Blind Character

[northbrb]

is there a way to make a blind character and not be totally useless in combat? what options are there to make a blind character worth while?

[Tanis]

Well, you can overcome blindness (to an extent) per the condition description.

Beyond that you're gonna have to work this out mostly with your DM tho.

I suggest writing up a kick-ass background that explains why you're blind and how you've overcome it.

I'd say go for Blindsense, and through perseverance (and a nice DM) you'll eventually (maybe lvl 5-6) get Blindsight.

Also, have your walking stick be like a sword-cane! that would be cool.

*edit* oh, just thought. How about a Riding Dog as a seeing eye dog, that should work somewhat.

Just don't expect to be good at ranged stuff. For inspiration, check out the anime Ninja Scroll. There's a blind samurai that kicks ass!

[northbrb]

are there big penalties to ranged combat for a blind character, i was thinking of a blind archer.

[Tanis]

From the blinded condition: All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Perception checks based on sight) automatically fail. All opponents are considered to have total concealment (50% miss chance) against the blinded character...

So you won't even know which square to aim in, and even if you luck out, you'll have a 50% chance of missing.

[northbrb]

with the blind fight feat you get 2 rolls to see is you hit correct, so it would be slightly better but still not as good as some one with eyes.

[Tanis]

Correct, in melee - not ranged.

First line: In melee, every time you miss because of concealment (see Chapter 8), you can reroll your miss chance percentile roll one time to see if you actually hit.

[hida_jiremi]

northbrb wrote:

is there a way to make a blind character and not be totally useless in combat? what options are there to make a blind character worth while?

Play an oracle of war with the clouded vision curse. Take Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bastard sword) and Profession (masseuse). Profit. ^_^

Jeremy Puckett

[Tanis]

hida_jiremi wrote:

Play an oracle of war with the clouded vision curse. Take Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bastard sword) and Profession (masseuse). Profit. ^_^

Jeremy Puckett

Sorry, what? Oracle of War? Where's that at?

[Umbral Reaver]

Oracle with the Battle mystery, in the APG.

[Tanis]

Thanks 'Reaver. I still don't get how it's profit tho.

[hida_jiremi]

Tanis wrote:

Thanks 'Reaver. I still don't get how it's profit tho.

You've apparently never seen the Zatoichi movies. =3

In short: They're a series of Japanese films about a blind swordsman named Zatoichi who sometimes makes a living as a masseuse and has a serious gambling addiction.

Jeremy Puckett

[Tanis]

I have, but the one i saw he wasn't a masseuse (as far as i can remember *sake haze*) :)

Movie plot spoiler:

The one i saw he was rorting the local gambling house by hearing the dice drop - killed most of them, then 2 men dressed as women tried to assassinate him, but he could smell that they were men.

Really cool idea.

[BobChuck]

Being Blind is a crippling disability. Movies that have characters that are blind make them completely bad-ass, because it's the only way to justify their abilities.

That said, if it's something you really want to do, I'd recommend a Trait that does something along the line of "you are blind, but have developed the ability "hear" and "feel" your way around; you gain Blind-sense 30 feet. If you ever gain the ability to see, you lose this power." I'd also allow the character to take a feat to increase the Blind-sense to 120 feet (prerequisite blind-sense 30 feet).

Bear in mind, this ability is based on "hearing" and "feeling", both of which are forms of vibration, so its still possible to stealth around you, and while invisibility doesn't do much, silence renders you, well, blind. Again. You'd have some advantage over seeing creatures against burrowing critters and in limited-light conditions, but be screwed when facing ranged or fliers (which fairly common).

I think this works out okay; you're still somewhat weaker than a character with sight (given the cost and limitations of blindsense), but you've got a very unusual ability, which you can turn into an advantage depending on how clever you are.

[MordredofFairy]

As for a blind archer, you can work something out.

With your DM, naturally.

For a trade-off to being blind, get a familiar as class feature.

And train your familiar, for example a raven, so that it flys around and caws when between you and an enemy.

Then you shoot at that direction, basically "automatically pin-pointing" the correct field.

No extra rolling here, but naturally, you can only have one, at most 2 targets designated per round.

Still, them guys have concealment, right? Well, there we go. If you make a perception check(hearing) against the Stealth Check or 10+CR(whatever is higher) of the target, then i'd treat your arrows as "seeking" for ranged attacks against that target.

seeking:

Seeking
Only ranged weapons can have the seeking ability. The weapon veers toward its target, negating any miss chances that would otherwise apply, such as from concealment. The wielder still has to aim the weapon at the right square. Arrows mistakenly shot into an empty space, for example, do not veer and hit invisible enemies, even if they are nearby.
Strong divination; CL 12th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, true seeing; Price +1 bonus.

As said, this is homebrew, your DM would have to fly with it, but it's a suggestion.
Summing up:

1.: Automatically pinpoint 1-2 enemies per round in regards to ranged attacks, as long as your familiar can see/smell/hear them.
2.: Roll a Perception Check against 10+CR/Stealth of the target, once for this enemy/battle.
3.: Roll an attack roll normally. Don't roll a miss chance if you succeeded on 2.

As for the familiar, you can also add to that further.
Since unless you go for arcane archer, you won't make much use of the spells, instead add a "Share senses" usable for 1 minute/day/character level, that allows you to see through your familiars eyes.
In combat, it would be disorienting, leaving you flatfooted but giving normal vision. But for scouting ahead etc. it can be worthwhile.

It's an interesting concept and should be viable in a world full of magic, but also do have a good reason, otherwise you could simply get a Heal once you can afford it and get back your eyelight -_- Maybe you are cursed by a deity or something?

anyway, just see what flys with your DM. RAW, there is no good way to make it work, even by burning feats and enchantments on it you'll be WAY behind.
If you still want to try:

1.: Elf(keen senses), skill focus(perception), alertness, in short, push perception as far up as possible. Try to work out what it takes to pinpoint creatures by hearing.
2.: Get a seeking weapon.
3.: Get a use-activated item that generates deeper darkness to put your enemies in a worse position since they rely on sight.
4.: Get ready for profit.
5.: Get horribly mauled by anything soundless(or with silence.)

[Cartigan]

Tanis wrote:

I have, but the one i saw he wasn't a masseuse (as far as i can remember *sake haze*) :)

He was specifically a masseuse. For a very long time, only the blind could be masseuses in Japan because it was the only thing they could do.

[Gonturan]

Cartigan wrote:

He was specifically a masseuse. For a very long time, only the blind could be masseuses in Japan because it was the only thing they could do.

Actually, he was probably a masseur, unless Zatoichi is one of those gender-swapping animes.

I played a blind cleric (essentially an oracle in the days before APG), and while my GM hand-waved some of the associated penalties (the half-speed restriction, the AC penalties), I stuck with the 50% miss chance in melee.

I ended up mostly using Aid Another in combat, which my GM decided didn't need a miss chance, since I wasn't actually aiming for the opponent (I just swung my quarterstaff wildly to distract them). Not the most bad-ass tactic, maybe, but my allies were always grateful for the +2.

Eventually I took blindsense, and then blindsight, as feats, so I could deliver ranged spells with accuracy. Work with your GM to develop a balanced progression.

[Cartigan]

Gonturan wrote:

Cartigan wrote:

He was specifically a masseuse. For a very long time, only the blind could be masseuses in Japan because it was the only thing they could do.

Actually, he was probably a masseur, unless Zatoichi is one of those gender-swapping animes.

I care not for you grammatical gender distinctions!

[azhrei_fje]

I added some blindsense and blindsight abilities as barbarian options, thinking that my bbn PC might want to take them (he didn't). They basically start out as rather short range and go out in increasing distances as the options are selected. Something similar might be doable as a feat chain or as alternate abilities for other classes as well (such as rogue; I can see a rogue that wants to be able to operate in darkness without penalty).

[Tanis]

Gonturan wrote:

Cartigan wrote:

He was specifically a masseuse. For a very long time, only the blind could be masseuses in Japan because it was the only thing they could do.

Actually, he was probably a masseur, unless Zatoichi is one of those gender-swapping animes.

aaah, the one i saw was real life, not anime. I'll have to check that one out, thanks!

/threadjack

[northbrb]

so as it stands right now really the only thing a normal character can do is pick up blind fight

[Tanis]

Well, unless you had a dire bat as an Improved Familiar, and used its senses to get Blindsight. That doesn't help you at low levels tho.

Or the Raven familiar and Seeking arrow trick mentioned upthread.

Or (Imp) Blindfight for a melee character.

Or oracle with the clouded vision curse.

And a little help from your DM. But yeah, a blind character is behind the 8 ball.