Your opinion: Class vs. Campaign

[Malignor]

Finally starting our campaign, much anticipated for months. Got to chatting with my DM and had a bit of a revelation. I'm curious what you all think, whether I'm being biased or delusional here.

Campaign Backstory: We are all Noble Drow. What keeps us from backstabbing each other is that we're mentally linked, and there's an instinctive and mutual admiration that keeps us working together, despite our evil alignments. We were all born within the same hour, and all our mothers died while birthing us, so we're like something from Village of the Damned or something. We also all have lavender eyes, which is also rare. We are each members of a high ranking noble house, very close to the matron. For example, my character is the Matron's younger brother.

Campaign Description: Despite being from different houses, we all end up working together. There are 2 themes to the game:

Intrigue: Everything in the game will revolve around screwing the other noble houses, manipulation, trickery and discreet and untraceable assassination, and hopefully igniting wars for the gain of our own houses.

Dungeon Crawling: Throughout the campaign, we'll have to (for some reason or another) leave home on excursions into the underdark, or maybe raid the surface once or twice.

Party: We're all 4th level characters.

Our leader will be a Priestess (Darkness and Spider domains; DM made up spider domain). She is the little sister of the current matron, but the public's fear of her, being one of "us", keep her out of the succession.

Her twin brother is a TWF Fighter who's gimmick is having a bandoleer of Kukris, each +1 of various Bane. His other gimmick is that his sheltered life caused him to be naive and trusting, and also trustworthy. After surviving multiple betrayals, he wised up, but still remains an unusually dependable guy. This has made him into a very sought after mercenary.

A male Sorcerer (bloodline yet undetermined) who is secretly insane, and thinks that a cube he found as a child is a fallen god. The "god talks to him in his mind" and "chose him" as an ally. This god is smitten with Lolth, and obsessed with broadening her power, and thus acts as a screwed up delusion of a spirit guide, helping the Sorcerer realize Lolth's will. It's really all just a psychosis, but we agree that since Lolth profits from it and is probably entertained by it ("Will he be found out and culled? Tee heee!"), she wouldn't rat him out to her priestesses. He was trained in the arcane academy as an oddity, despite not being able to use wizardry. Mainly so he could be monitored and documented like some guinea pig.

A male Ranger, who I don't know much about. But it's nice to have a Ranger. Something tells me he'll pick Underground as his first favored terrain. I'm pressuring him to pick either Archery or 2HF as his combat style.

A female Alchemist. She trained in the arcane academy, but obsessed over the alchemy and spell component preparation lessons of apprenticeship. Bullied as a weirdo or "slow" person until she proved the power of her self-made alchemical discoveries... by cruelly disfiguring a male of a rival house. To satisfy house honor, she was expelled (while privately praised). She's kind of eccentric.

I'm making a male Rogue/Spy hybrid, dispensing with the level 1 trapfinding, and instead taking the Spy's Skilled Liar feature (+1/2 Level on Bluffs when lying). I traded places with a look-alike member of a lower house, and used my superior abilities to amass reputation power among the riffraff. Thus I "dodged the draft" of academy training and instead learned my skills the hard way in the streets, culminating with the murder of my tutor who discovered my identity, and the loser whose identity I stole (and occasionally still borrow).

My Revelation: Drow all have SR. They all have Elven resistance to enchantment. All the elite are spellcasters.

This says (to me) that the standard opinion, of spellcasters being awesome and Rogues being crap, is heavily mitigated by the context of this campaign. I chose a Rogue for the fun of it, and it may turn out to be a mechanically advantageous choice (given that the game is high intrigue and high magic). Disguise > Magic disguises, and Stealth > Invisibility, and bluff/sleight of hand > Magical alternatives... when SR and spellcasting are common among our greatest enemies & rivals.

Your opinion:???

[Phasics]

imo the Alchemist will own in such a magic heavy campaign ;)

Bombs vs SR = SR loses BADLY , bombs simply bypass it and apply whatever nasty effect they please. they also laugh at Magic immunity.

depends what the build is of course but a Cognatogen bomb focus , using extracts to buff would be deadly in that group. In fact I just made a post on alchemists hogging the spotlight in large groups.

[Abraham spalding]

The vivisection alchemist with the beastmorph archetype might get you what you want with extra instead of going to rogue.

[Malignor]

I'm not looking for combat power, as we already have plenty of that. In combat, I hope to be the opportunist, opener, source of enemy frustration, and wand monkey.
Plus we already have an Alchemist.

The guy playing the alchemist and I are by far the best and most enthusiastic at RP dialog, but the alchemist is designed to be a bit of a nut job. As such, the role of party face will fall to me. Getting all my bonuses from potions and bestial transformations doesn't seem very fitting in Drow courtly intrigue.

Plus, I'm not asking for advice on a character redesign. Or any advice for that matter (how it got moved here I don't know). I'm just wondering if you agree or not, or if there are other examples of the "character optimization status quo" being thrown out of whack by campaign setting design.

[Abraham spalding]

Ah okay -- without actual builds I can't tell you much but the team should be fine on the 'average optimization' front. You got powerful classes and are using them pretty well.

If you are going to be face might I suggest using the ninja alternate class? Just because the title is 'ninja' doesn't mean he can't just be a rogue, and you'll get more mileage out of your charisma.

[Eacaraxe]

I'm actually running a drow campaign right now as a matter of fact, and I can give you some tips.

The 11+HD spell resistance is very nice, but doesn't tip the game towards martials as much as you'd believe given casters can modify their spell lists to include the (lots) of spell options that don't require SR checks. What it does do is make buffing and the handful of instances of necessary combat healing very difficult, so you'll definitely want to find alternate avenues for party synergy. Likewise, not being able to channel positive energy and spontaneously cast cures is a pain in the butt. Potions are a much bigger deal in this circumstance.

In a large party, I'm surprised one of you isn't playing an abjurer. Being able to laser-target and counter spells that bypass SR is a fantastic ability in a game in which all the PC's have high SR.

Is your party using the 3.5 rules for faerzress (it's in DotU and/or the FR Underdark guide)? Because, that's also a big deal given it necessitates CL checks to succeed in conjuration and divination magic (and provides an inherent check on optimized wizard builds).

Light-descriptor spells are phenomenally destructive when backed up by a cuisinart rogue. I fear for the day my rogue/assassin player figures out he can carry a wand of daylight and takes the light adaptation feat.

Role-playing wise, keep in mind drow are not all Starscreams. In fact, the ones who are tend to get weeded out and killed fairly quickly. Drow still have to co-operate and survive in one of the least unfriendly environments a campaign world can possibly have; that cooperation may not be pleasant, but it still by-and-large prevents drow from merrily backstabbing one another at every possible opportunity. It's better to deal fairly and wait for the big opportunity than it is to blatantly run around backstabbing people; subtlety is king in drow society.

[Malignor]

Good stuff. Thanks for the input.
That part about the limitations of buffs is a big point to consider. Glad I'm able to wand-heal myself.

[TheSideKick]

Malignor wrote:

Good stuff. Thanks for the input.

That part about the limitations of buffs is a big point to consider. Glad I'm able to wand-heal myself.

have to admit that a ninja would fill that , what you described as your intention with the character, roll better. invisibility will allow you to scout, rogue talents will allow you to get the first hit in 90% of the time and the ability to taunt enemies while being invisible would be a RP wet dream lol.

[Eacaraxe]

You might also bring to your GM's attention a feat, if they're not already aware, in Drow of the Underdark called Reactive Resistance. It allows you to raise and lower SR as an immediate opposed to standard action.

[mcbobbo]

I personally think you made an awesome class choice then followed it up with a decent back story, and any rewards beyond that are well earned.

Go with the Rogue. You can always decide to 'pull punches' later if you feel you're outshining your friends.