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Bards are a great one for this. I've played a bard as a priest twice, once in a Scarred Lands game, and once in Golarion as a priest of Razmir. Inspiration is handled as inspiring oratory from the holy canon of whomever you worship, and cure wounds is right there for the healing duties. You can wear the chain shirt most low level priests wear and use the simple weapons that most priests favor. Take *nothing* musical in nature (unless a holy choirist is actually part of the concept).
I've seen a Rogue portrayed as a militiaman/soldier, trained to fight in light armor (because skirmishers didn't rate heavier armor and were expected to sleep in their armor on long campaigns), and trained to fight side by side, surrounding and wearing down enemies (via flank/sneak attack). The combination of skills and class abilities made them *better soldiers* than someone with Fighter levels would have been, from a military / strategic standpoint.
A Barbarian who had been transformed into a berserker via Mind Flayer conditioning. His 'rage' represented psionic conditioning to enter a 'no mind' state of battle awareness, and was originally only activated upon the order of his slave handler. Since escaping, he'd learned to activate it himself, staring upon a drawing of the psionic glyph that his masters had used to send the thralls into the no mind state.
A plethora of wizards back in 2nd edition who were based off of skills, inspired by the Clockwork Mage and Mage-Weaver of the Complete Sha'irs book. Each would craft some specific item, and that item represented the physical manifestation of the prepared spell. When activated / used / broken, the spell would be released. The item could be a clockwork gizmo, an elixir to be drunk (or thrown towards an enemy), a 'scroll' to be read, a knot to be untied, an origami construct to be unfolded, etc. but the effects were the same, the spell preparation was taken up by the crafting of an item, and the casting consisted of activating / expending it. (Unlike the above three, this one actually used different rules mechanics.)
Another bard option was the bard-as-nobleman. All of the skills, the limited martial / swordsmanship training, the leadership abilities and the smatterings of arcane spellcasting could be seen as the natural results of the eclectic training required for rulership in many great nations. The best tutors would come in and teach noble scions a little bit about everything, from the strategems and tactics of ancient generals, to the nature of inspiring oratory and statecraft, to the art of fencing and the duel, to a minor proficiency with the arcane arts. If the Divine Bard is used, that nation could be a theocracy, or just one with a powerful church scene, and the noble scions could all receive a touch of ordination, represented by some divine spells and proficiency, or even be 'blessed' when confirmed as legitimate potential rulers. If the standard bard is used, with spontaneous spellcasting, perhaps everyone of noble blood has a bit of something special in their ancestry that proves their nobility, and also allows them the sorcerous spontaneous spellcasting of their heritage, such as, say, a touch of Avoral, for Andoren nobility, or Infernal blood / blessing, for Chelish nobility. A less 'blood is power' society might use a prepared Bard variant that collects a sheaf of papers and notes and prepares spells like a wizard, having a much larger selection of 'spells known' (equal to the entire Bard list), but having to collect the spells the same as a Wizard would, and prepare them daily (and less castings per day than a spontaneous Bard would have). In this latter case, the Nobles of the kingdom would still have levels in Bard, but derive their arcane spellcasting through tutelage and effort, not some special bloodline or divine favor, and even an adopted noble could master the arts of rulership and take Bard levels.
One of my favorite all-time characters to play was an insane CN Human Druid. My DM at the time and I came up with a randomly rolled chart for certain situations in which his Raven animal companion might parrot out a phrase or two.
Since this character was a worshipper of Talos (FR god of destruction, thunder and lightning, etc), he favored weather magic above all else. He also completely refused to wild shape (he simply didn't believe in that power).
One thing his raven might say was "Call down the Thunder!".
Granted, yes, this character was totally nuts. However he wasn't totally batty. You just didn't wanting him thinking about his god's will. Most of the time he was relatively normally, at least when not talking to himself. My wife's character in this same campaign was his "Handler". So she lead him around and kept him out of too much trouble. It was a very complicated situation and campaign, but these two characters worked out so great in tandem that I'll always remember them.
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My character for my friend's upcoming Legacy of Fire campaign is a desert-dwelling paladin who fights with a bow, will eventually have a prongbuck mount, and worships Erastil. He really looks a lot more like a ranger than a paladin, but he's a devoted champion of good and a quiet, earthy preacher.
Jeremy Puckett
I've got a game with a 20 dex, 10 Str Barbarian using 2 weapon fighting. The same game has a dedicated witch healer and a martially inclined druid (holding on to a single fighter level to back it up) The rogue makes magic items and is the official magic expert.
Batts
I played a Dwarf Rogue/Abjurer/Arcane Trickster, who was really less of a trickster than he was a security expert. He never actually stole a single thing, and was in charge of the party's finances... not something a rogue usually gets to do! He retired as the head of a Dwarven banking dynasty.
During Beta, I played a cleric who was an absolute coward. He had to prepare Remove Fear every morning in order to go into battle. In fact, the only reason he really went adventuring was his monk escort from the temple kept dragging him around. He was still very good at healing, though, and breaking the stereotype of the devote cleric while roleplaying was great. Made for some classic moments for our group.
I played a Cleric of Dodd (inside joke) who was more of a comedian than a priest. Cure Light Wounds = Healing Power of Laughter.
His party was ambushed by the local bandits. The leader confidently strode up and demanded 'tribute'.
Power Word Command - "Screw yourself"
Granted, that is two words, but the GM thought it amusing enough that he let it fly.
Back in the 2E days I played a pacifistic anthropomorphic elephant cleric named Mortimer. He had 19 Strength and wielded a staff but only ever did subduel damage (when he was forced to attack) but generally preferred casting spells like calm emotions etc.
Mortimer Hears a Who
Let's see, there was the spellsword knight/sorcerer I played who was of dishonored nobility and on a quest for revenge, subverting the usual quest to redeem him family. He kept his sorcerous powers secret because common folk feared magic, and so that no one would suspect him if he used magic to accomplish his ends. While he wasn't a good guy he wasn't evil either, and his morals were malleable to the situation, as he saw no good coming from his death due to something like, y'know, an enormously powerful lich being awakened and killing other spellcasters. I mean, a true champion of justice would stand against him, but then he'd be dead and unable to stop him, right?
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PC was a "pacifist" wizard. Refused to learn any offensive spells, and only a handful of defensive spells. Focused on less used (ie "Useless" according to the critics) and became quite effective finding unique solutions and twists the DM (and disgruntled party) didn't anticipate and had trouble countering. The gloryhounds/meatshield players really had problems with my low hitpoint, useless Wizard PC. Some intraparty strife was threatened, so Wizard let the meatshields and trap detectors die gloriously several times... Aaahhhh that was fun for the DM and me.
Who needs fireball when you can effectively isolate BBEG, take out the buffed minions or vice versa(reduce/gust/wall) Was more effective than the party rogue at stealth and disabling/bypassing traps (reduce/enlarge/levitate/wall/illusions)
I've had a Cleric of Hades (diety of death), who refused to heal because it was against his religion. Yet he was a positive energy user, because he viewed undead as an abomination and fugitives of the afterlife.
I've had a psionicist (2nd edition), a wizard, and a cleric all fullfill roles normally associated with thieves. They each took powers/spells that mimicked rogue abilities. The psionicist turned INTO a shadow, rather than hid in shadows, the Wizard spiderclimbed, instead of climbed normally, the cleric cast "Find Traps", that sort of thing.
However my all-time favorite was a 3rd edition dwarven sorcerer. Dwarves being [sarcasm]known for their high CHA[/sarcasm]. He was a front-line melee combatant, a role normally associated with fighters. By the end of the campaign (10th level) he had the highest AC and 2nd highest HP of anyone in the party. I refused to take cliche', long range spells like fireball, on principle.
Was more effective than the party rogue at stealth and disabling/bypassing traps (reduce/enlarge/levitate/wall/illusions)
Yeah, just rub it in. You're the reason the rogue has been unfun since 1e.
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I played a rogue as a lawful neutral detective ala Sherlock Holmes. He used SA as "reading his opponent"
I also had a bard as a friar, and a fighter without weapons. He had improved unarmed strike, catch off guard, throw anything, improved improvised weapons and the combat expertise tree. He studied Moo Gi Gong. (A real world martial art which uses anything laying around as a viable weapon.
In a PbP I'm playing a Barbarian Scholar.
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I don't know if this counts but my summoner character is a blond valley girl. She's a complete idiot and a flirt. Her eidolon is soon to be smarter than her. She does kind of kick ass with a crossbow though.
Is he a vaguely caveman-looking biped and do they have matching cladagh rings? 'Cause that might be funny...
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I don't know if this counts but my summoner character is a blond valley girl. She's a complete idiot and a flirt. Her eidolon is soon to be smarter than her. She does kind of kick ass with a crossbow though.Is he a vaguely caveman-looking biped and do they have matching cladagh rings? 'Cause that might be funny...
I'm sure there is some cultural reference I am missing here.
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I'm sure there is some cultural reference I am missing here.I don't know if this counts but my summoner character is a blond valley girl. She's a complete idiot and a flirt. Her eidolon is soon to be smarter than her. She does kind of kick ass with a crossbow though.Is he a vaguely caveman-looking biped and do they have matching cladagh rings? 'Cause that might be funny...
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (tiny blonde cheerleader who was kickass with a crossbow) and her original vampire boyfriend.
...and her original vampire boyfriend.
Gah! Healthcliff without the…you know…depth.
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One of my campaigns included a Neutral Evil Assassin who was the most even-tempered, well-adjusted, psychologically healthy member of the party. She was a loving (and loyal) daughter, sister, and at the end of the campaign, mother. It just so happened that the family business was an assassins' guild, and she had simply been raised by her loving parents to put a cheap price on the lives of people she didn't personally care for. She eventually convinced the rest of the party to see things her way, and they became an evil party by the end of the game.
...and still saved the world, if only so they could take it over themselves.
Before the Cavalier, one character concept I was playing with was a Bard who was a military leader and tactician, using Perform (Oratory) to advise the other party members of the best course of action, and using only min-affecting spells that could be said to be extensions of the character's expert social skills - i.e., the Bard would "Cast" Cause Fear, but the flavor text would be the character attempting to Intimidate or outmaneuver an enemy into breaking their morale and routing them.
In 3.5 one of the more interesting stereotype breaking characters I had was a half orc rogue who spent feats to use a greatsword and full plate armor. He was not by any means sneakish (in fact I dont think I put a single skill point into Hide/Move silently) but more of a thug who waded in with the group paladin and had a lot of survivability. That said, his conversation skills were amazing so not only was he a thug but with so much in diplomacy, bluff, sense motive, and intimidate he had this overpowering presence that no one could ignore
Barbarian half-orc pro wrestler. He worships the mostly unknown god "Reff" and, whenever he feels the eyes of his god are elsewhere, quickdraws a crowbar to hit his enemy with.
BBEG was a lich. On meeting said lich, the barbarian announced: "My arch nemesis, he stole my title from me all those years ago... THE UNDERTAKEN!"
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One option I tried as a pregenerated character for my introductory adventure was a fighter focussing on archery. Low STR, high DEX, all combat feats used for ranged combat. A one-trick-wonder for sure, but daaang did that character dish out damage! Didn't so much "fullfill the role" though, since he wasn't tanking.
A couple of other ideas that came to my mind while trying to figure out neat character concepts for my upcoming Council of Thieves campaign:
a) An urban ranger who behaves more like a private investigator/bounty hunter. Lots of social skills perhaps, to show his connection to the underworld.
b) An inquisitor who, while being very pious, doesn't really have any ties to a church. She is a bowyer who is so fed up with the state of things in Westcrown that she starts heading out into the twilight at dusk and dawn, stalking criminals and trying to make the city safer once more. She also starts investigating various kinds of monsters in her free time, knowledge is power and all, right? Boy, is she going to be surprised to find out she was blessed with supernatural powers! (Judgements, spells, etc.) Superhero vigilante loose in the streets of Westcrown! You heard it here first!
c) A bard who's actually a foreign spy under the cover of being an actor/opera singer. Pretty close to the standard version of a bard, but only because she PRETENDS to be one! In reality, she's much more focussed on combat and subterfuge than all that acting/singing-diddly-do.
What I absolutely adore about this thread is OP's idea of the ship-captain-bard. Bardic performances have always been a little difficult for me since, let's face it, that dude randomly starting to sing to make you better at fighting or (yikes!) some skill is just kinda weird. But barking orders, now there's an idea! Thank you so very much!
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I had a fun CN cleric of Beshaba (FR goddess of misfortune). Was great fun to play, and annoyed the characters when ever they where unfortunate enough to have to be healed by him (whip of spell storing holding cures). Went the full auspician PRC (PRC based off of tweaking luck, lots of rerolls on stuff) route and was constantly dismayed that he had survived some encounter. Figured in the long run that the worst luck the goddess could give him was good luck since it moved him away from her.
Not my character....all props go to Jim
Wencis the 2nd editon wild magic wizard.
He believed that the forces of chaos would dictate what happened when he cast and that faith in them was a must. He was more like a priest. He cast reckless dweomer and just let the dice fall. I had a list of over 600 things that could happen. Last time he was played, he was 8th level and still going strong.
Somehow he always seemed to work his way out of bad situations just in the nick of time....perhaps his faith paid off.
I play in a game where I have a chaos gnome brass dragon shaman who is a "consulting detective." He has the Investigator and Urban Tracking feats from the Eberron Campaign setting. Originally a 3.5 PC, he has a 14 Int, 8 Wis, and 18 Cha.....back when Search was based on Int. Now Perception is based on Wis.....oh dear!!! At least the dragon shaman gives free Skill Focus feats for Diplomacy, Bluff, and Survival (for brass dragons).
The party tank is the kobold battle sorcerer. Gotta love a wraithstriked claw/claw/bite/tail routine. The ranged striker is a catfolk ranger/swashbuckler....that got re-built as a ranger archer.
I once DMed for a campaign where the (homebrew Small-sized) otterfolk bard was the primary tank AND the primary healer. The kenku rogue/fighter was a crossbow expert with 8 Str and 6 Con. There was a homebrew serpent-kin homebrew skill-based magician that relied on his pistols. I think there might have been a vanilla wizard and a wannabe ninja druid/monk/fighter too.
I've told these stories before, but they remain my most... memorable?... characters. The first was a half-orc barbarian so stupid he thought he was a wizard. He would attack with his greatsword and yell "Magic!" when he drove the blade through someone. If anyone told him he was wrong, he would threaten them with the sword and ask, "You want magic, too?" He even bought a spell component pouch.
That game was very short-lived, but the another extremely similar character lasted a good deal longer. This was once again a half-orc barbarian, and though we were not playing in the FR the DM let me name him Baghtru, which is an orc deity from that setting who governs, amongst other things I've forgotten, stupidity, which summed up Baghtru to a tee.
The party had just split two pursue two quests at once, and Baghtru met up with the party's spellsword while he was traveling through a wilderness seeking a remote citadel for training. Along the way, the spellsword would constantly find Baghtru had wandered off, like a toddler, and the spellsword would go looking for him to "save" the half-orc. Of course, this invariably led to Baghtru running into some kind of nasty monster; but if he was childlike, Baghtru was a freakishly strong child with a greataxe. Usually, baghtru would be fine, but the spellsword would nearly die in the fight.
Eventually, the two teams find their way (unknowingly) back to the same city. Baghtru kept wandering off, but to very different results this time. You see, Baghtru's alignment was true Neutral for the same reason as an animal's; he just didn't process moral or ethical issues. So the DM was both surprised and amused by Baghtru's reaction to a street urchin pickpocket taking his moneypouch and running down the street with it: Baghtru took out his longbow, shot the boy dead, took the pouch, and wondered what all the fuss was about with everyone around him yelling and crying.
So, of course, Baghtru is arrested, but a corrupt guard then starts taking him to secret illegal combat arenas. Baghtru killed all his opponents, until they started putting him against monsters instead. This culminated in a fight against a gray render which literally tore Baghtru's arm off. The barbarian kept fighting with his greataxe, -4 non-proficiency penalty for using it in an unusual fashion (one-handed) and all! Baghtru came through victorious, by the skin of his teeth.
Next day, a fight breaks out in the street by Baghtru's cell, which happens to be the party's bard and fighter, and who are joined mid-battle by the spellsword (What are the odds?! Oh, right, pretty good). The corrupt guard tries to smuggle Baghtru away to protect his investment and Baghtru finally gets it through his head that this man is not really his friend. He grabs him, beats him to a bloody, dead pulp against the cell wall, then breaks through the bricks with his bare hands in his berserker rage, and leaps to the ground in the middle of the fight. But, tragically, the monsters slew the weakened Baghtru quickly.
Now the bard and the fighter, who (as the characters, not players) have never seen nor heard of Baghtru, see what appears to be a flying, one-armed orc explode out of a building, land in the middle of their battle, whirl around with a greataxe in his single hand, and then die, without any explanation what just happened. The spellsword could have told them... but he was killed in the battle as well, before the two survivors could figure out what the hell was going on! It was amazing, and one of the most enjoyable D&D moments I've ever had.
I optimize all day away from the table. At the table, I play to have fun.
My common response to somebody crying about me not optimizing my character is to laugh at him.
I love you - if I had a uterus, I'd offer to have your children, but as it is that would be creepy. Maybe it's creepy anyway. But I still love your attitude.
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The most fun I've had with a character is a 3.5 bard I played in Legacy of Fire. She was a halfling slave, used Dance and Song as her performance skills, and was basically a combination exotic dancer/escort. Basically one step up from the girls at the local brothel (kind of like a companion from Serenity/Firefly but without the prestige). She took almost nothing but enchantment spells like charm person that I could see being natural extensions of her sensuality, and didn't consider herself a "spellcaster" at all. It was fun doing the occasional sultry dance to mesmerize the opponents and then watching the party rogue wipe the drool off his face.
After level 4 she gained her freedom, left her old life behind, and multiclassed into Swashbuckler and then the Dervish PrC, becoming the party's best front-line fighter.
I've done the same, but upgraded(?) the spell list to any divine. I call them Evangelists and make them the front line of expanding/new religions. It's worked pretty well, so far.Bards are a great one for this. I've played a bard as a priest twice, once in a Scarred Lands game, and once in Golarion as a priest of Razmir. Inspiration is handled as inspiring oratory from the holy canon of whomever you worship, and cure wounds is right there for the healing duties. You can wear the chain shirt most low level priests wear and use the simple weapons that most priests favor. Take *nothing* musical in nature (unless a holy choirist is actually part of the concept).
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I played a homebrew game once where I made an interesting character. The vampire, due to their long "lives" and need to combat their crusading foes... had turned to science. As such they were able to craft decent golems to obey them. The race of golems were so well crafted that they looked to the casial observer to be human. I played a fighter who's armor was located under the skin. Still has the armor check penalties and slower movement but wasn't bulky. Long story short this "young blonde angel" was really a tank, and most underestimated her.
Haven't done him yet, but waiting for Legacy of Fire to trot out this guy (we're still working on the first three APs simultaneously; takes awhile with 3 GMs and only meeting once a month at most):
Half-elf from a rich "security consultant" family; mom's a half-elf Rogue, dad's a half-elf Fighter (or vice versa, still debating), both of whom went undercover a lot to protect their clients and their clients' interests. Grandpa, a LG ex-Monk of Sarenrae (got booted from his monastery for playing fast and loose with his vows of celibacy one too many times, just before the ruination of Kelmarane), stays at home with the lad when the parents are out and trains him in monkish stuff, while his folks train him in more Rogue stuff while they're at home.
At one point in the year he comes of age, the adults all troop off in a caravan that gets hit by gnolls out in the wilderness of an old deserted town ... all that comes back of them is Grandpa's gi (or symbol, or something; haven't decided yet, but 350 gp max value). The lad can't afford the rent/mortgage on the Stately Home Manor (but his inheritance would be his starting funds), and is on his own to avenge his family, with both Monk and Rogue skills under his belt ... with possibly some Alchemy skill for smoke bombs and such and a spell component belt to hold everything -- well.
I'll probably go with just Monk eventually, since we haven't tried out that class yet, and let someone else do the treasure lists for once, but it will be fun, since gnolls are a cowardly and superstitious lot (shadow dancer prestige class ... hm ...). ;->
And yeah, while it probably does sound very familiar, I've been itching to do this concept, or something similar, since 2E. Ah, those nifty gadgets in the Complete Thief's Handbook ... ;->
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I think my rogue will take Catch Off-Guard for her next feat, and wield a crowbar as her primary weapon. The crowbar gets pretty decent damage for an improvised weapon, anf the feat would mean that the opponent is ALWAYS flat-footed (no DEX bonus to AC), so every attack would be a sneak attack.
(maniacal giggle...)
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I think my rogue will take Catch Off-Guard for her next feat, and wield a crowbar as her primary weapon. The crowbar gets pretty decent damage for an improvised weapon, anf the feat would mean that the opponent is ALWAYS flat-footed (no DEX bonus to AC), so every attack would be a sneak attack.
(maniacal giggle...)
Careful on that one. Per the feat:
Benefit: You do not suffer any penalties for using an improvised melee weapon. Unarmed opponents are flat-footed against any attacks you make with an improvised melee weapon.
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I think my rogue will take Catch Off-Guard for her next feat, and wield a crowbar as her primary weapon. The crowbar gets pretty decent damage for an improvised weapon, anf the feat would mean that the opponent is ALWAYS flat-footed (no DEX bonus to AC), so every attack would be a sneak attack.
(maniacal giggle...)Careful on that one. Per the feat:
Benefit: You do not suffer any penalties for using an improvised melee weapon. Unarmed opponents are flat-footed against any attacks you make with an improvised melee weapon.
Oooo....
I missed that one very important word.
one of my former pcs was mechanically an Elven Air Shugenja, but i attempted to represent her as an Ame Warashi or Rain Spirit. the DM kept paying too much attention to the "Mechanics". her spells were mostly weather oriented or weather flavored. for example; when she cast lesser vigor, a miniature raincloud appeared over the head of the target, producing regenerative precipitation, her haste was more of a blessing granted by talking to the wind itself. her preffered way to cast "control weather" was to create a raining thunderstorm, even indoors, she had both the touch of healing and storm bolt reserve feats. produce flame channeled the lights of the aurora borealis. her opening spell was usually either obscuring mist or control weather. she worshipped the god Susano (japanese mythology) and was driven evil by a failed wisdom check. she was perpetually depressed and her "Taboo" was that she couldn't step within 30 feet of a sunflower or she couldn't cast spells for a whole hour.
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Sorceress--Maxed out craft in Painting. All her spells were based off of pretty colors, things like Color Spray, Fog Cloud (purple fog), grease W/rainbow sheen etc. Very much a 'painter' first.
Oracle of Gozreh (nature)-- Shepard boy met a Dryad/Cleric. After curing Shepard of his virginity, she prayed to her god to share her power. Comes off as bumkin lug and is large: 6'2 and basically built like a football player.
All the Best,
Kerney