For those of you who've read some of my posts in here, you'll know I was running my campaign with a GMPC Cleric that I created as comic relief.
I was clever with how I did it, made sure he didn't ruin the scares or surprises for the party (even when he was with the party, to which the PC's worried especially down in the Catacomb's of Wrath. I think even Brik the Drunk worried), but only ever had him in as a temporary party member.
Now that the Catacomb's of Wrath have been finished, I allowed the PC's to travel to Magnimar to spend their GP on items that could aid them during their next adventure at Thistletop.
Currently, the PC's are unaware of this place and don't even know they're going there next, but some of the players have grown to love Brik and don't want him to leave.
So, my problem now is that I have a party of 4 level 3's in my group (none of which are Clerics - Shoanti Barbarian, Rogue/Magus, Sorcerer and Rogue) and I want Brik to "LEAVE" the party.
How can I have him watching over them in the background, stalking them (in a sense) as he's concerned for their safety, without having them notice him? I'll have him follow them at all times from a distance and when they enter Thistletop, he'll enter shortly after, but with such a low Dex score and no Stealth as a Class Skill, I don't really know how to go about this.
He has his own issues but really cares about the youngest Character, Tristan (the 15 year old Half-Elf Rogue/Magus) and doesn't want to see him hurt.
He's an acquaintance of Belor Hemlock and Belor took Tristan in a few years back, when he was homeless, lonesome and wandering around, scavenging for any food he could find as Goblins killed his parents and burned down the majority of his Village, somehow missing him.
Tristan really likes Brik and there are real reasons why he's an Alcoholic and can be so obnoxious at times, but he means well and I want the party to discover why Brik is the way he is.
Anyway, his stats are below, but any suggestions you guys have would be awesome and hugely appreciated!
Race: Human
Level: 4
Channels: 7
HP: 50
AC: 28
Str: 14 (Level 4)
Dex: 7
Con: 14
Wis: 16
Int: 7
Cha: 18
Feats: Toughness, Selective Channeling
3. Shield Proficiency
+1 HP Per Level
+1 Rank Per Level
ACP: -12
BAB: 3
CMB: 5
CMD: 13
Fort: 6
Ref: -1
Will: 7
Combat:
Melee
Glass Tankard - +5, 1d6 20x2, P, B or S
Range
Glass Tankard - +3, 1d6 20x2, P, B or S
Traits:
Defender of the Society - +1 AC
Accelerated Drinker
Racial Trait: Heart of the Wilderness
Skills: ??? - Acrobatics: 4 (for +6 AC in Total Defense)
GP = Nothing. This guy is in debt and on the run, getting drunk whenever the opportunity arises.
Special: Brik carries a Keg of Ale on his back at all times. This allows him to drink whenever he pleases, as well as attack with the 20+ Tankards that hang from his Armour.
----------------------------------------------------------------
After the sidequest at the Old Light, half of the PC's were thrown in Jail overnight. This was because things got out of hand when the PC's saw Brik heal the enemy they just killed. Being a medic and drunk at the time, he liked to heal others, but couldn't differentiate who was who.
Anyway, a fight broke out and the three main people involved (the now Deceased Dack, ex-party member Jeffrey and Brik) were locked away for the night.
The next morning when Brik collected his belongings and ventured out with the party, he had a major hangover and was a lot more sober than usual. Not knowing how this was possible, he poured his "ALE" into his Glass Tankard, only to find out that the Sheriff had replaced it all with Water.
Luckily for Brik, he had a secret stash........
----------------------------------------------------------------
Gear: Items: +1 Ring of Protection, +1 Amulet of Natural Armour, +1 Tower Shield, +1 Full Plate.
Thanks! :)
|
I see 45 HP and 27 AC , not 50 and 28. He also has way to much wealth and is unable to cast spells with tower shield and weapon in hand.
That a side, he wouldn't sneak around most likely. He would either stay with them or leave completely.
He might be staying by side instead and use divine means to spy on party's progress. It doesn't seem like character which would leave on purpose, so might want to give him some help in that. He might receive an important letter from person X and it might force him to leave party temporary only to come back in the last moment to help them out.
I'd just have him stay.
If it seems forced, hang a lampshade on it. Let him be the party's "bookmark" in Sandpoint. He can even make a joke like "Surely I'll see you again soon, after all, if anything bad happens here who else is going to save us?"
Some GMs have trouble with the Runelords plot not giving enough reason to return to Sandpoint after book 3. You will not be having that problem, I predict.
Yep, I gave him all of that wealth because I wanted him to survive indefinitely as a member of the party I could call in when I pleased.
He's actually one level Fighter and three levels Cleric and his trait gives him an extra 1AC from being a Fighter of the Society. :)
He has all of these items because he asked for money from loan sharks and gamblers all of the time, finding these people in the shadiest parts of towns, cities and villages, as he didn't want to screw over honest and nice people, but knew he needed a lot of armour to survive.
Knowing he couldn't ever pay it back, he bought his gear and left.
This was repeated at every town he passed through, right up until he discovered Sandpoint, where he couldn't be bothered anymore and not being a very well known place, decided he could stay there a while.
Anyway, aside from getting drunk and disorderly and spending a fair few nights in Jail to sober up, the Sheriff got to know him and realised there's more to his story than meets the eye, but just didn't care to ask as there were more pressing matters at hand, regarding the Society and people of Sandpoint.
The Sheriff asked him to aid the party once before and he's just kind of stuck around, keeping an eye on Tristan ever since the Glasswork's (where Jeffrey the Barbarian murdered Dack the other Barbarian, who had previously bullied him, which caused the party Witch to die, due to Goblins attacking and not having anyone but the Magus/Rogue to aid her). He and Tristan were the only survivors, so he stayed with him until a new party could be re-formed.
He lives life, doing as he pleases and going where the wind takes him.
He wouldn't leave the party permanently, but doesn't want to be around a huge group of people all of the time either. Instead, he just wants to watch over Tristan, offering aid now and again when he really needs to.
The GM reason for this however is that there's now a party of 4. With Brik there'd be a party of 5 which I didn't really want to do, as I want the game to be challenging and don't want to boost EVERY encounter they face.
Their offense is good, with two melee types, one arcane and one arcane who can fight with a sword (Magus) as well as blast from afar.
This will allow Brik to take half of the damage dealt to Tristan, sharing his life force with the young Half-Elf, activating this only when he can see Tristan in danger.
Anyway, when the party heads off, I'll have Brik stay far enough away so they won't sense his presence, but he'll be watching them from afar, entering the way they enter, 5 rounds after them roughly, hiding around corners and summoning a Hyena (the embodiment of his nature, as far as the laughing is concerned) or healing people from afar, remaining out of sight.
At some point later I will have him return and make them aware of his presence, hopefully giving them a shock followed by a nice surprise.
Until then however, I'll have the party wondering why or how they're being healed and why a Hyena would run past them to attack enemies, with nobody in sight.
Also, Brik's mainly about Compulsively Healing, so they would never think he could have any Enchantment or Conjuration Spells, such as Summon or Compel Hostility. :)
He follows his own ideals and isn't a believer in Religion, possibly thinking his powers just came to him somehow, but he does believe greatly in Cayden Cailean's ideals and lifestyle and has a feeling that if such a God exists, Cayden may be responsible for his power, due to how similar his own lifestyle is to the Deities.
Edit: Hey Lincoln, nice to see a post from you again. :)
Yea, he lives in Sandpoint, but then so does Belor and if the PC's manage it, a quest I've set up will show the town how dodgy the Fatman's Feedbag is (along with how badly it's run) and the Pub will be given to the PC's as a reward. This too, should be a reason for them to want to revisit and should give them a small income.
Oh and yea, his Tankard is his Divine Focus. He just doesn't know it. :p
Both Brik and Cayden share the same love of Ale. Cayden's depicted as being cheerful whilst holding a full Tankard, as is Brik. He always has one in his hand and always pulls out another when he's smashed his last one around some enemies face. :)
I also don't like the restriction of always having to have a hand free to cast spells, so when playing Spellcasters, I say they learned in different ways.
Some learned to point and make something happen, some learned to command, some learned to just think and others need only to make eye contact.
Makes everyone unique and different.