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"Half the sight, twice the vision." quips Narissa. "Was right, wasn't I? I usually pick the right informants." She smiles, and then spreads her hands wide clearly calmer than a few moments ago. "Who do we start with? I'd say Ol' Georgie", she waves at Furious George to make her comment clear, "seems guilty to me, but I got nothing on making him squeal without a fight. Whaddabout that Halflin' up the stairs?"
Good questions. Some theories... 1) The first ability that comes to mind is the 10th level barbarian rage power Body Bludgeon, which lets you hit someone with someone else. I do recall I once saw a build that stacked that with an ability that let you hurl your melee weapon (I can't remember which ability) to hurl crocodiles around the battlefield (Build was also part druid). That would set this ability at around a level 10 feature, so if I were homebrewing I would start with a new feat for a 10th level character. There may be another way to do it. Awesome blow, maybe? Could always modify the prereqs to something achievable. Lemme think about this. Are you looking for a homebrew solution or a rule-as-written option? 2) I can't find a reference to Stiletto Boots anywhere, but I see no reason why not. It's not giving you anything that cannot be acquired on a normal weapon. 3) I think so. You're essentially taking a roundabout route to acquire a weapon with the stats of a punching dagger. Doesn't seem out of line at all. I support it.
Firstly, I appreciate their back story. It makes the world feel more complete. Secondly, it took me wayyyy too long to get 'Half-Nelson'. Narissa is battle ready. I'm currently going with a cure light wounds wand because I don't think anyone has any actual healing items and that seems somehow appropriate for a character designed to emulate Batman. I could be convinced to swap it for 750 gp worth of cool potions though.
"Thanks." Narissa smiles at Bulge's hat information, and joins the gang at the table. Casting her head around wildly, Narissa tries to focus on the dull room, but finds her attention constantly slipping back to the conversation. Not so easily deterred, she stubbornly continues to attempt to ignore the brothers, gritting with effort. Just one punchline. Again, her eyes and ears slide right back to focus on the speaker. She shrugs, and gives up just in time to hear the complete brothel story. As the brothers go on, she grits her teeth, and spits out a single furious "Good." when they mention the fire and subsequent murder. Narissa barely spares Alistair a glance, although her tightening cheek muscles make her opinion of his question clear. The trio had earned her respect, and thus all the time they needed to explain themselves. She just had to sit tight while they did. To be fair and contribute her part, she adds "I don't know much. I know that a crime is too occur. The specifics are beyond me." She meets Bulge's gaze, and puts on a menacing smile. "Don't know or care how legitimate he is." Her tusks stand out, tight against her lips. One hand massages the well worn leather grip on her axe. "They all fall the same." She pauses to centre herself. The anger is rising, and it wouldn't do at all to yell at her newfound allies. "I'm in. Save the women, end the scum, do some good." She nods slowly. "My axe is at your disposal."
"Rrrg!" Narissa grunts with exertion as her arm is forced downwards. Pulling free, she shakes her arm quickly to loosen the muscles. "That was close." She smiles, pleased with her results, only to have her eyebrow raise suspiciously at his guilty expression. She bursts out laughing at his declaration of innocence. She claps Bulge on the with her good hand. "Haha! Of course it counts. There's no cheating in battle. Only victory and defeat. However you did it, you won." She raises a finger for the bartender's attention, and calls out "One for my surprisingly strong friend, on me!" She pauses for a moment, as her desire rages a delicate battle within her. "And another for me. Rocks fall, after all." She massages her arm, trying to get the tension out. It's worse to have a close battle, as dragging it out makes it for more tiring. A decisive victory for Bulge would've at least left her at almost full strength. "If you do feel guilty and need to make amends, fat old you could tell fit young me where to get a hat like that. I could use another trick up my sleeve." She stretches her arm out, and rubs the top of her head, miming tipping a hat. "Or on my head." As Bulge's friends leave, Narissa leans towards him and rests her elbow on the counter, propping her chin on her hand. Quietly, she whispers "Your friend's hats, do they work the same?" Then she turns around, to face Henrietta. "Shall we? I'm curious." Her hand finds the handle to her axe as she stands, and Narissa swings it up onto her shoulder with enough speed to scare anyone standing too close. She gently lays a hand on Alistair's shoulder and comments "Don't take it personally. You're not the first. I don't suppose you're royalty? Life is funny like that." She eyes Furious George with disgust for a moment, before deciding to ignore it. If there wasn't business, she'd take the fight. He sounded like a nasty character.
Addy, I love your sense of humour. I laughed so hard at Rocks Fall, and Furious George is a perfect name. Thanks!
Narissa sighs, and shakes her head slowly. "Ah well, wish I could say the same. I may not be losing, but I'm also not getting better. I need a challenge. I haven't had to use any of my tricks for too long." She pauses for a moment, before continuing in a less rueful tone. "Only a little tender? Woah. That was quite a stomp. Colour me impressed." She twists sightly to look at the newcomer, and decides to let Henrietta deal with him. He looks relatively harmless. She nods at him, and turns back to Bulge. "She is one of a kind. You'd likely continue to be lucky, were you to keep betting on her" Narissa nods. "She's good. Exceedingly so." As she talks, Bulge's muscles draw her attention. She narrows her eye suspiciously at them, unsure if they were there a moment ago. Maybe he was trying to impress her by sucking his belly in? Well, there was a really good way to find out. And a warmup round would help with the real thing. She wipes the counter for show, and then props her arm into arm wrestling position. "Speaking of impulsivity, wanna go? I'll buy you a round if you can beat me."
Yup. Just a move action. Heads up, I'm travelling this weekend and may have a reduced post count. I'm glad we'll be getting more players soon though!
"As usual" Narissa dryly declares at Henrietta's description of her prowess. She shoves her glass back towards the bartender, and shakes her head to refuse another. One was plenty for when she had a job to do. Still, she noticeably eyes Henrietta's drink, and an expression of longing flashes across her face. "Royalty? Hmph." She twists away, to hide her mischievous smile. "Do I not count? I may not look it, but I am a princess." Her head jerks in a pattern that would've successfully tossed her hair if she had more of it. Now facing Bulge, Narissa winks at him with her good eye. "One a' these days, I'll start betting on her too. Course, all the fun's gone if you already know who's gonna win" She reaches up to fiddle with her eyepatch momentarily, adjusting the straps across her forehead. "Nice to meet ya. I'm Narissa. And you likely know of this crazy jockey." She points over her shoulder with a thumb, and calls out "If you really don't like it, then try losing! A new concept for you, I know" Shaking her head, she mutters such that only Bulge can hear "Or at least don't stomp on your own hand."
Narissa snorts at Henrietta's dramatic entrance. "Hah!" She twists her upper body to face the rider, and raises the eyebrow on her good eye. "Well enough, Showoff. Seems you won, huh? Someday you'll find a real challenge, I'm sure." She claps Henrietta on the shoulder, and leans around her to steal the stolen booze. "Don't mind if I do." She takes a swig, and slaps it on the counter between them. "Best in town? Pfft." She laughs, and then turns to watch the bartender pour her drink. "Who'd ya beat today?" Bowing her head slightly forwards, Narissa winks at the other half orc and thanks him in a dramatically posh accent. "Dreadfully kind of you, my good sir." She grins wildly and accepts the glass from the barkeep, sloshing the liquid around and watching the colour shift in the light. She brandishes her glass to finish the toast, <Our foes first>, before drowning the whole glass in one go. "Ahhh, wonderful."
The half orc lounges against the bar, elbows on the counter, eyeing up the room with her one eye. An eyepatch obscures the other, although it doesn't hide the scars present on her face. Her black hair is cut short, and sticks up. Her short sleeved shirt shows off her scar adorned muscular arms. She's tall, and strong. A massive axe leans against the counter next to her, almost as a threat against messing with her. Her body language seems to be relaxed and calm, but a slight tension in her legs betrays that she is both used to and expecting fighting. She smiles widely, and yawns. Someone here knew something, and that was good enough for her. She could wait. Tilting her head back over her shoulder, Narissa conversationally declares "Bartender! Gimme something lethal."
So don't do anything stupid. I can work with that. Should we be 'in costume' or just hanging out?
It isn't really my place to comment, what with Addy being in charge around here and all, but if you really do want feedback, then you should know that those questions are setting off my GM instincts. Before I explain why, I do want to note that having a difference in the level of party members can be fun, and make for a memorable campaign. Especially so when there's fluff not accounted for in the raw mechanics that helps bring things together. If handled between mature adults who can talk out their problems, there's nothing wrong with it. I'm not casting any judgement on your ability to be reasonable about this, and I'm positive that if Addy did okay these options, they would work out. The rest of this post is a purely mechanical discussion about why either of those things would give a significant power boost to the Captain compared to a relatively 'normal' build. You did ask for thoughts. Here you go. Mechanical discussion:
1) My GMing instinct gives a hard no on this one. Pure Bred Azlanti (As long as you're talking about the one I think you're talking about. If not, please ignore me) is human plus more better. It has all the same powers as a human (already one of the best races according to some optimizers) but with an incredible amount of stat modifiers. It was never meant to be a player race. If it was, it would just flat out replace human. Consider: Henrietta is also a human. If you two took the same class and feats, and matched each others build, the Azlanti would just be better. This one choice gives you +1 to all saves, +1 to attack and damage, +1 skill per level, and +1 to all skills compared to the rest of us (depending on where our racial bonuses fall). Just play a normal human and fluff yourself into a pureblood. It's much more balanced. 2) For many years, I was harshly against players with templates. I had a bad experience with a dedicated 'minmaxer' abusing them and ruining campaigns. Since then I've softened somewhat. Having a vampire or werewolf in your party is awesome! Becoming celestial after you please a god? Sure! Templates make great campaign rewards at high level play. But see, there's two catches. The first is that you have to watch the power level very closely. Templates weren't meant for players, which means they're homebrew. And like all homebrew, balance issues pop up like crazy in the unplaytested environment. The other catch is that advanced doesn't work. All of the other templates I mentioned do something interesting for the character. Being a werewolf, or a vampire, or having the ability to smite evil, and so on. They all help make your character unique and do something that is unachievable in the rules (I am aware that werewolf and to a lesser extent vampire are becoming less relevant in this regard as options expand. That's not the point). Advanced just increases the numbers. It's not a player choice, it's a tool for the GM who suddenly needs to jack the power of a monster quickly. It doesn't add anything interesting to your character. It just makes you better. Basically it's applying monster advancement to a normal character. If you can't get want you want out of the rules, then turning to a template makes sense. But if all you want is higher numbers, that's also achievable! A level of fighter is the closest to a level with no class features, and very dipable. Not only that, but it doesn't increase the numbers at the same rate as a normal character. Take a level of a normal class and you gain maybe +1 BAB, and +1 to up to 3 saves. Advanced essentially gives you +2 to all those things, as well as +2 to all skills, +4 AC, and +2 damage. That's a ridiculous increase! 'But I don't get any class abilities!' you may say. Not so. Because you're taking it with a level of NPC Warrior, we can think of the template as the class feature of warrior. There isn't a single class in the game that gives you an ability that good at any level of play. The closest I can see is barbarian rage, which matches the hp, damage, and accuracy buff. But it only lasts a few turns, decreases your AC, tires you out, and doesn't even help on the skill front! And you get the full BAB and high hp of a warrior. I would argue if you're aiming for a power level equal to an average third level PC, a level 2 character with a +1 template is already pushing it. The advanced template wasn't meant for characters anyway, as it doesn't give you anything you couldn't get elsewhere.
I'm now kind of curious. What are you trying to achieve in your build with those choices that cannot be replicated any other way?
I'll refrain from commenting on familiars, because I don't have one. Ooh that's a tough one. Is the opening post throwing us directly into the action or will it be a 'you all meet in a bar' type scenario? Because if you open with action, then I second waiting for 4-5 players as Henrietta said. If not though, we could just roleplay and avoid the actual adventure until more people show up, which also sounds fun. I haven't quite finished my gear either because I wanted to see what holes needed filling, but I could do it quite quickly if needed.
I usually take the side of GM rolling everything (both initiative and saves), but I'm never against learning a new technique. I'll see how it goes before I cast a judgement. Honestly, I think B might be the best option. Although I can see a strong argument for A, and wouldn't be against it. Either are an improvement over the original idea, which was a little too complicated. I'm ready whenever everyone else is. For justice, honour, and all things good in the world!
May I suggest an alteration to the campaign description? You currently have:
But I think you should have (Change bolded for clarity):
I have a GM alias which I may use, or I could create another. Or you could convince me to play as me. I think in a superhero game with weird names and everyone having multiple avatars, having GM in the title of the GM may be a helpful reminder. I finished my rough backstory and it got long and dark. Don't worry. Despite all that, Narissa became a cheerfully upbeat person, who genuinely cares about others. I feel like I need to rewrite it to be less depressing. It definitely needs another pass for words and grammar choice. I do want it on record that despite what this shows, she is of good alignment. I also should probably put something in about why she calls herself Blackeye. It partially has to do with a design on the mask, partially with her missing eye, and partially that she thought it sounded cool. Backstory: The nameless half orc lies broken on the cold stone floor. Her limbs twisted, but somehow painless. Sweat mats her brow. She lies there for an eternity, before a thought coalesces in her mind. Who am I? "That's better isn't it? The gravely voice tears her mind apart, causing pain to reverberate through her skull. Who or what it is, she has no idea. Where am I? "You can think now can't you? I gave you that. Your mind was broken before. You could be outthought by a mutt." She struggles to see, but something on her face blocks her view. What am I listening to? "Say something, half breed. Anything at all." She struggles to speak, lips dry and unresponsive. She feels the pressure of a mask against her tusks. "I-i" She coughs, feeling blood splattering the inside of the mask. "W-who am-?" She trails off, and the voice is overtaken with a dark laughter, malicious and unpleasant to listen to. It feels like someone smashing her head with a hammer. "Oh poor little nameless slave. Who are you? WHO ARE YOU?" The scream causes her to whimper. "You are no one. You are nothing. You don't exist. If we killed you, no one would know the difference. A brain dead orcling, with all the stupid of your greenie parents." The dead certainty in the voice crushes her completely. She knows instinctively it speaks the truth. Th voice pauses, and for a moment the only sound is her laboured breathing. "Would you like to be someone?" A mounting fear climbs in her. She doesn't understand. She struggles to speak, her cracked lips formed words for the first time in her life. "W-why m-m-me?" "It was your turn." The voice almost sounded friendly that time, as if trying to comfort her. She spits the blood out of her mouth, smearing it against the cool porcelain on her lips and swallows the rest. The fear is gone. Calm has taken over. Her choice is clear. Her voice comes clearer now. "W-what will it c-cost?" "Your body. Your mind. Your heart. Everything and nothing." It sighs, breathing for the first time. "Do you accept the terms?" The half orc, barely a child, took a deep breath. "Yes" ------------ The burning building silhouetted the nameless masked warrior. A blackened shadow, she stalked through the night looking for more. Her ear twitched, a sound catching it. Closing her left eye, she turns letting her magic eye scan the darkness. A lone child, crouched behind a tree. Silently sobbing for its parents. She doesn't hesitate. The orders were clear. No survivors. If she was especially good, The Master might let her have a blanket tonight. It got dreadfully cold on the floor.s
------------ It took years before the mask could be removed without killing her. Years of fighting and struggling to control her mind, her very own body betraying her. Years of mental discipline, meditating quietly. Her mind was a broken thing, torn to shreds by the many magical compulsions that had kept her obedient. Words were hard, and she had to relearn how to speak. Sometimes she would fail and rampage until the elf put her down again, always with the same poisoned arrows. Her memory worked in fits and sometimes she would awaken screaming, having dreamed the horrors she had performed. Other times she knew not who she was or what she was and the ignorance was bliss. And then one day, she came to, her mind strangely focused. Cool air kissed her face, and she touched her cheek in wonderment. The mask was off. The elf was sitting by her bed smiling sweetly at her.
------------ Her mind wasn't perfect and her body had been severely damaged during the healing period. It took several more years for her to recover her strength, building up her mind the whole time. The elf called herself Marion Nokolo, and had been tracking the efforts of the masked ones for decades. Someone, she knew not who, was kidnapping children and enslaving them as warriors. Using a collection of old magical masks, they managed to revive an old art of channeling ki throughout your body to achieve amazing results without using conventional magic. As hard as Narissa tried, she could never use her ki the way she could when she wore the mask those years ago. Marion continued to track the movements of the masked group, with the eventual goal of ending the person responsible. She forbid Narissa from coming with her until the half orc was ready. Narissa was the first time a masked person had ever been cured that Marion knew of, and the two of them grew quite close. Worried that Marion was getting old and slow, Narissa trained her body constantly, pushing herself to be up to her previous standard. ------------ Marion left and never came back once. Narissa waited for months, months of silence and lonesome. The voice of the demon spoke to her, and she saw things out of the corner of her right eye. For the first time since it had come off, she donned her mask again. It tried to turn her back, the magical tendrils reaching into her brain to pick her identity apart.It was almost too easy to force it aside. She mastered the mask, and used its powers for her own. Despite this, the demon screamed in rage. That was when she learned the truth, that as part of the deal many years ago, the demon has taken her eye. Without a shred of remorse, she cut her eye out and left the cottage. She was completely alone, with one task burned into her mind. She was going to find Marion's daughter, Narissa.
Odd numbers! I do love odd numbers. You bring up an interesting point there about customizing adventures to the characters. We could do a bit where each GM has to write an adventure around a different character's backstory for the second rotation. Thoughts?
Beat us up! If Addie or the Vixen want healing, they can help pay! (I kid. They're welcome to it) The other option would be to have everyone chip in. For 4 people, we'd be talking about just under 200 gp each. Or if someone has reliable access to cure light wounds, I might not even buy the wand. I think I'll hang off on finishing gear until I know what gaps need to be filled. Hmmm. I'm sorta with The Lobster as a useful flavour tool, but I'm terrible at picking options that reduce my characters stats. I definitely support everyone taking a no benefit drawback, I just don't know what seems appropriate for Narissa. Maybe I should just roll for one randomly...
Hey guys, Goddity here! I'd like you all to meet Narissa Nokolo, one eyed half orc ninja. When she wears her mask, she's known as Blackeye (who will be getting a separate alias the instant I can find an appropriate avatar image). Her talents include daring feats of acrobatics, stunning feats of strength, disappearing into crowds as her third identity, an average half orc, and hitting things with an oversized axe. The full melee ninja might not be the most mechanically optimized build, but I giggled crazily while designing it anyway. Gear is being fine tuned, as is the backstory. I'm debating the merits of a wand of cure light wounds and UMD vs a bunch of interesting potions. Thoughts? |
