on a charge.
"Most proudly a slave? Very few people freely choose slavery. Perhaps Master Booj himself would like to share his story directly; being short is no excuse for permanently talking over one's head."
"In these times, it is usually best to at least confirm that if you pass a battle, it won't be coming after you next. I simply stuck around because you weren't hostile and had a good explanation of what you were doing; otherwise I would have kept moving along. An interesting group to be sure to be allied with a goblin."
"A most interesting group, I must say. So do you do this for a living, or was this simply a passing good deed? I am Andros, by the way, a simple wanderer."
Andros will move to the entrance of the tower, still not quite sure about what is going on, and even less sure about what he could contribute to the situation.
"Yes, that pit does appear like it would be a bit of a problem. Also, it usually helps if you don't wallow around in goo while fighting; it tends to limit your ability to move." Andros remains watchful to see if the strange man's words are truthful, but they seem legitimate enough. He also seems very good at stating the obvious.
The stranger, fairly normal in appearance in pretty much all ways, though clearly an outdoors type, watches the scene slightly amused. "I am as close to a custodian of these woods as you are likely to find. What, by chance, is inside the tower that drives you to such lengths?"
Andros moves over to the path leading up to the tower (A-5), curious about the scene, but still leaving himself a quick exit if that should be required.
Andros heads toward the disturbance, curious and concerned as to what could be causing such an unusual disturbance, especially since that all the times he has encountered such disturbances, they tend to be tied to trouble of some kind, not that that has ever stopped him from putting his two feet right into the middle of it.
