For those of us eagerly awaiting the delivery of #124, and who have players who are coming up with character ideas:
What are the dominant local religions in Diamond Lake and vicinity? There was mention of shrine to Heironeous in Abelard's character background. Any other temples or shrines in Diamond Lake?
There has also been a mention of the Twilight Monastery. Could monk PCs be part of this organization, or will this organization be antagonistic to the PCs goals? (Not that those two possibilities are exclusive, mind you....)
Creative Director
|
The backdrop on Diamond Lake in issue #124 covers this in detail. Actually, it does a similar thing for all the basic classes and races from the PHB, giving you advice on how to integrate these classes and races into the town as new characters.
Working off the top of my head, the religions that have direct support in the form of organized churches, shrines, or cults in the region include Heironeous, St. Cuthbert, Wee Jas, or Obad-Hai. There might be one or two others, but if the party cleric belongs to one of these four religions, she should be good to go.
And what about all those evil religions in the region James? From the cover of issue #124 I'd say that there might well be be a secret cult of Kyuss operating in the area. By the way, while its not what this thread is about the cover artwork for issue #124 is awesome. Is that a few new iconic characters I see?
|
Creative Director
|
Oh... never fear. There are some secret evil cults lurking in the region. Although I don't wanna reveal much more beyond that yet, since they don't really enter into the picture in the first adventure. Well... maybe a little...
That said, even the "Good Guy" religions in Diamond Lake might be a litte different to those in the Shackled City Adventure Path. Diamond Lake's not a place that the kind-hearted flock to, you see.
We are indeed introducing three new regulars with the cover of #124; a human cleric of Wee Jas, a drow bard, and a tiefling fighter. They'll get a fair bit more coverage in the issues to come as we start swapping them out for the more familiar paladin, rogue, sorcerer, and ranger. These three new ones have started to get a reputation around the office here as the "not-so-goodie-two-shoes-Dungeon-adventurers."
From the cover of issue #124 I'd say that there might well be be a secret cult of Kyuss operating in the area.
Speaking of Kyuss, how is "Kyuss" supposed to be pronounced? Is it two syllables, with the "y" pronounced with a long i sound, or one syllable, with the "y" pronounced as a consonant?
From the cover of issue #124 I'd say that there might well be be a secret cult of Kyuss operating in the area.Speaking of Kyuss, how is "Kyuss" supposed to be pronounced? Is it two syllables, with the "y" pronounced with a long i sound, or one syllable, with the "y" pronounced as a consonant?
It's KI (long i sound)-us, with the accent on the first sylable.
Not only a dreaded demigod, but a great band as well...
My wife saw the drow elf on the cover when 124 arrived and wondered if this was another of those one-in-a-million good dark elves...
Fearing the worst, yet hoping for the best (despite the horned tiefling), I said, "Well, he's probably not all bad...probably."
-LG
Well, since converting deities is sometimes an art (and not as easy the campaign guides make it sound) I thought I would hit the Paizo staff up for their opinions of gods for Faerun and Eberron.
I know for AP1 I didn't feel the straight conversion from FRCS was the best choices for this particular set of adventures and I would expect the same is true of AP2.
But with out knowing what involvment the particular churches are going to have on the campaign it is tought to make the right choice ahead of time. Then I realize there are some people who know... what say you guys?
Sean Mahoney
(another Seattle area gamer still waiting for the issue breathlessly)
|
Creative Director
|
My wife saw the drow elf on the cover when 124 arrived and wondered if this was another of those one-in-a-million good dark elves...
Fearing the worst, yet hoping for the best (despite the horned tiefling), I said, "Well, he's probably not all bad...probably."
-LG
While we don't actually have names or game stats for the three adventurers on the cover... one's a cleric of Wee Jas (who often has lawful evil worshipers) and ones a tiefling (who, as part fiend, are also often evil). I think there's a really good chance that the drow isn't necessarilly all sunshine and rainbows. :-)
|
Creative Director
|
But with out knowing what involvment the particular churches are going to have on the campaign it is tought to make the right choice ahead of time. Then I realize there are some people who know... what say you guys?
I'm fairly certain that Eric Boyd's FR conversion notes will cover this subject, converstion notes that should be available sometime soon. Without consulting them, and running off the top of my head and not-100%-exact FR lore, if I were running Age of Worms in FR I'd make the following deity substitutions.
Established Religions in Diamond Lake
St. Cuthbert —> Ilmater
Hieroneous —> Tyr
Obad-hai —> Silvanus
Wee Jas —> Kelemvor
Ebon Triad
Hextor —> Loviatar
Vecna —> Velsharoon
Erythnul —> Garagos
I'd keep Kyuss as Kyuss, personally, even in an FR game. But if you wanted to go with a more FR-friendly deity, I'd probably convert him into Moander.
Again... your milage may vary, and I'm sure Eric's conversion notes will have better choices. But them's the changes I'd make in my game.
St. Cuthbert —> Ilmater
Wee Jas —> Kelemvor
These two kind of shock me (but may work best for the campaign depending on how they are used).
Wee Jas for instance is fairly found of the undead where as Kelemvor has made it his mission to destroy as many undead as possible. This was the main reason I would have been hesitant to use Kelemvor in AP1 (although the fact that Kelemvor was a recently risen god and has within his fold some converts from previous deities of undeath who do not share his particular views and therefor would make good subversive agents).
Also, St. Cuthbert and Ilmater seem almost diametrically opposed. Ilmater being a god all about bearing suffering and St. Cuthbert about meeting out justice. But once again... not knowing how they are used in AP2 I can't say what the best choice is.
Anyway, thanks for the input James.
Sean Mahoney
|
Creative Director
|
Not all of Wee Jas's clergy are fond of undead, but the point is taken. She's definately more pro-undead than Kelemvor. Azuth might make a good Wee-Jas replacement, if you want to focus more on the deity as a goddess/god of magic. I certainly wouldn't replace Wee Jas with an evil deity; one of the cool things about her cult is that it can go both ways. Jergal might be an interesting choice.
As for St. Cuthbert, my reasons for chosing Ilmater should be obvious once you have a chance to check out the Diamond Lake Backdrop. In fact, I think Ilmater's just about a perfect deity for this role in the campaign.
That said, page 9 of the FRCS suggests replacing him with Helm, Hoar, or Tyr; of those three, I think that Hoar's probably the best choice, since the St. Cuthbert clerics in Diamond Lake aren't really warriors, and aren't necessarilly into justice...
The ideal thing to do, of course, is to make sure that one of the deities in town matches up with those worshiped by your PCs.
Could you help me understand what the appeal is of Wee Jas? The domains don't seem all that potent, and Wee Jas clerics make lousy healers, even with the feat out of Complete Divine. Compared to some of the other domains out there, she really seems to pale as a deity choice. Yet, I see folks online choosing Wee Jas all the time as a deity for their cleric (witness the playtest group). What is it I'm missing?
|
Creative Director
|
Could you help me understand what the appeal is of Wee Jas? The domains don't seem all that potent, and Wee Jas clerics make lousy healers, even with the feat out of Complete Divine. Compared to some of the other domains out there, she really seems to pale as a deity choice. Yet, I see folks online choosing Wee Jas all the time as a deity for their cleric (witness the playtest group). What is it I'm missing?
Well... I think the main appeal of Wee Jas to me is that her agenda is nebulous. She can have paladins and assassins worshiping her. Some of her clerics are into undead, but some arent. Plus, in the core rules, she's the only choice for players who want clerics with the death domain. Complete Divine augments her granted domains as well. Domination and Mind are pretty good domains, especially if you want to play a bossy cleric. All of this combines into an interesting religion that can't be immediately pegged as a "good or bad" religion, which makes for some interesting story opportunities (as we did with the Shackled City adventure path). Wee Jas isn't obviously a good guy, and makes a solid choice for players who want to worship a non-good god who's kinda scary and sinister but without worshiping a god like Vecna or Hextor that'd get you automaticly banned from most taverns and public functions.
It's also important to remember that just as not all rogues are thieves and not all fighters are thugs, not all clerics are healers. Sure, the healing is nice, but druids, paladins, rangers, and bards can all cast healing spells also, as can anyone who has ranks in Use Magic Device and some cure light wounds wands. Heck; I've seen the need for a healer completely supplanted by a supply of healing potions in some campaigns.
In fact, I find the concept of a cleric who focuses only on healing to be boring and cliche. It's like playing a wizard who only ever casts magic missile; there's SO much more you can do with the class! I chose to play a cleric of Wee Jas precisely because she's not the obvious deity for a "healer cleric" and becasue she fits perfectly with the history and personality I came up with for my character. Believe me, I've taken some flack from other players in the group (you know who you are!) for the choice. My reaction to them: If a healer cleric is so important to you, why aren't YOU playing a healer cleric?
I guess what it boils down to in the end, though, is personal taste. Myself, I think St. Cuthbert's a deadly dull boring god, and I'll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I ever play a dwarf (or a wizard, for that matter).
In fact, I find the concept of a cleric who focuses only on healing to be boring and cliche. It's like playing a wizard who only ever casts magic missile; there's SO much more you can do with the class! I chose to play a cleric of Wee Jas precisely...
Thanks, James, for replying. You're right that the domination domain's pretty potent, though I'm not all that thrilled with the mind one. It sounds like one of the chief appeals is how different the character plays. Is everyone there at Paizo equally jaded? :-)
I'm curious how the character has been working out in the play testing of the AP path. What's been better than normal? What's been subpar?
|
Creative Director
|
I'm curious how the character has been working out in the play testing of the AP path. What's been better than normal? What's been subpar?
So far, the character's working out pretty cool; she's been a blast to roleplay, and the fact that healing spells hurt her has already nearly ended up killing her twice (both when helpful priests tried to "save her life").
Her Domination domain already kicked in big time in one encounter and gave the party a significant advantage in one fight against a barbarian.
I haven't been able to command or rebuke any undead yet, alas. The one chance I had I got hit with a string of pathetic d20 rolls.
As for everyone at Paizo being as equally jaded as me... certainly not! There's two, maybe three people here who are more jaded than me! :-)
But with out knowing what involvment the particular churches are going to have on the campaign it is tought to make the right choice ahead of time. Then I realize there are some people who know... what say you guys?I'm fairly certain that Eric Boyd's FR conversion notes will cover this subject, converstion notes that should be available sometime soon. Without consulting them, and running off the top of my head and not-100%-exact FR lore, if I were running Age of Worms in FR I'd make the following deity substitutions.
Established Religions in Diamond Lake
St. Cuthbert —> Ilmater
Hieroneous —> Tyr
Obad-hai —> Silvanus
Wee Jas —> KelemvorEbon Triad
Hextor —> Loviatar
Vecna —> Velsharoon
Erythnul —> GaragosI'd keep Kyuss as Kyuss, personally, even in an FR game. But if you wanted to go with a more FR-friendly deity, I'd probably convert him into Moander.
Again... your milage may vary, and I'm sure Eric's conversion notes will have better choices. But them's the changes I'd make in my game.
Personally I think Bane is a better choice than Loviatar as a replacement for Hextor, but I'm sure you had your reasons. I also think that the whole St. Cuthbert/Ilmater choice was also strange, but again you have stated your reasons.
What would your choices be for an Eberron campaign? Everyone intending to run the new series in Eberron would like to know.
By the way James, I'm shocked you would never play a dwarf or a wizard. Surely someone of your calibre as a player, editor, designer, and DM could play every class and race without a problem. If you can't make a dwarf or wizard character interesting, who can?
Don't take my remarks as a sign of disrespect or sarcasm. If there is anyone in the industry I respect and admire, it's you.
|
Creative Director
|
Well, thanks for the kind words, Phil! I'm blushing!
As for me not wanting to play a dwarf or wizard, it boils down to two reasons there:
1: I just don't like playing dwarves. Jason's playing a dwarf in Erik's Thursday night game, and he's an awesome character. Dwarves are just Not For Me. <shrug>
2: Wizards, on the other hand, are the only class in 3.5 I've never played (or even created as a character for a campaign that didn't take off, for that matter) because I think that, for campaign play, they're just no fun. I've seen others play them, and the fact that, unlike all other character classes, you have to pay gold, XP, and lots of time to use your class features (Item Creation feats, familiar, and learning new spells) is an immediate turn-off. Plus... wizards get a strangely atrophied number of spells per day, compared to all other primary spellcasting classes. If I were in a campaign in which the DM houseruled this garbage out, I'd prolly play a wizard. If I could coax myself away from my beloved bards and clerics and druids, of course...
|
Creative Director
|
Personally I think Bane is a better choice than Loviatar as a replacement for Hextor, but I'm sure you had your reasons. I also think that the whole St. Cuthbert/Ilmater choice was also strange, but again you have stated your reasons.
What would your choices be for an Eberron campaign? Everyone intending to run the new series in Eberron would like to know.
Bane would be a good choice too. I picked Loviatar cause Bane seems a bit overused to me. And a bit too close to Garagos; throwing Loviatar into that trio mixes things up a bit.
As for my Eberron deity choices... I have to admit that I have no idea. I still don't know the Eberron setting well enough to be comfortable picking deities; Jeremy Walker's the resident Eberron expert on the Dungeon staff. (hint, hint, Jeremy)
2: Wizards, on the other hand, are the only class in 3.5 I've never played (or even created as a character for a campaign that didn't take off, for that matter) because I think that, for campaign play, they're just no fun. I've seen others play them, and the fact that, unlike all other character classes, you have to pay gold, XP, and lots of time to use your class features (Item Creation feats, familiar, and learning new spells) is an immediate turn-off. Plus... wizards get a strangely atrophied number of spells per day, compared to all other primary spellcasting classes. If I were in a campaign in which the DM houseruled this garbage out, I'd prolly play a wizard. If I could coax myself away from my beloved bards and clerics and druids, of course...
As wizard-phile I felt compelled to state the reasons I feel the restrictions are fine.
First, the atrophied number of spells per day. You are not playing your wizard right if you aren't using item creation feats to go nuts on scrolls. Low level scrolls are quick to make and mean you can be casting all day long. In the one campaign I played in that also had a sorcerer, I constantly put him to shame with how long I would be casting spells (though I would share my scrolls since we were a team and him being out of spells didn't hurt the team or the players enjoyment; eventually he started paying for them).
Time... to create, to study, etc. I have always liked there to be time in between adventures anyway. As a general rule in my campaigns I try to have adventures take place a year apart. (that can vary of course) so levels 1-20 really are taking them across a career. With that in mind time isn't really a big deterent.
XP. Sure you fall behind, but the XP system of D&D allows you to get more XP once you are a lower level character. Additionally when creating items for team mates we use their XP (not sure if this is a house rule or official).
Gold. This is the limiting factor... otherwise the number of spells in books would be insane. Sorcerers and other classes simply can't choose that many spells so they have a built in limitation. I guess clerics don't have that issue and just have access to anything... odd.
Anyway... just my 2 cents on wizards... for me they are the favored class and I would take them over others any time.
As for your cleric of Wee Jas character concept James, I loved it. I fully intend to steal it for a True Necromancer (see, still loving the wizard) that I will be playing someday...
Sean Mahoney
James Jacobs wrote:
While we don't actually have names or game stats for the three adventurers on the cover... one's a cleric of Wee Jas (who often has lawful evil worshipers) and ones a tiefling (who, as part fiend, are also often evil). I think there's a really good chance that the drow isn't necessarilly all sunshine and rainbows. :-)
Hmmm,
Trust ye not the drow, for only a fool doth so. I think any exalted drow would caution others in this manner (drow especially don't trust other drow if I remember correctly).
As for fiend-tainted tieflings and "possibly" LE followers of Wee Jas who keep the aforementioned company...it'd take a LONG time before I turned my back on them, much less trust them with my life and well being (both necessary things in any adventure).
I guess the real trick would be getting these three to trust and/or work with and respect a LG cleric of Heironeous (which I would be playing if I weren't the GM). Could it happen? Dunno (artwork on pages 14 and 20 of Dungeon 124 include the paladin character with 2 of these nay-saying sowers of disent, so I concede that it is possible). Don't get me wrong, I think your reasons for playing a cleric of Wee Jas are great. Perfect fodder for any GM with a world to build. It's just that I've been playing since '79, and have gravitated toward the good alignments (I realize and can live with the notion that not everyone thinks so).
As far as requiring the cleric to be the squad medic, I couldn't disagree more. My favorite domains are: Good, Sun, War (when not devoted to Lathander or Pelor), and in a distant 4th place, Healing. As you've clearly stated, others can help fill in with the healing when needed. Clerics have other things to tend to. Namely, maintain the moral high ground, and blasting undead (Thou art a stench in the nostrils of the Invincible One! Get thee down!).
The AP looks great, and the seediness of Diamond Lake doesn't deter me one bit. To quote Obi Wan, "...never will there be a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."
Enough for now,
STRENGTH & HONOR,
LG
To quote Obi Wan, "...never will there be a more wretched hive...
Heh, just watched episode 4 a few minutes before reading this. (prepping to go see episode 3 next week when my stepson gets here for the summer.)
As soon as #124 gets here, I'll be prepping for some d&d action with the kids this summer too :P
Well, thanks for the kind words, Phil! I'm blushing!
As for me not wanting to play a dwarf or wizard, it boils down to two reasons there:
1: I just don't like playing dwarves. Jason's playing a dwarf in Erik's Thursday night game, and he's an awesome character. Dwarves are just Not For Me. <shrug>
2: Wizards, on the other hand, are the only class in 3.5 I've never played (or even created as a character for a campaign that didn't take off, for that matter) because I think that, for campaign play, they're just no fun. I've seen others play them, and the fact that, unlike all other character classes, you have to pay gold, XP, and lots of time to use your class features (Item Creation feats, familiar, and learning new spells) is an immediate turn-off. Plus... wizards get a strangely atrophied number of spells per day, compared to all other primary spellcasting classes. If I were in a campaign in which the DM houseruled this garbage out, I'd prolly play a wizard. If I could coax myself away from my beloved bards and clerics and druids, of course...
True, the deal with researching spells is a problem (as is keeping a spellbook safe and sound), but then again clerics and druids can also invest in Item Creation feats, so that's not really an issue. The atrophied number of spells is balanced by the versatility that the wizard brings to the game. Sure clerics and druids are versatile, but wizards are the most versatile arcane spellcasters. Plus with the inclusion of Metamagic feats and specialization wizards can be quite powerful.
I bet Wee Jas would be upset to find out that you so dislike wizards so much! I think your cleric should become a multiclass cleric/necromancer by way of apology. ;)
Jeremy Walker's the resident Eberron expert on the Dungeon staff. (hint, hint, Jeremy)
Ok, I know Keith Baker is covering this in the adapting to Eberron supplement he is doing, but I will try and go from memory.
Established Religions in Diamond Lake
St. Cuthbert —> Silver Flame
Hieroneous —> Either a general temple to the Sovereign Host pantheon, or a specific one for Dol Dorn
Obad-hai —> rather than use a nature deity for the Lodge, I believe that it will be run by one of the druidic sects (iirc, it's the Gatekeepers)
Wee Jas —> The Blood of Vol
Ebon Triad
I know Keith has three deities from the Dark Six in mind, but I can't remember what they are (and I can't look it up atm), so I will just leave it to him.
|
Creative Director
|
I bet Wee Jas would be upset to find out that you so dislike wizards so much! I think your cleric should become a multiclass cleric/necromancer by way of apology. ;)
No way! If Tyralandi multiclasses into an arcane class, she's heading into sorcerer. Cleric/sorcerers are better anyway since neither of those classes can get by with only 2 good mental abilities (Wisdom and Charisma). Wizards are too stuffy and boring; while they'll be spending their gold on books and ink, I'll be spending mine on awesome magic clothes and daggers carved out of rubies. ;-)
I guess what it boils down to in the end, though, is personal taste. Myself, I think St. Cuthbert's a deadly dull boring god
Oh, good, someone who agrees with me that Cuthbert is a "deadly dull boring" deity - I have thought that since the first time I saw him and alway substitute Heironeous or Pelor or any other deity but him... ("ooh, look out, he's got a cudgel...teehee!")
|
But with out knowing what involvment the particular churches are going to have on the campaign it is tought to make the right choice ahead of time. Then I realize there are some people who know... what say you guys?I'm fairly certain that Eric Boyd's FR conversion notes will cover this subject, converstion notes that should be available sometime soon. Without consulting them, and running off the top of my head and not-100%-exact FR lore, if I were running Age of Worms in FR I'd make the following deity substitutions.
Established Religions in Diamond Lake
St. Cuthbert ?Egt; Ilmater
Hieroneous ?Egt; Tyr
Obad-hai ?Egt; Silvanus
Wee Jas ?Egt; KelemvorEbon Triad
Hextor ?Egt; Loviatar
Vecna ?Egt; Velsharoon
Erythnul ?Egt; GaragosI'd keep Kyuss as Kyuss, personally, even in an FR game. But if you wanted to go with a more FR-friendly deity, I'd probably convert him into Moander.
Again... your milage may vary, and I'm sure Eric's conversion notes will have better choices. But them's the changes I'd make in my game.
I have to agree those choices except for Moander whose portfolio was taken by Finder Wyvernspur(?).
Also, Bane,Shar,Mask and Cyric are overused much of late maybe its time for the other gods to take center stage for a change of pace.And no,No drow or Yaun-ti either.
|
Way back in AP1, which I ran in the Forgotten Realms, I converted the deities as follows:
St. Cuthbert = Helm
Wee Jas = Kelemvor (evil and undead-loving clerics were holdovers from previous death deities)
Hextor = Bane
Erythnul = Garagos (I think?)
Vecna = Shar (I could have gone with a closer fit, but my fiancee just started playing and hated Shar, so it made a good personal choice)
As for Eberron, before hearing that Keith Baker reccomended the Lords of Dust, I thought of using either:
Hextor = The Mockery
Erythnul = The Devourer
Vecna = The Shadow
...or making a cult of the Blood of Vol seeking to usurp the power of those three deities in order to raise Vol to full divine status. But I love the Lords of Dust, too. (Rubs backwards-facing hands together evilly)
These two kind of shock me (but may work best for the campaign depending on how they are used).St. Cuthbert —> Ilmater
Wee Jas —> Kelemvor
Got it.
Read it.
Fully agree with you now.
Sean Mahoney
...No way! If Tyralandi multiclasses into an arcane class, she's heading into sorcerer. Cleric/sorcerers are better anyway since neither of those classes can get by with only 2 good mental abilities...
I like the idea of a cleric/sorcerer, and have NPC-played one in prior games. They're versatile, and have a larger supply of spells, albeit, lower-level ones. Its a trade off.
Now, you've posted elsewhere that you might attempt the True Necromancer prestige class. My question is, given the dangers already evident in the 1st insallment of AWAP, isn't this route going to leave you a little underpowered compared to the rest of the party?
If I read it correctly, you'd have to be at least 8th level to take the 1st level of True Necromancer by following the cleric/sorcerer path. At minimum, you'd need:
3 levels of cleric (to have access to Summon Undead II)
and
4 levels of sorcerer (to have access to Command Undead, which would be your only 2nd level arcane spell at 7th level).
On top of this, without an INT bonus, 2/3rds+ of your skill points would have to go toward meeting the knowledge (arcana and religion/8) requirements.
Even with 2 levels of True Necromancer, which would make you 9th level, you'd still only have access to 2nd level divine and arcane spells. That, at a time when the party's single-classed clerics and wizards have access to 5th level spells (yes, wizards are a bit stuffy, but I wouldn't tell a 9th level one so to his face...). Would the undead that you could create at this level turn the tide? Even your rebuke undead ability would only be that of a 5th level cleric (at a time when you'd likely face EL 9 encouters with undead that would as likely have turn resistance as not).
Of course, all of this assumes that you take the True Necromancer slot at the earliest opportunity. But since there are 14 levels of True Necromancer available, I guess there's no time like the present.
I don't want you to think I believe in min/maxing...I much prefer intelligent play and interesting character backgrounds (so far, there's nothing but that in this AP's character write ups). I just seems that you've put a lot of work into this character. Is it working? I'll assume you're quite a bit further on in the path.
And on a final, different note, I'll promise NEVER to heal you if you promise NEVER to animate my lifeless corpse if I should unfortunately fall in battle.
Carpe diem-er, noctem (sorry),
LG
|
Creative Director
|
As long as I'm having fun playing a character, I consider that character a successful one. So, in this case, Tyralandi's definately a winner.
Skill points aren't a problem; she's a human with a +2 Int bonus, so that opens up a nice, wide range of prestige classes to look into. The problem with True Necromancer is indeed that your caster levels take a hit, but we've got enough people in our group that that won't really matter, I don't think. More importantly, one of the purposes as I see them of the Mystic Theurge or the True Necromancer is to bolster smaller groups who may have only one cleric or arcanist but not both. That's certainly not a problem in this campaign.
I actually spent an hour or so yesterday looking through all the D&D books for a cool prestige class for her and the closest thing I found was the Incantitrix (which will provide some fast talking to get cleared for a divine class). Today, I'll prolly be looking through the big stack of Dragon magazines for others. I probably won't be going the true necromancer route, simply because it's powers are a tiny bit too evil for Tyralandi and because it's really rough having to give up spell progression.
As for not raising your corpse as a minion... deal. Tyralandi's more into stealing undead from others and making them fight their creators and then marching them into meat grinders to get rid of them anyway.
And as for min/maxing, I've certainly got no problems with that! My prefered method of character generation is to come up with some wacky, underutilized concept that doesn't seem to be that great and then min/max it as much as I can. Witness Tyralandi, the cleric who can't spontaneously cast healing spells but isn't really into being evil.
...I probably won't be going the true necromancer route, simply because it's powers are a tiny bit too evil for Tyralandi...
GILDERSLEEVE (the role player) says: Amen & amen!
GILDERSLEEVE (subscriber & GM) says: ...you sly dog! You got me monologuing (ALL those times!). Well, now I can say I've read the True Necromancer entry in Libris Mortis in its entirety. Your fault, JJ.
Tyra, there is hope...I can sense the good in you.
LG
As for Eberron, before hearing that Keith Baker reccomended the Lords of Dust, I thought of using either:
Hextor = The Mockery
Erythnul = The Devourer
Vecna = The Shadow
My suggestion for the Triad is just as you have described, but replacing Erythnul with the Keeper. In many ways the Devourer is a better direct match to Erythnul, but the Keeper-Mockery-Shadow pairing makes a better overall trio to me. Of course, with that said, the Lords of Dust ARE involved - but all will come out in the web expansions.
Greetings all,
Just a quick question: I like Ilmater as a substitute (in this instance, anyway) for St. Cuthbert. Is there a reason, in the future installments of the AP, that this might not work as well as Lathander or Helm?
Ebon Triad
Hextor —> Loviatar
Vecna —> Velsharoon
Erythnul —> Garagos
This is more or less the conversion I made for Shackled City, except I used Malar instead of Garagos, so that will probably be the one I use in Age of Worms as well. Also, I used a secret Myrkul/Bhaal cult for Embril and Ike in Shackled City, so I don't feel comfortable doing that in Age of Worms as well.