Will we ever see the stats for the iconic characters that are used often in Dungeon adventures?
I like the 4 that appeared on the cover of #114.
...anyway...just curious
thanks
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Or biographies/backgrounds?
Personally I prefer fluffy to crunchy for this sort of thing.
Or one of my current favourite pieces of character fluff -- how about their responses to the various "20 questions" style surveys that seem to infest blogs & journals these days (what's your favourite colour? What was the last song you listened to?)? I can't stand them in blogs but started doing them recently for some of my (N)PCs.
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Those characters appear in all the adventures-- no matter what level of character that the adventure is designed for. So, how do you decide which level to make the stats for?
Besides, I remember reading in another thread, Eric Mona said that they don't even have names. So, if they haven't even given them names, why would they give them stats?
It aint gonna happen. :(
Iconic Character/Famous Fictional Character Stats would be a great section to add to DUNGEON every month. One page, just for fun, it would be interesting.
Eric has stated elsewhere (fairly firmly) that the iconic characters exist only to ease ordering of art for the magazines and that he has no intention of having them named or stated out.
- Ashavan
Creative Director
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Although some of us have used a few of the iconic Dungeon adventurers as models/inspiration for characters in games here at Paizo, the characters themselves are unnamed. All that we really have developed for them is their race and class. Their main use is to make ordering art easier: we can say "Draw this guy" and include our concept art for the paladin rather than having to spell out what a paladin is and what he looks like and what he wears every time.
They probably could do with some names, though, I suppose. Poor l'il adventurers work so hard for us, giving them names is probably the least we can do...
One of the other issues with statting these guys up is that they can be any level. If we use them in a high level adventure, they'll be 10th or 15th level. We could stat up their progression through the levels, but I'm not sure the amount of work that would require would have enough of a payoff for the readers. Maybe some day one of them will make one of the Critical Threat pages.
Sean Glenn
Art Director Dragon and Dungeon magazines
One of the other issues with statting these guys up is that they can be any level. If we use them in a high level adventure, they'll be 10th or 15th level.
They also jump around from setting to setting. Although Dungeon adventures are fairly generic in nature it's sometimes hard to deny (and why would you want to?) that some advetures are made for specific settings.
That said, I was the one who made the request for stating up the iconic characters several months ago. I got the 3rd degree from some upity forum members for asking. Whatever...
Could we at least get a list of races and classes? I can guess at some but not all.
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Creative Director
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Could we at least get a list of races and classes? I can guess at some but not all.
THAT... I can do.
Male drow bard
Female human cleric of Wee Jas
Female tiefling fighter
Male human paladin
Female human ranger
Male half-elf rogue
Male human sorcerer
Still to do: barbarian, druid, monk, wizard. We have vague ideas/notions for genders and races for these guys, but they haven't been designed yet. And they probably won't for some time to come.
After that we can start looking into iconic ninjas and scouts and warlocks and samurai, I suppose.
Where's the dwarf love?
First of all: Way too many humans. Humans bore me to tears.
Still to do: barbarian, druid, monk, wizard. We have vague ideas/notions for genders and races for these guys, but they haven't been designed yet. After that we can start looking into iconic ninjas and scouts and warlocks and samurai, I suppose.
Don't forget us psionics fans. Before you do any of those you have to give us some psions and psi-warriors.
Also, don't be afraid of using some lesser know races. for example, you might also consider some setting specific iconics like a shifter barbarian.
Iconic Character/Famous Fictional Character Stats would be a great section to add to DUNGEON every month. One page, just for fun, it would be interesting.
That is an AWESOME idea! I think it would be pretty cool to see famous heroes and villians from fiction (fantasy fiction would be the easiest) in Dungeon. Although I suppose that would violate copyright laws. Crud.
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Creative Director
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First of all: Way too many humans. Humans bore me to tears.
Also, don't be afraid of using some lesser know races. for example, you might also consider some setting specific iconics like a shifter barbarian.
We won't be assigning any races that don't appear in the core books, first of all, so no shifters or warforged iconics.
Dwarves are a possibility, but if I have my way we'll see a gnome and a halfing first. Maybe an aasmiar.
Maybe the wizard will have a dwarf familiar. Or the druid! She could have a dwarf animal companion! The barbarian could be wearing dwarf hide armor!
Why don't you open a section on these boards, a topic for each iconic including a link to its skecth, then ask everyone to write down ideas for its background. I beleive that within a month most iconic will have nice background provide by the fans of dungeon.
Dwarves are a possibility, but if I have my way we'll see a gnome and a halfing first. Maybe an aasmiar.
Maybe the wizard will have a dwarf familiar. Or the druid! She could have a dwarf animal companion! The barbarian could be wearing dwarf hide armor!
I sense someone in need of a bit of involuntary dwarf love.
Maybe us. . . the posters of this thread. . . can stat them up.
We can pick one of the iconics, choose a level, and just stat the bejeesus out of him/her.
Maybe I could do one. . . of course, I officially refuse to do the surface-Drow Bard. . . may his smarmy little underdark self be eaten by a mass of writhing green worms. :)
Dwarves are a possibility, but if I have my way we'll see a gnome and a halfing first. Maybe an aasmiar.
Personally, I don't care for seeing nonstandard races as iconic PCs. It plays to much to the negative munchkin "My Half-Dragon Troll Bezerker character eats gawds for breakfast" D&D image.
Tieflings PCs just scream "Munchkin" like Drow PCs scream "I've read all the Forgotten Realm's Novels 3 times and I even had Ed Greenwood sign my copy of Spellfire".::shudder::
I liked the first four iconic characters.
The Drow and tiefling in the current batch chaif me. (The tiefling looks like a half-musk ox in some of the pictured, and her horns on the cover illustration are weird because they fade into her skin and hair in a way that horns just don't grow..."But she is a fantsy demon spawn and it's not real"...granted. So then break out the cleavage and wasp waist... Art critic rant off)
I'd prefer to see a iconic Wee Jas priest to look more goth and less Wonder Woman though.
Stats, not interested.
Are the same four iconic characters staying with us all the way through the AoW?
ASEO out
I sense someone in need of a bit of involuntary dwarf love.
I think that's illegal in some states.
GGG
Male drow bard
Female human cleric of Wee Jas
Female tiefling fighter
Male human paladin
Female human ranger
Male half-elf rogue
Male human sorcerer
Oops. I thought the cleric of Wee Jas (the one dressed in red and white and blue?) was a Warlock. Hrm. My bad.
Iconic Character/Famous Fictional Character Stats would be a great section to add to DUNGEON every month. One page, just for fun, it would be interesting.
I would love this! Anyone remember Giants in the Earth in the old Dragon magazine?
Jack
Is that Iconic Scout Dram Cicaeda I see braving Swamp Dangers in #126?
:-)
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I'm also happy for the focus to be on core races and classes -- there's a vast amount that can be done with the basic 7 races and 11 classes, we don't need an iconic celstial half-dragon dire ninja! :)
her horns on the cover illustration are weird because they fade into her skin and hair in a way that horns just don't grow
I can't say why Howard Lyon drew it that way, but I know of another (fantasy) artist who draws horns like that because in some media more realistic horns always seem to look "wrong" in some sense, whereas fewer people feel "faded" horns look wrong unless they stop to think about it.
I'd prefer to see a iconic Wee Jas priest to look more goth and less Wonder Woman though.
A cleric of the goddess of vanity should have a certain style about her, not necessarily doled up to the nines all the time, but I feel there should be a degree of casual refinement at least -- they know how to make the best of how they look.
The overall style here doesn't feel (to me) quite right, gothier wouldn't be a bad direction to move in, but I'll not grumble about the type of armour she's wearing -- I'll grumble that she's wearing any armour at all! Heresy :)
Wayne Reynolds' "Larsa Essinel" picture in Dungeon 118 would to my mind make a good Jasidan something, not an actual preist or mage but she certainly has that "Wee Jas" feel to her.
Unfortunately it's the problem of juggling not just keeping some/most people happy some/most of the time, but also doing so in an artistic/creative environment.
Personally, I don't care for seeing nonstandard races as iconic PCs.
I suspect that a relatively high proportion of the people that frequent the WotC and Paizo websites use a high proportion of non-core material compared to the overall D&D (or Dungeon/Dragon magazine) population. Certainly of the three groups I know all play with significantly less non-core material than many people active on these boards seem to.
We don't really need more elven wizards and halfling rogues, but uncommon basic/core iconics are nice (elven paladins, or dwarven druids) and are potentially of interest to everyone, whereas simply by being non-core others are only of potential interest to a (significantly?) smaller population.
That's not of course to say that the smaller populations should be discounted, but rather recognise those areas where given populations are likely to be disproportionately represented -- in my experience/opinion for example I would expect the people active on this site and on the WotC site to use a relatively large amount of non-core material compared to the general D&D population and to general Dungeon/Dragon readers.
I sense someone in need of a bit of involuntary dwarf love.I think that's illegal in some states.
Only if it's done right.
Seriously, I'd like to see either a move away from the boobs, boobs, improbable waists, and boobs school of character art towards something a bit grittier and with fewer double D cups. Alternatively, leaven the gigantic jugs with some Tom of Finland style leather rogue goodness.
I'm just sayin'.
Is that Iconic Scout Dram Cicaeda I see braving Swamp Dangers in #126?
:-)
It sure looks like it.
I'd prefer to see a iconic Wee Jas priest to look more goth and less Wonder Woman though.
We decided that we didn't like the red, white (silver/metal), blue scheme on the cleric either, so in the coming issues she's a more muted set of colors, heavy on the red and charcoal.
Sometimes they works, sometimes they don'ts.
Still to do: barbarian, druid, monk, wizard. We have vague ideas/notions for genders and races for these guys, but they haven't been designed yet. And they probably won't for some time to come.
Male Half-orc Monk! Male Half-orc Monk! Male Half-orc Monk! :D
Male Half-orc Monk! Male Half-orc Monk! Male Half-orc Monk! :D
Male dwarven wizard! :D Between the two I'll have most of my faveorite character types.
Or biographies/backgrounds?
Or one of my current favourite pieces of character fluff -- how about their responses to the various "20 questions" style surveys...
I use this as the "trigger point" to get everybody thinking about their character and game. Only one question per player, a different question for each.
Maybe the wizard will have a dwarf familiar. Or the druid! She could have a dwarf animal companion! The barbarian could be wearing dwarf hide armor!
That is too awesome for words. LOL I feel the same way about gnomes, that is just too funny.
here's a start. the stats below are for the female teifling fighter, 5th level. now, a lot of you are going to rule call me about specifics, but just know, this is a start. basic idea, etc. i make NO guarantee that the stats and options below are in any way legal, but i believe to the best of my knowledge that they are at least fundamentally correct. like i said, this is a start. i am simply going off most of the pictures i have seen, and this was put together without the help of my books. anyway, try this on for size, and if you have any suggestions, let me know. thanks!
Mellina Drakehorn
Female Teifling Fighter 5
Chaotic good
str: 16
Dex: 20
Con: 14
Int: 12
Wis: 11
Cha: 10
Hit Points: 42
Armor Class: 19
Feats: two weapon fighting, improved two weapon fighting,
weapon focus long sword, weapon spec, long sword,
weapon finnesse sickle.
darkvision 60 feet
Darkness
resist cold, electricity, fire 5
languages: common, infernal
armor: +1 breastplate,
weapons: Long sword +1, sickle +2
The tiefling annoys me. What's with her sword? Is there a purpose to all the holes down its length? I would imagine such holes would make it easy for someone to disarm or sunder the weapon. It's just not practical. Like a female warrior whose leathers bare the cleavage. It might look cool, but it doesn't make sense.
Is the Tiefling the one with the horns and such?
Is the Tiefling the one with the horns and such?
Yep, and the tail. :-)