hi there,
we're about to start the kingmaker campaign and i'd like to play a character inspired by the wheel of time's tom merrilin. Suggestions as to the following topics are wellcome:
1) class, class progression. tom is obviously roguish, but i wonder if starting with a few lvls ob bard can be of use (f. instance untill getting the disguise spell...) Also, if the rogue path is chosen attention should be payed to perform family skills (he is in fact a great performer just as well as he is a spy)
2) combat: tom excells throwing knives but this path is a dificcult one in terms of game mechanics for it to be usable in actual combat... i've considered using dual wield and mobility feat tree but i wonder if there are alternatives
3) prestige classes? pathfinder delver can be quite appropiate, something in between the former and an assassin...
thans in advance
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Definitely Bard/Rogue with high Int/Dex - he is a powerfully skilled and very knowledgeable individual
for Feats i'd go Dual Wield/Weapon Finesse/Point Blank (that +1 helps with daggers low damage... pus you are "always" in point blank range with a dagger)
Mobility is a long tree... Dodge plus 2 Weapon Defense will get 2 to the AC
Later Improved Critical would make the daggers very effective (Double Slice too if Str is good enough)
look forward to others replies - this is a fun project
On second thoughts, going Bard/Rogue would gimp your BAB.
Ask your DM if you could do a spell-less bard, by using the Court Bard variant, and substituting bard spells for rogue talents and sneak attack. I think that would be a fair swap and closer in line with the fictional character!
Thank you Julian, I'm proposing this right away to my GM. I also wanted to do a spell-less bard in order to gain in fidelity to the character and I think getting rogue talents and some sneak attack as court bard would compensate. Also, if i go for the throwing knives tactic i won't be abusing sneak attack all the time (at least not until higher levels when invisibility becomes more available)...
Thank you all
I've had a character like this in mind for quite some time. And for Kingmaker too, in fact!
For class, I would reccomed going either straight bard, or straight rogue. This multiclass combination is unfortunately seriously gimped, and I've never been able to make it work on paper. I'd reccomed a straight rogue with a few perform skills for flavour (and possibly UMD and the major magic talent for, say, silent image?). The above variants sound really cool, however, so I'd take them if they're avaliable. :)
As for my character... He was to be... bear with me... a gnome. Tiring of the life of a bard because he's so damn good at it, he's began to fall under the bleaching and go mad. He'd have a manic urge to surround himself with people (as he feels the Bleaching at its worst when he's alone) and his motivation was to try and regain his "youth" by travelling to where the connection to the first world is weak (I believe its mentioned in the players guide).
Just some food for thought, but I think I may be rambling. Enjoy your game, I'd be interested to hear how he plays out.
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I'd pretty much go straight Rogue, or maybe Rogue with a dip of fighter? Thom was very martial, but also very courtly and talented with performance including but not limited to: Juggling, Singing (several cants/versions of same song), Dancing, Acrobatics, Musical Instruments (remember the flute he gave to Rand?) and Oration. Rogue skill selections include performance skills.
In the WoT series, Thom didnt have magical abilities at all, and thats pretty much the Bard schtick. Between the Bardic Music effects and spell casting, the rest is pretty much JUST a Rogue without the uber damage.
Good luck, Thom is one of my favorite characters in the series. I especially liked how in "Knife of Dreams" the Deathwatch Guard Karaede thought that it was a White Tower plot to steal Tuon and led by Thom, only poor Thom had nothing to do with it.
In the WoT campaign setting, the Gleeman prestige class was like a bard without spells.
Considering that Thom had no real innate magical talent (because that would have been the One Power in that case), I think the best route is going with a Rogue archetype.
Possibly giving up trapfinding and trapsense for a form of bardic knowledge and versatile performance. And maybe make a rogue talent (with advanced talent expansion) for the lore master and jack-of-all-trades mechanics.
That's probably how I'd run it if I were a DM.
If you prefer a Thom Merrilin "as he'd be in a world with D&D magic" then a variant of the Bard would probably be perfect.
I was talking to my friend (Volaran on these boards) about this, and he mentioned the Pathfinder Chronicler.
Specifically, some of the abilities would be perfect for him. Whispering Campaign is almost exactly what "The Game" was like, and if he got his hands on the Horn of Valere, the Call Down the Legends and Lay of the Exalted Dead would be perfect.
It also comes with Bardic Knowledge and Bardic Music abilities.
Honestly, a Rogue who traded Trapfinding for Bardic Knowledge and Versatile Performance, who went into Pathfinder Chronicler would likely be your best approach at a non-spellcasting version of Thom Merrilin.
I was talking to my friend (Volaran on these boards) about this, and he mentioned the Pathfinder Chronicler.
Specifically, some of the abilities would be perfect for him. Whispering Campaign is almost exactly what "The Game" was like, and if he got his hands on the Horn of Valere, the Call Down the Legends and Lay of the Exalted Dead would be perfect.
It also comes with Bardic Knowledge and Bardic Music abilities.
Honestly, a Rogue who traded Trapfinding for Bardic Knowledge and Versatile Performance, who went into Pathfinder Chronicler would likely be your best approach at a non-spellcasting version of Thom Merrilin.
Thank you all. I'll start with rogue, will consider a small intercourse into fighter ando propose changing trapfinding for Bardic Knowledge and Versatile Performance to my GM.
I'll give you feedback once we've started thinngs (it might take a while though because I'm running the Council of Thieves Campaign right now...)