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Nobody bats an eye when I introduce Wizzlefarb, the gnome prankster bard, and have him sneaking under the Venture-Captain's desk to tie his shoelaces together during the mission briefing. Then I mention that he's in the Silver Crusade, and I get the weird looks. He's chaotic good, and just wants to make the world a better place. His way of doing that is by spreading joy and laughter, even if that's sometimes Hideous Laughter.
Similarly, I introduce Green Beard the Pirate as a big, ugly half-orc who smells like cheap rum, and people tend to like the stereotypical description and name. Then, they're all shocked when he starts casting spells in battle. Apparently, I "forgot to mention" that he's a cleric of Besmara when I first introduced him. Just don't ask him for healing - he's not that type of cleric (negative channeler).
People seem to have certain expectations from a halfling rogue with the Halfling Opportunist prestige class, and Qassir doesn't meet them. He's a very serious, Sarenrae worshiping dervish swordsman (one level dip in Dawnflower Dervish bard) from Qadira, who regards sword fighting with his scimitar as a holy art form. Just because he's learned to take advantage of every weakness of his enemies to get "sneak attacks" and "exploitive maneuvers", that doesn't mean he's some sort of thief. In fact, he holds himself to very good and honorable standards at all times.
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It seems like I was not alone in the idea of having a not-good character in the silver crusade. my Cleric of Rovagug Bard who worships Sarenrae belongs to the Silver Crusade for much the same reason as former paracountess Dralneen had players doing Chelaxian faction missions in season 5: to gather info on the crusaders. Just in case.
The odd looks come when I play my guitar and people watch the enemie's eyes start bleeding and then they fall over dead. Good times.
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I do get some looks with my wolfscarred/deaf angel-blooded aasimar oracle with no hair on his body. So he looks like he has a hairless wolf face with angelic skin. Oh, and he's the dark tapestry mystery. It gets more amusing when he shape-shifts...eagle with a wolf face. Although now it's going to be an aurumvorax with a wolf face and wings made of darkness itself and whose entire body is surrounded by an enveloping cloak of darkness. Obviously perfectly thematic for an aasimar. Oh, and he's from Rahadoum.
Can't wait to be a dragon with a wolf face and an extra set of wings.
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There is my first PFS character, a rogue/fighter who is now the owner and madame of a discreet little brothel being run out of one of the most high-class, conservative districts in Absalom.
My kabuki actor/lotus geshia bard, Shiro gets some interesting looks. He specializes in onnagata (female roles) and is very good at it!
*As in even when speaking or performing, unless asked directly he will let you assume he is female.*
He takes pride in his abilities as an actor and he is VERY pretty. :)
My Saurian Shaman druid with the baby t-rex companion also gets some brows raised. His name is Tene, and he acts like the druid is his mommy, so he is very protective of her. *trained to attack anything and to stay close to her.-Bodyguard Archetype from 'Animal Archive'*
I guess baby t-rex isn't a common choice for human druids?
My Half-Orc cavalier broke someone's brain, I'm sure. Taldor-born and raised in the fine, gentlemanly-arts and chivalric codes of honor expected of a young man of his station.
*He is Order of the Lion and Talor Faction*
When raised in pseudo-isolation by an eccentric noble family, Half-orcs aren't supposed to be raised with the proper social graces and national pride?
Last but not least, there is my Qilpoth-spawn tiefling cleric of Pharasma.
Picture a blue-green mold colored Davy Jones from 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' without the beard, who is female,wearing a purple and black nun's habit with a silver holy symbol around her neck, asking you:
"Do ya fear DEATH?" *waits for terrified nod from individual* "Yes? Oh don't be afraid me dear, 'tis all a part o' the natural way of life. but if it a'fears ye so badly, I will ease yer pain and yer mind fer ye..." *Then casts 'stabilize'*
She figures, if they are meant to live, it will work.
Come to think of it...almost ALL my characters raise eyebrows!!
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No one seems to give a second thought to my having a LG tiefling cleric of Iomedae, but people keep getting tripped up by the fact that he's not "angsty anti-hero #315869", is also not "good is a doormat", and is also not "homicidal maniac who just makes sure his targets are evil so he can keep the G on his sheet". People seem to sometimes have trouble grasping the concept of a LG tiefling who is none of those things.
Wait, what?
You mean Thomas is really a hero like his name says?
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Recently it came up in a scenario that my Shoanti Warpriest of Gorum, pretty much the epitome of pride and honor and glory, was also gay.
Everyone's head turned, "He's gay?"
I responded, "Well, all of my male characters are gay. Oh, except for one."
One player asked, "Why?"
So I paused for a moment, then responded, "I'm not sure, really. I suppose I had to have at least one that wasn't gay."
Laughs and raised eyebrows were achieved.
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Just curious, but if a barb can't be lawful and a monk can't be unlawful how did you get these two classes to mix?
Sorry, I should have specified it. She's Urban Barbarian 1 / Martial Artist Monk 3 (currently). Martial Artist archetype doesn't require a monk to be lawful. So, she's currently true Neutral (although at the start of season 6, with the faction change, I may try to change her alignment to NG and go from Qadira into Silver Crusade).
And yes, there is an Agathion Aasimar trait called Enlightened Warrior from Blood of Angels, which allows such a race to be Neutral or Neutral Good and still take levels of Monk. And best of all, you can take the Adopted race trait to get it, and be any race. (And it even works in PFS). I didn't end up taking it because I felt it was a bit cheesy, and the more I thought about it, the more I liked the sweet bonuses (bonusi?) that I could get from Martial Artist.
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Venture-Captain, Missouri—Cape Girardeau
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I've now got a great idea for a PFS character.
An elven bard so enamored with the Keleshite culture that he adapts it as his own and becomes a dervish dancer. I'll name him Pressly.
*He would simultaneously be "Elvish Pressly" and "Dervish Pressly"... take your pick*
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Though I've not yet had a chance to play her, my Halfing cavalier (Honour Guard/Beast Rider) of Bolka might raise a few.
She's built around Flagbearer, Bodyguard, and an assortment of teamwork feats and party buffs, and believes those who are happy and fulfilled in their relationships make the best team players.
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Oh yeah, I didn't mention Gorjo, my lawful good battle oracle who frequently calls his patron goddess, Iomedae, "you celestial b!#$@".
Because of the Infernal language curse, he used to think he was cursed by devils, but Iomedae dropped some anvil sized hints around the time he hit level 4, to let him know she's the source of his curse. So now that he knows, he occasionally swears at her in Infernal for ruining his life.
Other than that, he really does live up to his lawful good alignment, which is why she chose him in the first place. She used the curse to get him banished from his home village, because otherwise he would have stayed there his whole life, and never left home to become a crusader for good. I figure as long as he continues to be a true warrior for good, she doesn't mind putting up with a little insolence, especially since she understands why he hates her so much.
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I wore a plastic Viking helmet and fake beard every time I sat down to play my Dwarf, used a Dwarven Waraxe as my primary weapon, told everyone I was a front liner, always roleplayed him as a drunken brute, and specialized in sundering.
So when I'd eventually walk up to an enemy and deliver an Intensified Shocking Grasp through my Waraxe, it invariably raised some eyebrows.
Brevick Axeflail, Dwarven Magus
While not a current character I've been thinking of making a Dwarven Stonelord Paladin of Sarenrae.
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Perhaps the Merciful Healer Half-Orc Cleric of Sarenrae is not the most typical concept for a half-orc. Especially when he is of small stature and him trying to wield a weapon is just sad (str 10).
But then again, it's just a straightforward inversion of the smashy angry barbarian stereotype for half-orcs, so it's not that suprising.
The dwarf ninja would probably have been a bit more weird, but he died in his first scenario (it was a TPK). He would have been a ninja/white-haired witch, striking from the shadows with his beard.
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My Half-orc Warpriest of Shelyn gets some weird looks. Until I point out what better place for an ostracized man who isn't accepted by either of his parents kind? Shelyn thinks everyone is beautiful, and so does his Clergy, so he loves them very much and has trained to crush anyone who tries to hurt them or art into very beautiful paste.
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Ive seen alot of prejudice against halforcs as well, I have a rogue/bard who wants to write an encyclopedia on golarion swearwords. People are always suprised that A. "She's a female halforc?" and B. "A halforc bard?"
My varisian aasimar paladin/oracle of Korada gets alot of strange looks for his Russian accent and his firm belief that vodka helps with him with his 'meditation'. He's a good guy, though. And the phrase "For mother Varisia!" Always gets some laughs.
My chelaxian dhampir nobleman cleric of Pazuzu who's fallen from grace due to his chaotic tendencies usually gets some strange looks, even if just for his race. He lives purely to fight Lamashtu's minions on every possible occasion and is a self-proclaimed 'fiend hunter'. Whenever I proclaim that the varisian pilgrim archetype needs everyone to join in a group prayer in order to be able to benefit from my domain powers people are happy, untill I explain that this involves me gutting a chicken and hanging it from a tree branch, watching it bleed dry while being picked at by scavengers. Pazuzu is my new favorite deity.
Lastly I have a tiefling shaman/tattood sorc mytic theurge who looks like an old lady with black nails and teeth, is a devout member of the silver crusade, and has a dodo popping out from her neck. I get to make weird bird sounds at awkward moments.
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My Taldan Dervish Dancer/Swashbuckler has to explain that the *correct* worship of Sarenrae is accepted in most parts of Taldor, and it is simply those Cult of the Dawnflower heretics that need to be put down. He also admits to being somewhat of a cad, being sword to *two* ladies at the same time: Lady Gloriana Morilla and Sarenrae.
My ifrit sorcerer doesn't raise any eyebrows, but one of his tattoos does. His shoulder tattoo of a large raven peels itself off of him, then snarks at him in Common when he miserably fails his perception checks. "Really? You don't see that? Why do I even put up with you?" (Tattooed familiar from Tattooed sorcerer archetype)
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My Half-orc Warpriest of Shelyn gets some weird looks. Until I point out what better place for an ostracized man who isn't accepted by either of his parents kind? Shelyn thinks everyone is beautiful, and so does his Clergy, so he loves them very much and has trained to crush anyone who tries to hurt them or art into very beautiful paste.
I keep thinking Shelyn and Erastil are the two major good gods who get the least play in Society, because their worshipers' are less likely to be the "wandering adventurer" types than worshipers of the other five major good gods.
I actually have a similar idea to yours, which I haven't done yet. He'd be a big, dumb, ugly brute of a man, who made the mistake of trusting people as a teen/young adult who just wanted to use him for his great strength. After going to jail for being a violent thug, he finds religion while in prison, and becomes a Shelyn worshiper, at least partially because her followers don't care that he's ugly and keep going on about inner beauty. Not having the artistic skill or personality for a quiet life in the temple, he becomes a wandering adventurer, and ends up a Pathfinder.
I was originally thinking of the doing the reach cleric thing that gets talked about a lot on these forums, using Shelyn's favored weapon of the glaive. But I haven't looked at the Advanced Class Guide yet, and at this point, I'll wait for the final release, so maybe a war priest would be a better fit for him. I might consider inquisitor, too. I just really like the idea of a divine follower of hers using a glaive who is big, strong, ugly, and talks really slow, like he's borderline retarded, but has some wisdom acquired through hard experience (probably single digit int and cha, and just barely enough wisdom for the buff spells, with the high str and con necessary for a front liner).
Just made a Kurgess worshiping Assimar bard. When not on PF missions she goes to sporting events, using Perform Oratory (chant) and Perform Dance to get the crowds into the competition.
Wouldn't it be considered cheating for sports competitors to get an Inspire Competence bonus from the crowd doing the wave?
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Yeah, I just thought the idea of actually having someone follow Shelyn that wasn't pretty or very charismatic would be a fun idea, and I wanted to playtest one of the ACG classes so I started mulling over the idea.
I wound up with a Half-orc worshipper of her that had grown up in Taldor in the lower class. Chased out of many villages and low class slums with his mother as a child for what he looked like until she eventually passed away. It was her church that found him and took him in, angry and useless at the time. But they taught him art (He's not very good but it's about the effort), and to carry a note when he sang for their faith, and he sought out her Paladins to learn to fight.
And since Shelyn is hardly the most aggressive goddess he takes it upon himself to travel around ensuring her various temples are safe. He heard about the Pathfinders and their proclivity for finding artifacts and art... sometimes damaging them in the name of their mission, and decided to join because it let him travel to the temples more easily and ensure the pathfinders didn't destroy something of value or kill someone needlessly.
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There's my Taldan Half-Orc Cleric of Naderi. She's the love child of a foppish Taldan noble and his Orc bodyguard. As the family became more important, the scandal eventually became too much to bear, and her father threw himself into the sea in shame. She originally joined the church to honor his choice, but found she has a knack for helping people confront their insoluble problems by thinking about things from different angles. For her day job she is a Counseler -- providing Couples Counseling or End-of-Life Counseling as appropriate.
My Tiefling Lunar Oracle with the Wrecker Curse used to be a cavalier in personal service to the Dralneens, before she drew the attention of Groetus by destroying an item holy to him. Now she's cursed and insane and hates her life. With the Wrecker Curse, everything she touches or wears breaks, so now she lives on the streets, begging. Her new crocodile companion -- Li'l Miss Smiley-Britches -- ate her mount and won't stop following her. The Pathfinders only took her in as a favor to the Paracountess, and only use her for missions where they require the services of a murderous hobo. (Which is far too many.)
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Just made a Kurgess worshiping Assimar bard. When not on PF missions she goes to sporting events, using Perform Oratory (chant) and Perform Dance to get the crowds into the competition.Wouldn't it be considered cheating for sports competitors to get an Inspire Competence bonus from the crowd doing the wave?
If I'm inspiring all the competitors (except for the cheaters) they all perform better but the competition is more dramatic (Look at that last second score!).
All the Best,
Kerney
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OK I know it isn't PFS but from an old D&D game I have a character who keeps getting cursed to hand out business cards when she meets adventurers, which reads:
Goldamar
Paladin of Ukko
Member in good standing of the
Foundland Assassins Guild
What's worse is that she has been on a couple of hits for the guild... What's a Paladin to do when "informed" of the evil necromancer building an undead army?
(The church has gotten some very generous tithes in her name)
Female anything of Erastil.
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A cleric who worships the god Plot. As in "I feel a strong pull from Plot to go down this tunnel." no Metagaming here.
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We had some newbies at my table last night who had played older versions of D&D, but never recent stuff, and didn't really know much about Pathfinder. They'd obviously never seen a nagaji before. Add in the tongues curse that makes him speak Infernal during combat, that he's a spellcaster in full plate mail and buckler wielding a long sword (battle oracle), and that he's actually lawful good, and Gorjo made quite the impression last night.
Venture-Lieutenant, California—Los Angeles (Newhall)
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How many of you have characters that get funny looks based on the things I mentioned in the title?
This is NOT a place to come and make fun of character concepts.
I'm merely curious what ideas people have that are probably viewed as out of the norm in society play.
For example, one of my characters is a Paladin of Shelyn who loves performing with wind instruments. I have recieved plenty of funny looks at first, but it doesn't change anything. What about the rest of you?
I made a halfling druid with a Brachisaur animal companion.
I got comments of "That's a stupid animal companion, it's only got one attack, why would you ever pick that?!?!"
I like my character idea.
I'm here to have fun and play what I want to play.
Not to powergame.
It seems there's quite a few of them in Society.
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"You're a cavalier riding a turtle?"
Typically followed by "Your turtle has a 50 foot move speed?"
And soon after "The turtle has the 'sprint' ability?"
Beast master for the turtle?
Horseshoes of speed to bump up to 50?How do you get it sprint?
Gnome Favored Class bonus for Cavaliers (+1 foot to mount's base speed), coupled with the racer animal companion archetype (+10 feet, sprint).
Casey Jones, fastest turtle in the Inner sea.
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RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
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I've been enjoying my Irorian Enhancement specialist wizard. She's modeled after those self-help gurus you see on late night infomercials. At the start of each session, she instructs her "students" to focus on physical katas and mental prowess, with the help of some liberal bull's strength and fox's cunning, of course.
"Hello everyone, I'm Lyriel and today I'd like just one minute of your time to talk about how you can be a better you! With just a few moments of your time, and by following my simple instructions I can bring out the potential in everyone and extend your lives by 10 minutes a day. So who's ready to start living for today, today? Yeah!"
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Venture-Lieutenant, Finland—Tampere
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Heh, the dinosaur-related posts reminded me of one of my characters.
Roskva Ljótrmundardottir is a female half-orc viking. And cavalier of the Order of the Sword. Who has a talking intelligent magic sword, a breastplate made of transparent green crystal, and an ankylosaurus mount.
