What impact do the traits have on the storylines of your campaigns? I think there ought to be a moment for every character at which his trait makes him special (the wyrm blooded meeting Dorloth for example) but I haven't figured out how to do it yet.
In my SCAP campaign the following where chosen:
- Dream haunted for the elven scout
- Nobility for the human mage (member of the Vanderboren family)
- Long shadowed for the human cleric
- Scion of Surabar for the human rogue
- Wyrm Blooded for the human hexblade
- Dream haunted for the elven scout
- Nobility for the human mage (member of the Vanderboren family)
- Long shadowed for the human cleric
- Scion of Surabar for the human rogue
- Wyrm Blooded for the human hexblade
I really liked the idea of incentivizing local characters with traits. Here are a few thoughts, you can take 'em or leave 'em:
-Your noble mage is a member of the Vanderboren family, so any conflict with the Stormblades will be a chance to shine, especially if the PC is good-aligned. Play up the tension between the "natural" heir to the family and the adopted Todd. I felt like the Stormblades were underused in the published material, and I loved the idea of another company competing for glory and jobs with the PCs. IMC, the Stormblades claim-jumped the PCs at the end of Chapter 3 and stole the wands of control water as they emerged from the Kopru ruins. The party suffered no lasting harm, but every chance I got thereafter, I tried to show the public hero-worshiping the Stormblades. It made for a great subplot.
-Your dream-haunted scout is "teched in the head" by Adimarchus, so perhaps the demon prince is calling him home. If the PC's get well and truly stuck in the Mirror Maze in Demonskar Legacy, or if they fail to take the bait at the end of Test of the Smoking Eye, you can tip your hand a little and give the solution to the scout, then let him figure out how to get it to the rest of the party. To balance this (esp. if he picks up the smoking eye template) you may want to worsen his condition as Adimarchus' madness continues to leak into the material plane. Talk it over with your player.
-Change Alakast from a quarterstaff to a dagger or a shortsword or something similarly rogue-y and give it to the rogue, that he might strike the final blow against Nabthatoron. Demonskar Legacy is that character's chance to shine, and the extra attention he'll get from demons will let the weapon go to good use. Also consider letting Nidrama appear to him and him alone after Demonskar legacy in dreams or something like that. It will be a useful tool for you to guide the PCs on the path you want.
-Your Wyrm-blooded hexblade should get the chance to talk with Dhorlot in the Kuo-Toan temple. If he can ever pick up a cohort, consider nerfing thet minotaur from Soul Pillars a little and adding him to the party after a role-playing encounter.
-Somebody smarter than me is going to have to figure out what to do with your long-shadowed cleric. Who is he a cleric of?
Hope it helps.
-Your noble mage is a member of the Vanderboren family, so any conflict with the Stormblades will be a chance to shine, especially if the PC is good-aligned. Play up the tension between the "natural" heir to the family and the adopted Todd.
This is great and I'll definately use it, thanks!
-Your dream-haunted scout is "teched in the head" by Adimarchus, so perhaps the demon prince is calling him home...
Still not sure about the scout. Maybe I'll even let him feel "somehow familiar" on Occipitus and use the subtle hints you suggested.
-Change Alakast from a quarterstaff to a dagger or a shortsword or something similarly rogue-y and give it to the rogue, that he might strike the final blow against Nabthatoron. Demonskar Legacy is that character's chance to shine, and the extra attention he'll get from demons will let the weapon go to good use. Also consider letting Nidrama appear to him and him alone...
This was JUST what I was looking for, great solution, thanks!!! I figure I'll do it just like that!
The cleric used to be a cleric of Kord but, erm, "fell" and is a cleric of Erythnul now. I can't recall why I allowed this change and I'm still trying to fix this problem. I HATE evil players in my campaign. He is making full use of his trickery domain and is trying to take over Cauldron by himself... ah well.
Haha. I really love the trait stuff in the HC for the campaign. It's really made it a more fun and memorable "DM Experience" for me. Here's how I'm handling the traits for my characters:
Touched in the Head and Dreamhaunted: I have two characters with these traits, and I use the "dream" stuff to throw out hints, rumors and scary imagery to the PCs to make sure to keep them on the right track. A sort of "DM-Boot" that the players aren't so keen on keeping track of. My archivist, which has the dream haunted trait, is feverishly searching for info on what his dreams mean, so it's just cascading him further and deeper into the campaign, making it much more fun for him. I really like these two traits as DM tools.
Nobility: My elven warmage has this one. As stated earlier, I've played up the party vs. Stormblade points in the campaign, which has been a real hoot, actually. The players have really gotten a sense of joy and statisfaction against beating their rivals. This one is a lot of fun for players.
Scion of Surabar: I added in a "demon" that this character has sworn to defeat and will eventually lead to Nab. Pretty straight forward on how to incorporate it.
I forgot the name of the trait, but the one that makes you Shackleborn is fun too. My party just completed chapter 4 and found out one of the players (halfling rogue) has the Carcerian Sign. I played this one up in his background, making sure to let him know he had been "protected" and "special" in his past. The party also realized another ally had the mark (a PC that had to quit) as well as Terrem, both of which are gone now. The rogue is *very* skitish thinking he is next up to be snatched away.
I also made up a trait for the Malachite Fortress. I found it very surprising it wasn't in the listed traits.... Seems the MF is just as important, if not more, than Jzadirune, which got a trait.
Can you share you MF trait?
Sean Mahoney
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IMC, the Stormblades claim-jumped the PCs at the end of Chapter 3 and stole the wands of control water as they emerged from the Kopru ruins. The party suffered no lasting harm, but every chance I got thereafter, I tried to show the public hero-worshiping the Stormblades. It made for a great subplot.
I played in Chairborne's campaign, and man was this frustrating. Paladin that I was, I had to keep the group's rogue & sorcerer from trying to attack the Stormblades every time we saw them after that. Despite the fact I was royally pissed about it myself...
Can you share you MF trait?
I'd also like to see it Ogre-Bane!
I'd also like to see it Ogre-Bane!Can you share you MF trait?
Defender of Malach-krak (Malachite Fortress in dwarven):
You were raised and fought to defend the Malachite Fortress before it was abandoned a few years ago. Through constant study and your knowledge of the earth and its ties to the Malachite Fortress, you may cover your arms with fresh dirt just prior to combat, and gain a +1 enhancement bonus to natural armor for a number of rounds equal to 1 + CHA bonus (minimum 1 round). Covering your arms with dirt is a full round action that provokes attacks of opportunity. However, due to the earthen crust covering your arms, you take a -2 penalty on all Dexterity checks and skill checks, while this effect persists. You are able to use this ability 1/day at 1st level, 2/day at 5th level, 3/day at 10th level, 4/day at 15th level and finally 5/day at 20th level. Also note that this is an enhancement bonus, so it will *not* stack with anything else that gives you (or raises your) natural armor.
The character is focusing on restoring the MF to its former glory, including cleaning out a corrupted temple to Moradin (character quest) and restoring the faith and attendence of the church in Cauldron. Been pretty fun so far.