I'm trying to play a character like Gaius Baltar. (from the new Battlestar Galactica, for those unfortunates who haven't seen it yet)
I'm finding the concept really difficult to pull off, any fans of the show/Gaius have some advice about portraying his personality?
Hmmm, tough call.
That poor schmuck had no redeeming quality at all. He couldn't fight (ran away from the few situations he actually found himself in), didn't have an honest bone in his body, lied and manipulated everyone for his own benefit. He was a coward, a liar, a criminal, and a sociopath.
While you could build all of those traits into a personality, you won't be much use adventuring in dungeons without taking some levels in an adventuring class - as far as I can tell, Baltar had no such skills at all. He was a very good scientist, but that doesn't translate to this game very well.
So, are you trying to be Gaius Baltar, or do you simply want to purloin his personality and slap it onto an adventuring class?
I would say the best class for him would be rogue. He seemed sneaky and was clearly deceitful, so this might be the most Baltar-ish class. He might also be a wizard, though we're breaking the mold a bit. But at least the high INT coupled with megalomania and dementia might fit the personality.
But I think my favorite choice would be a bard. But not a musical one. Give him oratory and let him impress his allies and deride his foes with his political rhetoric. The high Charisma is also in character - he was a weasel, but he was remarkably good at bluff, diplomacy, and generally talking people into trusting him, even when they knew without a doubt what a total turd he really was.
I wish you the best of luck. I wouldn't adventure with Gaius Baltar. I wouldn't trust him to stand behind me, and I definitely wouldn't put my life in his hands, over and over and over, in one deadly dungeon after another. I don't think anyone else on the Galactica would have put up with him after the first week, except they were kind of stuck in a small living space with nowhere else to go, and they were just kind enough to refrain from throwing his worthless hide out of an airlock - at least, not without a trial.
Well, a good start could be giving him Bard levels and pumping up Diplomacy and Bluff. I mean, he practically swayed the entire human fleet for half the show, swayed half the Cylon fleet for a quarter of the show, and made a cult of female groupies for the last part of the show. Not counting becoming President of the 12 colonies AND preaching to the masses while in prison during the whole trial part...
He definitely started as CN, but during the last seasons he became CG.
Charisma pumped to the stars, obviously, paired with Intelligence (he was the most brilliant scientist, after all - and THAT was not a fake !). Knowledge (Arcana) (for the whole cyborg -> construct thing), Perform (Oratory)... and don't forget Profession (Farmer) ! He was raised on Aerilon, after all !
So glad I wasn't alone in my gut instinct, so sad I have nothing further to add to all that.
I'm trying to play a character like Gaius Baltar. (from the new Battlestar Galactica, for those unfortunates who haven't seen it yet)
I'm finding the concept really difficult to pull off, any fans of the show/Gaius have some advice about portraying his personality?
First level in commoner, with vast intelligence and charisma stats, and mediocre physical stats. Every level after that goes into expert, gaining science, history and crafting skills. He takes Leadership later on in his career.
If you want something more playable, maybe an Oracle. Be sure to take the Haunted curse, and have him plagued by Number 6 coming in and out of his consciousness at inappropriate moments. Maybe work with your DM to create a Foci more appropriate to his one true god.
... and don't forget Profession (Farmer) ! He was raised on Aerilon, after all !
Haha! I got the impression he was never too enamoured with the agricultural lifestyle :)
The character is already in place, i'm a wizard, sky high intelligence, as much Cha as I can afford, and skill ranks in bluff/diplomacy. I'll be employing the subtle use of illusions and charms to get my way effectively.
It's interesting, because I have him pegged as LN, becoming LG in later seasons. His own mind is in turmoil, but he is quick to recognise the importance of government (at least, when he is elected.
Blake: option b), slap something akin to his personality onto a powerful wizard :)
The race i'm playing in our current mythos has telepathy, and i'll be taking the improved familiar feat for an imp consular for some dual conversational fun.
I'm most concerned with capturing the essence of Gaius, a complete b*stard, but inherently likeable.
Hmmm, tough call.
That poor schmuck had no redeeming quality at all. He couldn't fight (ran away from the few situations he actually found himself in), didn't have an honest bone in his body, lied and manipulated everyone for his own benefit. He was a coward, a liar, a criminal, and a sociopath.
While I'm not playing Devil's Advocate for Baltar (this is not the purpose of this thread), he actually fought at least twice.
During Season 2 ('Fragged'), while stranded on Kobol, he actually saved Cally from being killed by a crazied Crashdown and killed him. And he WAS fighting the Cylon (true, for saving his own life, but still...).
During Season 4 ('Daybreak: pt. 1 and 2') he decided to join the soldiers on the Galactica for rescuing Hera, and fought side by side with Caprica Six.
I usually despise manipulatory characters, but I have to admit, Baltar was one of the characters I enjoyed best. He was far from being a honest fella (FAR from being that), but he was decidedly shocked for the part he played in the human race genocide (he only wanted to 'frak' Caprica Six, not destroying billions of people !!!), and he sought redemption (in his personal way) for the entire show. In fact, when he started to suspect he could be one of the 'Final Five', he hoped this to be his redemption - after all, if he was a Cylon, he did nothing wrong killing the humans, didn't he ?
He was definitely one of the most complex - and human, for the best and worst - characters of the entire show (IMHO).
Oh, well, threadjack off.
EDIT:
Haha! I got the impression he was never too enamoured with the agricultural lifestyle :)
True, but in the end, when they reached 'new' Earth, he decided to use his old skills to start building a farm with Caprica Six (as if he finally accepted his own background).
Perhaps you can use the Alchemist as a fantasy version of the scientist. It is INT based, so he'll have plenty of skills that he can put into whatever. Maybe give him Persuasive or Skill Focus (Bluff). Then, when a conflict arises, he can actually pose a threat personally.
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Hmm... Gaius Baltar, wizard?
I'd picture him as being one who magic is the solution to everything. Pushing the bounds of magic to break free from constraints (like Gaius was pushing for AI to be let back into the colonies' designs); Using magic to gain prestige, and to use that prestige for his own benefits (Gaius helped design the defense system, before Caprica Six came on the scene, he then used that to get into her pants no knowing she was returning the favour); and not really seeing the consequences of his actions. (like letting a woman he barely knew into the frakking defense network!)
Gaius, as we discover later, is also one who overcompensates to cover his origins. I could picture a Wizard Gaius using a mix of illusion and Evocation (big flashy spells) to show his power, but being more comfortable with enchantment to nudge people.
The thing to remember about Gaius (in hindsight) is a good chunk of the decisions he made were influenced by an Outside power (Head Six) It's not readily apparent in the miniseries, or in the series until the later seasons that Head Six is not a figment of his imagination/cylon plant. While he was responsible for his actions, a lot of his actions (such as going from athiest to believer) were in part because of the effect Head Six had on him.
With an imp advisor, I see Wizard Gaius not following the path Gaius took in the series. I also don't think he'd be as dismissive of gods (they're harder to avoid), rather he'd try to quantify them in his own belief system.
Based on the time on Kobol, a Wizard Gaius would make himself (seem) invaluble to the party, at the same time having back up plans. Most of his actions would be abstract, with him not seeing the consequences of his actions. Remember, Gaius could have saved the fleet several times (letting them know about humanform cylons, telling them about Sharon/Boomer, not breaking the cylon detector, not giving Gina the nuke...) but didn't because it was easier to take the actions he took.
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I agree with the oaratory bard build, if your using 3.x material, you might consider the phb2's beguiler class. it focuses on int, cha, and manipulating other people. I also agree that you should throw one or two sp in profession(farmer) just for background flavor. also if using 3.x look again in the phb2 for the fade Into Violence feat, it allows you to seem unthreatening so that oppents attack an adjecent ally instead of you. a punk move to say the least, but I think it suits the concept...