I will be playing in a Serpent's Skull game this weekend, though I am not sure if the character I drew up for it is going to be able to survive. My concern is that a less combat-oriented PC is going to get eaten up in this module (which I have never played; please no spoilers, only suggestions!). Here's what his stats are looking like:
LN Small Humanoid (Gnome)
Init +2; Senses Low-Light Vision; Perception +6
DEFENSE
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (+3 Armor, +2 Dexterity, +1 Small)
HP 21 (2d8+6 plus 2)
Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +3
Special Defenses +6 bonus on saving throws versus spells with the language-dependent descriptor or those that create glyphs, symbols, or other magical writings; +4 bonus on saving throws versus magical traps
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft. (4 squares)
Melee Quarterstaff +1 (1d4–1)
Special Abilities Bardic Performance (9 rounds/day: Countersong, Distraction, Fascinate, Naturalist), Lore Master (1/day)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 2th; Concentration +5)
1/day – arcane mark, comprehend language, message
Bard Spells Per Day (CL 2th; Concentration +5; DC = 10 + level of spell + 3; +1 DC for spells with the language-dependent descriptor or those that create glyphs, symbols, or other magical writings)
1st (3/day) — charm person, silent image, sleep
Cantrips (at will) — detect magic, ghost sound, lullaby, read magic
STATISTICS
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 16
Base Attack +1; CMB –1; CMD 10
Feats Skill Focus (Knowledge: Local, Mwangi Expanse)
Traits Mwangi Scholar, Etymologist
Skills Bluff +8, Diplomacy +8, Disable Device +8, Knowledge: Geography +8, Knowledge: History +10 (+11 relating to the Mwangi Expanse), Knowledge: Local, Mwangi Expanse +10, Knowledge: Nature +8, Linguistics +8, Perform: Oratory +7, Sense Motive +4, Stealth +5
Special Qualities Favored Class (Bard), Academician (Knowledge: History), Gift of Tongues, Keen Senses, Magical Linguist, Bardic Knowledge, Magic Lore
Languages Common, Gnome, Sylvan, Draconic, Giant, Dwarven, Halfling, Elven, Polygot, Orc, Goblin
Obviously I am going for a scholar-type, come to the Mwangi Expanse to do some field research. My character entertains a theory that Azlanti ruins might dwell within the jungles of the region and wishes to explore them. Further, he is interested in interacting with the Mwangi peoples first hand.
He is completely inept at combat. The best he can hope for is successfully casting sleep on an enemy or fascinating one with his bardic performance until his allies can get around to it. Once I gain access to some more spells, like bull's strength and cat's grace I will be contributing indirectly to combat, though I can do little in that regard initially. Also, I plan to pick up grease next level (I chose sleep instead for my first control spell).
(Note: The party consists of a melee-focused druid which plans to utilize her wildshape feature when it becomes available to wreck in combat. With her pet she's also bringing a flanking buddy and some extra damage dished/soaked. Second is a rogue, though I am not sure of his plans. It seems he is also built for combat. He has not invested in the Disable Device skill, though my bard has the skill maxed out and can even disable magical traps since he is of the archivist archtype. For this reason there is no overlap. Further, I believe my character is the "party face," rather than the rogue, though I am sure with his skills he is capable, too.)
Funny thing is, I love this character concept and dread the idea of him dying. He has a number of quirks, all of which make me giggle. For instance, he's a lawful gnome (despite the predisposition towards chaos for which his race is known). He's a control freak, with an air of intellectual hubris. He dresses neatly and regularly shaves his face, grooming himself that he is "decent and presentable." Though, for the life of him he cannot tame a single wild hair (representative of his attempt to wrestle with his nature, as a gnome) and can be seen constantly matting it down in frustration. If questioned about it he attempts to maintain his composure, though he is obviously embarrassed by his perceived shortcoming. The idea of him trecking into a jungle fills me with delight, not only because he's so obsessed with his appearance and will surely have a panic attack the moment a speck of dirt appears on his dress, but because the idea of this place has been the object of his curiosity for years (though it may not be meet with his expectations, and that is just RP-gold).
Thanks in advance for any and all advice!
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I don't know about Serpent Skull specifically, but I don't think anyone with Charm Person and Sleep is completely useless in combat.
To increase his combat prowess when he's out of spells, get him a light crossbow. It'll do 1d6 damage at a +3 bonus (not too bad at this level) and your Strength penalty doesn't effect it. It'll take a move action to reload, but that's not a huge deal. It's also a relatively reasonable thing for a scholar to have when going some place there might be dangerous wild animals. You might also want a Chain Shirt to replace the Studded Leather he's wearing. More AC never hurts.
Those changes in gear aside, he's a quite survivable non-combat focused character.
I thought about adding a crossbow, but with only 8 Str he quickly ran out of carrying capacity (this character desperately needs a mule or something to haul around his gear). Regarding armor, I chose studded leather for the aesthetics of it. I wanted him to be wearing an overcoat thematically dressed up as studded leather. Though, I will certainly be thinking about upgrading it, especially when the character realizes it isn't offering him very much protection.
I'm very interested in seeing how the character grows; in addition to combat utility, I am sure he will be adding new skills to the list (Use Magic Device amongst them, hopefully - since we are low on healing a wand of cure light wounds would be infinitely valuable).
I will be playing in a Serpent's Skull game this weekend, though I am not sure if the character I drew up for it is going to be able to survive. My concern is that a less combat-oriented PC is going to get eaten up in this module (which I have never played; please no spoilers, only suggestions!). Here's what his stats are looking like:
** spoiler omitted **...
I am playing that class in the Serpent's Skull right now. I would pick a human, gives you an extra feat or a class that you don't take a minus on weapons sizes and movement. I am playing a Dhampire and I took exotic weapons proficiency as my first feat to get some more combat power and live longer….using a bastard sword. A human will do just fine as well.
The character is a gnome. No getting around that XD
Gnomes get some nice bonuses, too. Though as you point out, they're not combat-oriented (which has been my concern, so commenting on race choice makes perfect sense).
I appreciate the advice, though, and dhampir are damned cool. A player made one for a game I was running and really enjoyed it.
That said, you're also playing an archivist in Serpent's Skull? How has it been in your experience (omitting spoilers of course)?
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Having both of your starting spells be mind-affecting might suck if vermin/undead/etc. show up, particularly since your character lacks any sort of backup melee capability.
I'd suggest grease instead of charm person. (Or instead of sleep, but, given a choice, I'd rather have sleep than charm person...)
Normally, I'd suggest some scrolls or even a partially charged wand of grease or sleep (possibly snagged through a Rich Parents trait or something) instead of making a hard choice, but both of these options would suck hard, due to the low DCs of those spells from items.
Carrying a flask or two of alchemical fire might add some versatility as well, for when you really need to inflict some hit point damage to something. (I'd normally recommend a tanglefoot bag or two as well, but, with his Strength and the small size encumbrance issues, the 5 lbs. would just be unreasonably encumbering).
Good point. I like charm person for its utility outside of combat, but I have reasonable social skills with this character - so switching it out for grease seems a fair exchange.
I think I will do that.
I am currently playing in one and I have almost died like 3 times lol! Go hero points! I have a grippli druid which I thought to be highly survivable, I should be better now that I am level 3, we ran into almost no humanoids (1) until what I think is the end of the first book. Id go gnome sorcerer if I were you.
That sounds ominous. We don't use hero points and our DM doesn't go easy on us. Since my character is not optimized for combat this sounds especially foreboding. Eeerrggh, I really don't want this character to die. I don't think I can roll another one if I honestly play him to his potential - the story just wouldn't be as interesting from another character's perspective if I invest in this character.
Well, I guess I just gotta play and see what happens.
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I am running for a Gnome Archivist Bard in my Serpents Skull PbP here on the forums. His knowledge has been very useful out of combat, and naturalist is a pretty potent bonus.
Don't expect to pile on any damage yourself, but with 16 charisma you could stand to start with a few combat spell options such as Grease or Hideous Laughter (and possibly swap them out later if the opponents save too much).
Basically- we've almost ran chapter 1 through and I think the archivist does very well. A bonus to saving throws is very potent for all the nasties on the island... I'll say no more for fear of spoilers.
If your interested, heres the character i'm referring to-
Good to hear that the archivist's replacement performance will come in handy. Makes me want to play him even more.
Thank you for the link, looks very much in the spirits of what I was going for with my character.