Okay. I have a rough framework for Benedetto.
Human (Adar). There are a handful of remote villages there (certainly none are called Innsmouth) where some the populace, at adolesenece, manifest creepy psionic powers, and at age 18 turn sickly mauve, sprout tentacles, and develop a taste for brains. These poor souls are tolerated (even, in some cases, envied) among the villagers, but ruthlessly pursued by both the Inspired and the kalashtar.
Benedetto is from one of those villages. He was 17 years old when he developed two psionic mantles. The kalashtar patrolled nearby and often. It was time to give the family one last hug and move on. And he's kept moving, until he found Sharn.
He's an Ardent, a character who can hold his own in combat (simple weapons, good armor, cleric BAB) and who has two "mantles" (suites of power based on total committment to philosophic study). Not as powerful as a psion or wilder, but that's probably okay.
I'm asking for input as to which mantles you guys think will fit in best in the party. Suggest two of the following five:
[list]
I'm going to have Intimidate on my list of class skills, and some extra points. Do we have that skill covered? Are there any that we need to reinforce?
I'm asking for input as to which mantles you guys think will fit in best in the party. Suggest two of the following five:
[list]Communication good at diplomacy and mental enchantments
Deception displacement and fool-the-sense powers
Freedom fast movement, escape graples and confinement
Guardian bodyguard and attack-nerfing abilities
Mental Powers mind thrust, id insinuation, direct mental assault powers. I'm going to have Intimidate on my list of class skills, and some extra points. Do we have that skill covered? Are there any that we need to reinforce?
Sounds cool.
I would say Communication is the Beguiler's niche. Other than that, no real opinion.
Intimidate is also (absurdly) well covered by the Warlock, I believe.
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
I'm asking for input as to which mantles you guys think will fit in best in the party. Suggest two of the following five:
[list]Communication good at diplomacy and mental enchantments
Deception displacement and fool-the-sense powers
Freedom fast movement, escape graples and confinement
Guardian bodyguard and attack-nerfing abilities
Mental Powers mind thrust, id insinuation, direct mental assault powers. I'm going to have Intimidate on my list of class skills, and some extra points. Do we have that skill covered? Are there any that we need to reinforce?
Yeah, Rayne definitely has Intimidate well in hand. My personal recommendation? Freedom and Guardian. Be someone who can move around the battlefield quickly and easily to defend characters who get low on HP, suffer from status ailments, etc. to buy time for the cleric to solve their problem. In situations where no one is in critical condition, you can focus your Guardian abilities on reducing an enemy's effectiveness and so on.
|
Re Benedetto:
Yeah - I don't think that really works in the context of Adar, but it might work quite well outside the context of Adar. What you are proposing is that your psionic powers emerge from mixture with Dragon Below/Xoriat/mindflayer/bonkers stuff, rather than from contact with the kalashtar. That would be a good reason (and one I didn't think of) to have psionic powers outside of the whole kalashtar/Inspired thing, and could easily make you Khorvaire-based, which would be easier to justify than being from another continent and originating with a culture that don't talk to anybody if they can help it.
So, you can either go Adaran, and maybe have a slightly more pedestrian backstory about getting bored in the monastery yadda yadda yadda. Or you can go Khorvairan-nuts/loopy and have run away from the Village of the Damned (how about somewhere in the Shadow Marches - lots of Dragon Below there?) after being attacked by orcs following the Gatekeeper druids.
I suggest you don't go for being a Divine Mind of the Dragon Below - as we have followers of the Flame in the party that might be a bit too far. Maybe the Traveller (the acceptable face of the Dark Six)?
What you are proposing is that your psionic powers emerge from mixture with Dragon Below/Xoriat/mindflayer/bonkers stuff, rather than from contact with the kalashtar. That would be a good reason (and one I didn't think of) to have psionic powers outside of the whole kalashtar/Inspired thing, and could easily make you Khorvaire-based.
How about somewhere in the Shadow Marches - lots of Dragon below there?
Works for me. I'd still like Benedetto to have moved away from his home village to avoid being noticed and hunted down by some good-guy patrols.
Still soliciting opinions on beginning mantles and skills.
Yeah, Rayne definitely has Intimidate well in hand. My personal recommendation? Freedom and Guardian. Be someone who can move around the battlefield quickly and easily to defend characters who get low on HP, suffer from status ailments, etc. to buy time for the cleric to solve their problem. In situations where no one is in critical condition, you can focus your Guardian abilities on reducing an enemy's effectiveness and so on.
Will you be my friend?
My personal recommendation? Freedom and Guardian.
Agreed, as the one with 5HP, no armour, and no death wish, I think this is a good idea. Will you be my friend?
Good thoughts, thanks. I think Deception and Guardian is a better combination for those purposes, but I'll be picking up a couple ranks in Ride, to increase the PC's battlefield mobility.
Benedetto is still cagey around any Gatekeepers he encounters, even in the Great City. The flayerspawn heritage of the villages is a very poorly kept secret, and there are tell-tale signs (certainly not referred to as "that Innsmouth look") that rouse Gatekeeper suspicions.
Aubrey, can a character register as a bodyguard in Sharn (perhaps with a few ranks in the corresponding Profession skill)?
(Oh, and Aubrey, he's an Ardent now, no longer a Divine Mind.)
|
|
My personal recommendation? Freedom and Guardian.
Agreed, as the one with 5HP, no armour, and no death wish, I think this is a good idea. Will you be my friend?Good thoughts, thanks. I think Deception and Guardian is a better combination for those purposes, but I'll be picking up a couple ranks in Ride, to increase the PC's battlefield mobility.
Benedetto is still cagey around any Gatekeepers he encounters, even in the Great City. The flayerspawn heritage of the villages is a very poorly kept secret, and there are tell-tale signs (certainly not referred to as "that Innsmouth look") that rouse Gatekeeper suspicions.
Aubrey, can a character register as a bodyguard in Sharn (perhaps with a few ranks in the corresponding Profession skill)?
(Oh, and Aubrey, he's an Ardent now, no longer a Divine Mind.)
Yeah, noted the Ardent thing after - cheers. I haven't read the book for a while so I wasn't sure.
You can register a a member of one of the adventurers' guilds (there are two) and that has no skill requirements. One is noted for its ruthlessness, the other is a bit more ethical.
EDIT: which makes me think you could be looking for work as a guard on a Morgrave Uni expedition.
So is this where we are?
Andrei - Human Fighter - PsionicFox
Benedetto - Human Ardent - Chris
Colvare - Human Sorcerer - Nevynxxx
Hamathin - Elf Cleric - Pat
Shagrat - Hobgoblin Monk - Luke
Mirra - Half-Elf Beguiler - Dreamweaver
Rayne - Changeling Warlock - Fatespinner
Urthona - Shifter Barbarian - Oliver
Also, Mirra seems to have two different names in her profile . . .
Also, Mirra seems to have two different names in her profile . . .
Thanks, recycled an old Alias I only used twice.
|
|
So is this where we are?
Andrei - Human Fighter - PsionicFox
Benedetto - Human Ardent - Chris
Colvare - Human Sorcerer - Nevynxxx
Hamathin - Elf Cleric - Pat
Shagrat - Hobgoblin Monk - Luke
Mirra - Half-Elf Beguiler - Dreamweaver
Rayne - Changeling Warlock - Fatespinner
Urthona - Shifter Barbarian - Oliver
So, if it is alright with you guys, the starting hooks will be as follows: Andrei and Colvare will have been invited to a meeting at the museum by a mutual acquaintance (if you guys know eachother beforehand, that is up to you - let me know); Mirra will be invited by a potential customer (the same person as above); Hamathin will be being intellectual among the exhibits as might Shagrat (being from an order of relic recovering goblinoid monks) (by the way - do they have any Knowledge skills that might be relevant, at least for flavour, like History?); and Rayne, Urthona and Benedetto might be following up leads as muscle on some potentially dangerous expedition to Xendrik. Does that feel right for everyone?
Hamathin will be being intellectual among the exhibits as might Shagrat (being from an order of relic recovering goblinoid monks) (by the way - do they have any Knowledge skills that might be relevant, at least for flavour, like History?)
Hamathin's Knowledge:History is maxed.
and Rayne, Urthona and Benedetto might be following up leads as muscle on some potentially dangerous expedition to Xendrik.
There are other kinds of Xendrik expeditions?
(by the way - do they have any Knowledge skills that might be relevant, at least for flavour, like History?)
I know you weren't asking after Benedetto here, but he does have a couple of ranks of Knowledge (history) and Knowledge (nobility) each.
|
|
and Rayne, Urthona and Benedetto might be following up leads as muscle on some potentially dangerous expedition to Xendrik.
There are other kinds of Xendrik expeditions?
Good point.
(by the way - do they have any Knowledge skills that might be relevant, at least for flavour, like History?)
I know you weren't asking after Benedetto here, but he does have a couple of ranks of Knowledge (history) and Knowledge (nobility) each.
Hmm, fellow comes for a swamp where he lived with the Munsters and only recently came to civilisation - are those really appropriate skills?
|
|
Another question relevant to changelings: Is their disguise self ability illusory like the spell or is it actually a physical alteration of their form? (i.e. If I assume a form that has little tiefling-like horns on my head, for example, do I actually have little horns that can poke things or does it just LOOK like I do?)
It's a physical change, not an illusion. You can ditch the horns whenever you feel like it.
By the way, Complete Mage has some nice Fiendish Heritage feats.
Hmm, fellow comes for a swamp where he lived with the Munsters and only recently came to civilisation - are those really appropriate skills?
Nobility -- good point.
History? Everybody's got history. He doesn't know a lot of local culture, but he knows as much as any well-educated Marcher would about Khovaire.
|
|
Yeah, History is fine. I'm assuming that Benedetto's home wasn't necessarily full of complete ignoramuses - mostly, but not totally - as an ardent presupposes a certain degree of education. Let's just say the folks were a bit eccentric - you know, hanging out with deranged creatures from Xoriat. On that basis you can probably get away with Nobility and Royalty too.
By the way, could people let me know how much they know about Eberron? I kind of have an idea, but would be grateful to have it established more clearly. In particular, what supplement do you own re Eberron?
Campaign Setting only.
|
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
|
Let's just say the folks were a bit eccentric - you know, hanging out with deranged creatures from Xoriat. On that basis you can probably get away with Nobility and Royalty too.
The Nobility ranks were to help out with identifying patrons who needs guardsmen. (Until a hundred years ago or so, if you were to ask a British soldier for his chain of command, he'd reel off several knights and nobles).
As for the folks hanging around deranged creatures, yeah, well, the name for the transformation differs from town to town. "Did you hear the news from the north enders? Owen and Beru's boy finally came out last week."
"Just before the big school dance. Wasn't he getting along with the Cooper girl?"
"Yep. She wasn't takin' it so well, his coming out and all, so they're broke up, as of the weekend."
"Serve her right if he ate her brains. That girl!"
|
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
My knowledge of Eberron is fairly limited. I own the ECS but haven't read much of anything about Sharn. The areas I read the most about were Valenar and Aundair. I know a bit about the Church of the Silver Flame, but nothing beyond the ECS. I also know virtually nothing outside of Khorvaire.
Also, RE: tiefling horns - Rayne doesn't broadcast his heritage so blatantly, I was just asking for flavor's sake in case later I need to make little tiny claws to scratch a message into a piece of wood or something like that. Nothing that will be combat-useful, but, you know how it is.
I presume that changelings have a "default" form that they assume if their shapechanging is dispelled or what have you? Do they revert to this form when sleeping/unconscious or does the form stick once they choose it until they choose a new one?
|
|
So, if it is alright with you guys, the starting hooks will be as follows: Andrei and Colvare will have been invited to a meeting at the museum by a mutual acquaintance (if you guys know eachother beforehand, that is up to you - let me know);
Sounds good to me, I'm up for knowing Andrei beforehand, worked together once or twice perhaps?
I know this '' much about Eberron, just what you have outlined above Aubry.
|
I presume that changelings have a "default" form that they assume if their shapechanging is dispelled or what have you? Do they revert to this form when sleeping/unconscious or does the form stick once they choose it until they choose a new one?
As far as I know, they keep whatever form they are in until they die, or choose a new one. If they die, they revert back to their 'normal' form.
True Sight lets you see their real form though.
Sounds good to me, I'm up for knowing Andrei beforehand, worked together once or twice perhaps?
Fine by me. If that's the case,
Here is my background, spoilered if you want a surprise.
Andrei, born the bastard son of a Knight of the Silver Flame, has had a life filled with trials, hardship, and discipline. The fact that his father, Lukar, is not noble-born is just about the only reason why his birth does not make him ostracized. With no knowledge of his mother, Andrei has spent the majority of his life under the thumb of his father, who possesses the desire for Andrei to follow in his footsteps. Unfortunately for Lukar, Andrei was found to be lacking in a certain level of ‘purity’ to be accepted into the Paladin order.
Still wanting to please his father, Andrei worked hard to be accepted into the general army, quickly showing an aptitude for combat, having been blessed with a body that responds very well to physical conditioning. His father was further mollified when Andrei demonstrated proof of a strong faith – resulting in an ability to tap into divine power for a short time.
Having proved both his physical prowess and strength of spirit, Andrei was finally accepted into the knightly order at the age of nineteen. Within the last two years, Andrei has distinguished himself as a devoted servant of the Silver Flame, and has recently been assigned to the chapterhouse in Sharn to further his training...
|
By the way, could people let me know how much they know about Eberron? I kind of have an idea, but would be grateful to have it established more clearly. In particular, what supplement do you own re Eberron?
I have all but Faiths of, Dragons of, and Explorers Handbook.... I think those are the only ones I am missing.
And I have read almost all of them so yeah I know Eberron pretty well.
For Andrei:
I had an idea for a starting hook for Mirra.
It's up to you but I love the image of her standing in the rain gnashing her teeth at her current situation, just waiting for a distraction.
|
|
By the way, could people let me know how much they know about Eberron? I kind of have an idea, but would be grateful to have it established more clearly. In particular, what supplement do you own re Eberron?
I own the ECS (duh!) Magic of, Races of, Explorer's Handbook, Secrets of Xen'drik, Faiths of, Sharn: City of Towers, Dragonmarked, and Forge of War. I also own several of the novels, and am planning to get all the Eberron books. It's probably my most favorite setting - even though I probably have twice as many Faerun books.
I know, I know, its a pretty massive collection (especially considering the 20+ Faerun books I have, plus complete series, PHB II MM's, etc, etc.) - but it gives me something to spend my money on, apart from my girlfriend. Plus, I DM in real life, so it makes sense that I have the largest library of books out of all my gaming group.
Urthona is also looking for an ancestral item of his tribe, that was taken during the cleansing of the Silver Flame. By applying for missions for the SIlver Flame he wants to gain the trust of the church (or someone that has way better connections to it) in order to find out where the relic is and if it may be possible to regain it for his community (if you can speak of communities with shifters).
Applying for a mission to Xen'drik + connections to the Church of the Silver Flame. Where can I sign up?
|
|
Shagrat (being from an order of relic recovering goblinoid monks) (by the way - do they have any Knowledge skills that might be relevant, at least for flavour, like History?)
Yeah. I can answer this and the Eberron source question the same way right now. One of my players from another game has alot of the Eberron stuff but prior to this I'd never read much of it. I'm familiar with Warforged and Artificers and the like, but no specific knowledge of the history. I've read most of your other Eberron thread. I also started City of Towers but it lost my interest about half-way through. I'm currently trying to swallow the Campaign Setting whole.
Any guidance you have on books I shouldn't read would be good. I know my player has the Explorer's Handbook and the Magic of Eberron books as well, and maybe others.
I'll have my first attempt at his background up in a bit - as well as a reshuffling of some of my skill choices now that I've read a little more about Darguun from the CS.
And lastly I have a ruling request for you. Hobgoblin's favored class is listed as a Fighter. The way I read the Monastic Training feat, it really doesn't absolve me of normal multi-classing restrictions where race is concerned. So if I tried to do the monk multi-classing thing they hint at for the Shaarat'khesh I think I would incur the XP drag wouldn't I? I'm guessing that's why most of them are goblins, not hobgoblins...
I think I just understood your question a little better. They are entitled to knowledge(history) or knowledge(local) as class skills instead of the normal knowledge categories for monk - arcana and religion, maybe? I'll be shifting points into history.
Luke, if I read Aubrey right, the "they" was referring to your and my characters having those skills.
|
|
My apologies up front, but here's another question - this time on ECL. The SRD says you use the wealth guidelines as determined by ECL to find starting character wealth. The DMG has a very high gp amount for ECL = 3 (2,700 gp). That's a far cry from the max starting wealth for your standard monk - which I read as 20 sp! For RP, I would think the lower number is right - but I thought I'd ask anyway.
Okay, I think Shagrat is pretty much done. Depending on the ECL answer, I may change my bonus feat to Monastic Training (Rogue), but otherwise Shagrat is now online!
Aubrey
|
|
Isn't Shagrat the name of the orcish commander of the tower above Shelob's lair in LotR?Yes, yes it is. I wasn't going to say anything. I'd say it's nice, common Orc-ish name, so a Hobgoblin should be allowed to go for it!
To be properly Goblin, Shagraat might be better. I think you are right about the feat Monastic Training - it simply allows the character to multiclass out of Monk, not freely multiclass. You might have contacts in the local goblin population, but nothing specific.
Can I have physical descriptions for your characters (either here or, better, in their profiles) - I am writing the intro.
Its in my profile, let me now if you need more.
Can I have physical descriptions for your characters (either here or, better, in their profiles) - I am writing the intro.
Mine's already in there. It's brief, but workable. I haven't actually finished my gear yet because I don't know how much money I'm starting with. Anyone know?