I've been dying to practice making some NPCs, and I needed a place to store them where I and my friends can see.
I'd enjoy getting feedback on optimization, corrections, etc.
General Korvanos Ghasthelm (CR 5)
XP 1,600
Male advanced human Fighter 5
NE Medium Humanoid (human)
Init +6; Senses Perception +3
DEFENSE
AC 25, touch 13, flat-footed 22 (+3 Dex, +2 natural, +7 armor, +3 shield)
hp 57 (5d10 +25)
Fort +9, Ref +5, Will +5; +6 vs fear
Defensive Abilities bravery +1;
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +11 masterwork longsword (1d8 +11/19-20 x2)
Ranged +8 shortbow (1d6/19-20 x2)
STATISTICS
Str 22, Dex 17, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 12
Base Atk +5; CMB +11 CMD 23
Feats Weapon Focus (longsword)BH, Power Attack1st, Improved Initiative Fighter 1, Cleave Fighter 2, Shield Focus3rd, Great Cleave Fighter 4, Combat Reflexes5th
Skills Climb +14 (-3 armor check penalty), Intimidate +9, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +10, Survival +11, Swim +14 (-4 armor check penalty) (5 ranks)
Languages Common, Uncommon, Abyssal
SQ armor training, weapon training (heavy blades)
Combat Gear masterwork longsword, shortbow, heavy steel shield, +1 agile breastplate
Other Gear cape of resistance +1, potion of bull’s strength, potion of cure light wounds (3)
So far this is a good start but not an overly interesting npc and a bit low level to be a general imo.
I can't find the "Cleave Fighter 2" feat anywhere. ;p
Maybe the general would like a horse? If it wasn't so expensive I would say add a composite shortbow +6 Str. At least masterwork the poor man's shortbow then he should still have a little left for some armor spikes or a dagger. Poor NPC's... so many levels... so little monies.
So far this is a good start but not an overly interesting npc and a bit low level to be a general imo.
I can't find the "Cleave Fighter 2" feat anywhere. ;p
Maybe the general would like a horse? If it wasn't so expensive I would say add a composite shortbow +6 Str. At least masterwork the poor man's shortbow then he should still have a little left for some armor spikes or a dagger. Poor NPC's... so many levels... so little monies.
I went with the expected gold for an NPC. And yeah sorry about the 1sts and Fighter 2. On Word when I type them up they're barely visible as subscript.
I'll see what I can do for the next one, this was just the best one to start I with since Fighters are pretty straightforward to build compared to some of the other classes.
aah. I see what you did there. By the NPCs wealth, he couldn't really afford the cloak of resistance +1. So he took a hit to his weapon monies to gain a bit more protection. Which is fine, but it does leave him a bit behind on the secondary weapons.
Question. How does he use the shortbow since he has no arrows?
aah. I see what you did there. By the NPCs wealth, he couldn't really afford the cloak of resistance +1. So he took a hit to his weapon monies to gain a bit more protection. Which is fine, but it does leave him a bit behind on the secondary weapons.
Question. How does he use the shortbow since he has no arrows?
Fair enough point, he's missing arrows (20) in his combat gear. I'll try and not forget that.
I'm also assuming, and "General" is maybe too prestigious a title so let's call him Captain, has some personnel with him. I'd imagine a small three to four man retinue that can keep the PCs busy with cover fire and the like as he wades in and hacks his foes apart.
Again, this was just a generic NPC mockup I did to see if I could get it right enough.
I'm curious, do you really feel the need to lock yourself into the wealth by level table for an NPC? Especially in a homebrew situation?
Do you think it's going to unbalance things if this 5th level fighter had a +1 weapon over his "officially sanctioned" wealth.
It seems to me that those darn tables have stifled entirely to much creativity and reinforce a "right way to play" mentality.
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I'm curious, do you really feel the need to lock yourself into the wealth by level table for an NPC? Especially in a homebrew situation?
Do you think it's going to unbalance things if this 5th level fighter had a +1 weapon over his "officially sanctioned" wealth.
It seems to me that those darn tables have stifled entirely to much creativity and reinforce a "right way to play" mentality.
Quoted for truth.
What I like to do with enemy NPCs sometimes is spend the treasure that WOULD be gotten from chests or from other encounters on a particular encounter with particular NPCs, myself. But then I'm specifically making NPCs as opponents.
For non-opponent NPCs (or NPCs that could either be opponents or not), really, just... feel free to not stick to those limitations. If having a +1 keen rapier and a ring that grants the Crane Style feat befits my NPC duelist, he's going to have those items, to heck with limitations on wealth by level. (I mean, you don't want to give an NPC something WAY beyond his WBL, like a level 1 commoner with a Holy Avenger, unless your story hinges around that, but... y'know.)
So, yeah. Let yourself be more creative.
As for this particular character, I am NOT getting a "general" feel from him. Nothing about his gear or his skillset tells me "this is a general." Instead, I look at him and think "this is a tough mook or a bandit leader."
If you want to build a general, think of ways to actually show off their brains-over-brawn mechanically. Why not use archetypes, for instance? Half-orc dirty fighters make for great smart warriors, debilitating their opponents to allow their allies to mop up the rest of the mess; a Tactician archetype fighter actually works really well as a Captain or Sergeant-At-Arms, especially with a high INT, sufficient Aid Another modifier boosters and the right feat selection.
Skill selection is key, too. Profession: Soldier is how Pathfinder determines how good someone is at being a general. Perform: Oratory means you have a character that's great at giving speeches. Ride and Handle Animal are natural fits for any officer; they should be astride a horse or camel or triceratops or dragon so they can maneuver about the battlefield quickly.
For items, items like a Banner of Ancient Kings mounted on a longspear lends to the feel of a commander.
Basically, if you're going to make someone a military leader, build them with that in mind. You have a good character, but he looks more like a bandit or an evil adventurer than someone I'd want to take orders from necessarily. He'd make a good party leader for evil adventurers.