Sir Ardan's page

Awesome. Character sheet upgraded.

Sir Aradan has +11 ride, +6 disable device (when he is wearing his breastplate and puts his shield down), and +3 diplomacy (a knight must be chivalrous, so even though he isn't very charismatic he has to try)

His loyal dire wolf has +14 perception (it is trained to find traps) and +5 survival (+9 when using scent).

Thus, even with Intelligence 9, Sir Ardan, with his mount, have between them the required skills.

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Still debating whether or not to go VMC with him. At the moment I'm leaning towards not doing so. But for lvl 1 at least, he is completed.

If you allow the trait Trapfinder, I’ll take disable device. With MW thief tools, and ACP, it would be +6 disable device. And his wolf has +14 perception.

It would actually be pretty cool, as it’s like having a bomb dog. A wolf trained to find the traps and the rider then deals with them.

If so, nothing crazy. I'd go VMC Fighter. I was really tempted to go VMC Barbarian (his Str16 is nothing to write home about. Pushing it up to 20 when charging would have been great), but it just didn't seem to fit the character.

With VMC Fighter, he would look like this:

Feats
Lvl 1: Mounted Combat (class), Ride-by-Attack (level), Spirited Charge (race), Run (race)
Lvl 3: VMC: Bravery at lvl -1
Lvl 5: Power Attack, Furious Focus
Lvl 7: VMC: Armor Training 1
Lvl 8: Spring Attack (bonus feat)
Lvl 9: Advanced Armor Training Armor Specialization
Lvl 11: VMC: Weapon Training 1, Unseat (bonus feat)
Lvl 13: Advanced Weapon Training Weapon Specialist = Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization Lance
Lvl 14: Spring Attack (bonus feat)
Lvl 15: VMC: Armored Juggernaut (Ex)
Lvl 17: Improved Bull Rush (bonus feat), Rhino Charge
Lvl 19: VMC: Weapon Training 2, Armed Bravery
Lvl 20: Advanced Weapon Training Weapon Focused Weapon

* Overall, it would be using his feats to double down on the "lance specialist knight wearing full plate armor and wielding a shield"

Question: Do you allow variant multiclassing? Was just thinking about feat plans and I might want to use that option.

Made the changes. The dire wolf is much more in line with lvl1 now.

Dire Wolf it is. I applied animal companion rules to make it lvl1 (-2 hit, -2 damage, HP drops from 37 to 19. Gained power attack feat (not usually using it) and has perception and survival as skills.

Small halfling, large dire wolf. Ironically his lance lets him attack normally with the size difference. :)

Many animal companions grow larger at lvl 7. I'd gladly drop it to medium size and have it become large then if you'd like. Might be more balanced at this level to do that, and it would reflect the dire wolf not being fully grown yet.

Totally fine with that. I just went for rules as written. How would the rules be different?

Are we talking the mount having this or this stat block to start? I’d assume the worg as it is the less powerful of the two.

A halfling cavalier! I've never played a cavalier before, so why not give it a go? -2 Strength really hurts. And while I could have just made a small-sized aasimar or tiefling (Str 20!) what is the fun in that? Going with the Str 16 instead.

He seems pretty decent. 80ft charge speed with ride-by-attack, to hopefully be able to cycle charge. At lvl 1, he is +5 to hit and 1d6+3 damage normally, which increases to +7 to hit and 3d6+9 damage when charging.

Chose Emissary for his archetype, as it felt very halfling to me. Wolf as a mount for trip.

Physical and mental health always come first. This should be enjoyable for everyone involved, GM included

You're doing great! No complaints on my end.

Ardan was about to turn to leave for a night’s drinking, but paused at Warren’s words. With a sigh he turned to Terrel and said ”It seems churlish to make our first acts as knights to be leaving for drink and cheer while Warren here keeps a lonely vigil. Shall we stay with him, and celebrate after?”

Missed that! 1d8 ⇒ 8

HP: +10
Saves: +1 Fort/Ref
BaB: +1 (+1 regular, +2 with devastating infusion)
Bonus Feat: Rapid Shot (devastating infusion only)
Class: Shroud of Water (Armor!)

Due to burn, HP is effectively 19. But have AC22, so should be pretty tanky. Now just need to survive to lvl3 to get a range greater than 30ft!

Offense, now have a choice between +6 Touch with 1d6+4 cold damage, or +4/+4 with 1d8+6 physical.

”Sir Ardan? Ha! I like the sound of that, Sir Terrel.” He replied with a grin. ”Alright, first round is on you. We can go to that bar. What’s it called? The one with the door big enough for me to get through.”

Ref: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Ardan avoided the blast, in large part because of how he wasn’t close enough to it. But when the dust cleared and he heard the news, the centaur beamed a smile. For he was no longer just Ardan, he was now Sir Ardan! And such glorious news certainly deserved a grin.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

Touch: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
Cold Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Ardan took a deep breath and held out a hand, forming a bow. With another he made an arrow. It wasn’t strictly needed, but he felt that the the familiar motion made aiming much easier. The ethereal arrow flew straight and true, striking the statue. It didn’t pierce like a normal arrow would have, for it wasn’t physical enough. Still, it did freeze what it touched, which could be just as deadly.

Touch: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Cold Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Ardan formed a spear made out ethereal mist of dark blue and raised his arm to throw it at the statue, stopping when he realized that he didn't have a clear shot. Not feeling confident enough to throw it into melee just yet, he hesitated while searching for an opening.

Ardan looked at Sir Alaryn with surprise, that gave way to relief, and then to trepidation. It was truly a wild ride of emotions. With about half a minute to prepare themselves, Ardan instead trotted his hooves and rolled his shoulders to prepare himself for the coming conflict. There was not much else he could do but to get his nerves in order.

"We do have a task to complete here. Blowing ourselves up is not going to help us complete our goal." Ardan offered.

"Sounds...dangerous. We should move through here as carefully as possible, with a good distance between each of us. So if disaster does happen, we all don't get blown up."

Ardan trotted along. He was used to walking for hours and hours on end, and he did so in silence. But when the monotony of the walk was shattered by the blue crystals ahead, he came to a halt.

"Well, whatever that is it can't be good. Right?" He asked, obviously not knowing either way.

Survival: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17
Geo: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

”Can’t say I can make heads or hooves out of any of this. No clues whatsoever as far as I can tell. If it isn’t the center, then we have a fifty fifty chance of going in the right direction. I’m glad that we’re all together. I’d hate to get lost down here alone.”

Str for round 1 climbing: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Str for round 2 climbing: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

Ardan held the rope steady. Luckily for him, being a centaur made him far better at holding the rope steady than it did for climbing. His weight and extra points of contact on the ground made the task easier. Still, his top half was human-like, and he couldn’t hold out forever. He resolved to have someone take over so he could begin blasting the swarm...before his arms fell off.

Ardan hurried to connect his role as quickly as possible. It felt odd to be the first one up, but that just meant that he had the most responsibility to help the others!

Climb: 1d20 + 3 - 5 ⇒ (18) + 3 - 5 = 16

Ardan's eyes widened as he saw the swarm descending upon them. With sheer strength, he overcame the significant hardships faced given his form and forced his way up the wall, scrambling as if though his life depended on it. Which it probably did.

Should he reach the top

Once on all four hooves once more, Ardan quickly opened his pack to take out his rope. Once secured, it would mean that his comrades would have a much easier time than him on ascending.

Standard Touch without accounting for range penalties: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Cold: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Climb to just hang there? Can he take 20 to finish climbing when this is all done? Or alternatively can he get a bonus by doing a full round action to climb carefully?: 1d20 + 3 - 5 ⇒ (14) + 3 - 5 = 12

Still stuck halfway up, Ardan continued sending down blasts of ethereal spears at the scorpions.

"This is no place for my people..." Ardan muttered, before calling down "Just don't stand beneath me!"

Hanging on as he was, Ardan took the time to form an ethereal spear in his hand and sent it arcing towards the nearest scorpion.

K Nature: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

Standard Touch and FF without accounting for range penalties: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15
Cold: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Move Action Climb: 1d20 + 3 - 5 ⇒ (14) + 3 - 5 = 12

”I will begin climbing then. As it will take me the longest, and should anything attack I have ranged capabilities.” Ardan said. He looked up at the wall and thought ”I WILL be a knight, regardless of the obstacles.”

Climb: 1d20 + 3 - 5 ⇒ (18) + 3 - 5 = 16

"Our funeral." Ardan muttered to himself. After a moment's hesitation he nodded and said "Right. On we go."

Ah survival. You are treating me well!

Survival: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

Ardan was suitably humbled by the application of magic. He quietly went about tracking out a path for them. As they got to the split passage he said ”Straight seems to be the proper way to go. Its hard to tell here, but it... smells cleaner. And look. There is moss growing around the entrance. Therefore I think it’s the right way to go, but Erastril knows for certain.”

"Nice trick. And just as well, all I can find around here is stone and water anyways." Ardan said, taking a moment to appreciate the strange beauty of being underground.

Was hoping to find something to make a fire out of with the survival roll. But if there is nothing he can start a fire with that is fine. He doesn’t have anything on him that would suffice without nature providing. I figured that a kit means no roll needed. Doing it from scratch would be survival, with modifiers based on location and availability of resources

"Well done! I was worried. Here, let me get a fire going. You must be freezing."

Ardan quickly went about doing so, knowing full well that being dripping wet in a cold and dank environment was a recipe for disaster.

Survival to quickly start a fire: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21

”Right, if I don’t make it throw me the rope.” The centaur took a running start and leapt with all of his might to cross the gap. By fortune or fate he made the jump and came to a halt after a few awkward steps to regain his balance.

With the rope, does that decrease the DC to 10? Not exactly sure what tests we should be making

Did it

“After you, then.” Ardan said, eyeing the leap warily.

Ardan planted his four hooves firmly on the ground and held his hands out. "When you make the jump, use me as a spring board. I'll try to give you the extra lift you need to make it."

Ardan marveled at Rena's intelligence. Her words were remarkably precise and her actions swift. He understood why the Order had taken her, even when he had come in thinking that people like Dart were what they were looking for.

"I have to agree with Rena here, and I think that this should be sufficient." That and these tunnels are so dark and oppressive he thought, somewhat unhappily. It felt unnatural to be underground.

It makes sense for Ardan to be in the rear. He is primarily ranged, but can CC and is fast enough to reposition.

"We promised to aid him if he was in need and we came across him. Nothing more, nothing less. He is not a child that we must baby. We should stay focused on what we came here to do." Ardan said. He wasn't keen on the idea of spending more time below ground babysitting a grown man, but he understood the argument to do so.

Survival: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Geography: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

The centaur’s skills, honed from a life roaming the plains and hunting, came into play. ”Look here. A singular set of tracks leading down the left tunnel, and another three sets leading on down the middle tunnel. There is a small draft of air coming from the right branching tunnel. I would take the right, just to get out of this darkness as soon as possible.”

Ardan nodded. ”When he is older the memory of his often he embarrassed himself will be a price high enough. It would be churlish of us to wish him physical harm on top of that.”

"That would be us." Ardan said, doing his best to show confidence. It was clear that they were going in whether they volunteered or not, so what was the point of waiting and looking cowardly? Best to just get it over with.

Well, I enjoy statting things up. :)

And people really quit their job...over an election? Wow. I just don't get that. Why hurt yourself and your family over someone who doesn't even know your name. :P

rorek55: "feel free to create an "npc friend" you know from your class if you want.

Sorry, couldn't help it. But I hope you all like Chad. :)

Ardan reached down to help Sprig get back to her feet. ”It seems like we have quite the group forming. I’m certain that together we will overcome whatever challenge is thrown our way.”

”Never quite understood this human obsession with where you’re from. You’re from a farm. That doesn’t make what you carry any less, or more, weight than if you’re from a line of heroes. No offense intended!” He hurriedly finished, realizing that he might have spoken out of line. ”What I mean to say, is that you’re skills are impressive enough that I’m glad to have you by on side based on that alone.”