How to build Elric of Melniboné as a Pathfinder Character?

[Turgan]

I'd like to create a character who is similar to Elric, probably living in the Forgotten Realms or Golarion.

To which race/culture could he belong?

Problem in a typical d&d Setting: there is noone comparable to Melniboneans (I don't think drow are a good fit). He could be human/elf whatever, just his attitude should be one of superiority.

What class/es should he take?

Stats?

Level: Every level would be interesting. Elric as a greenhorn, advanced, as a hero.

I think he should be able to brew potions/ fabricate drugs, summon (elemental lords?) and wielding a big sword (but the sword does not have to be like stormbringer although that's part of the original deal).

I am even interested in skills.

[Lincoln Hills]

There are a number of civilizations with the proper cultural arrogance and decadence in Forgotten Realms. Deep Imaskar comes to mind: so does Unther or Mulhorand (fitting in with the "alien, inhuman gods" aspect). If you don't mind having him frozen in stone for a thousand years (to quote Gargoyles), he could be time-lost from one of the dominant civilizations of elder days (Netheril or even one of the snootier lost elven realms.) Add aristocratic bloodlines to complete Elric's "moody princeling" attitude.

CLASSES: A tricky one. Eventually you'll want to get into Eldritch Knight, I deem: but I'd start with 1 level of a class with good BAB and hp (essential since Strength and especially Con were Elric's dump stats, hence his reliance on S.B.) Armor isn't his forte: you might consider a ranger using the Free Hand build from APG. Then, at second level, pick a Sorceror bloodline or enter Witch - focusing on summoning/conjuration and putting skill points where possible into Heal and Craft (alchemy) - remember, Elric became quite a herbalist trying to keep himself alive. Both those classes rely on Charisma, which Elric had plenty of (people feared or loved him despite his inhumanity, albinism and haughtiness) so that kind of plays to your strengths.

[LazarX]

Turgan wrote:

I'd like to create a character who is similar to Elric, probably living in the Forgotten Realms or Golarion.

To which race/culture could he belong?

Melniboneans are clearly a take on Elves. However there really isn't an elven civilisation that matches the same level of decadence. (I don't even think Drow measure up) Also cosmologically speaking, Golarian's metaphysics isn't nearly as crapsack as that of the world of the Young Kingdoms.

[nathan blackmer]

Bladebound Magus!

[uriel222]

Azlanti Summoner. (Or Magus, yeah)

[Turgan]

Thank you for your suggestions so far.

Doesn't Elric wear superior armor (or do I just think he did because of the stormbringer rpg?)

@Lincoln Hills: I Like your suggestions concerning cultural background. As we until now exclusively play on Faerun (before the spellplague) some faerunish background would be more important to me than Golarion.

But I don't know about Unter or Mulhorand, are they not more like ancient persia/egypt? I thought about Netheril, too. Isn't there a floating city coming back in one of the later 3.5 adventures?

Is there a good trait like "aristocratic bloodline" or similar?

So: Elric should probably have the feat "brew potion" and the skill craft: alchemy. I don't know about the skill "heal".

Is there a possibility to fabricate a drug that emulates such a thing as a "belt of giant strength"? Perhaps a few levels of a specialized alchemist?

Stats?

[Wizarddog]

Turgan wrote:

Thank you for your suggestions so far.

Doesn't Elric wear superior armor (or do I just think he did because of the stormbringer rpg?)

@Lincoln Hills: I Like your suggestions concerning cultural background. As we until now exclusively play on Faerun (before the spellplague) some faerunish background would be more important to me than Golarion.

But I don't know about Unter or Mulhorand, are they not more like ancient persia/egypt? I thought about Netheril, too. Isn't there a floating city coming back in one of the later 3.5 adventures?

Is there a good trait like "aristocratic bloodline" or similar?

So: Elric should probably have the feat "brew potion" and the skill craft: alchemy. I don't know about the skill "heal".

Is there a possibility to fabricate a drug that emulates such a thing as a "belt of giant strength"? Perhaps a few levels of a specialized alchemist?

Stats?

You have to consider Elric from two perspectives: Before he obtained Stormbringer and after he obtained Stormbringer.

The Elric before Stormbringer was sickly (also an albion even to his own race) and dependent on herbs and potions to stay alive. In this case, he most likely brewed potions of extended bears endurance to accommodate his low constitution.

Once he obtained Stormbringer, he did not need the potions as long as he reaped souls with Stormbringer. The aspect of his potion abilities take a backseat during this time.

Elric was also aided in his ability to summon gods with the Ring of Kings and he was talented in the mystic arts (though he allow that to wane while sitting on the throne in the beginning book). Magic worked differently in the stories than it does in the D&D/Pathfinder verse so it is debatably what he could do with magic.

In the stories he has donned full battle armor when need to fight a war or upcoming fierce battle. So he would be trained in medium or heavy armor. He favored using stormbringer two handed.

For stats you would give him a low constitution while giving him higher attributes in other areas like intelligence, wisdom, and maybe dexerity. I would give him moderate strength and despite being once the ruler of a kingdom, an average Charisma since he really was not an effective ruler of Kingdom (actually led to its downfall).

So base on that information you most likely have fighter and wizard with the Conjuration school. If you prefer the sorcerer route, then maybe arcane bloodline. As he progresses you can classes as needed in levels. An interesting addition would be to give him barbarian levels to simulate when he and stormbringer get "out of hand" and it would provide the boost to strength and constitution he would need in battle.

[TarkXT]

Blade Bound magus. Seriously.

As to what race?

There is I believe an underdark race that was from a lsot race of mages that ended up underground after there civilization fell. Can;t remember the name but they are albino and strike me as elric type characters.

[Spanky the Leprechaun]

Here
are his stats from the 1e Deities and Demigods;...heh heh.

[LazarX]

Basically spell casting in Moorcock's universe effectively translates to doing away with spell slots and spells and replacing them with rituals of varying length, some which can be executed quickly. But the bulk of Elric's magic was generally of the following type.

1. Demon summoning rituals that required some form of human sacrfice.

2. Binding rituals to take control of aboved summoned demon.

3. Analogues to Gate and Commune also very exhausting to cast even for someone with normal health. Some of them required to expend all the energy in a topped out Stormbringer.

In other words the wargaming fire and forget style of D+D magic is totally unsuited for the magic atmosphere of the Elric/Corum/Hawkmoon books.

That said there was a D20 DRagons of Melnibone supplement by Chaosium which made a fair approximation.

[TarkXT]

LazarX wrote:

Basically spell casting in Moorcock's universe effectively translates to doing away with spell slots and spells and replacing them with rituals of varying length, some which can be executed quickly. But the bulk of Elric's magic was generally of the following type.

1. Demon summoning rituals that required some form of human sacrfice.

2. Binding rituals to take control of aboved summoned demon.

3. Analogues to Gate and Commune also very exhausting to cast even for someone with normal health. Some of them required to expend all the energy in a topped out Stormbringer.

In other words the wargaming fire and forget style of D+D magic is totally unsuited for the magic atmosphere of the Elric/Corum/Hawkmoon books.

That said there was a D20 DRagons of Melnibone supplement by Chaosium which made a fair approximation.

You forgot the part where his race had ancient pacts with numerous elemental spirits adn kings which he enacted very often. Demons weren;t the only things around. Though many of the elementals were fading away.

[joeyfixit]

TarkXT wrote:

Blade Bound magus. Seriously.

As to what race?

There is I believe an underdark race that was from a lsot race of mages that ended up underground after there civilization fell. Can;t remember the name but they are albino and strike me as elric type characters.

Harrow Elves? Sound right?

From the beginning the magus struck me as being pretty obviously a conversion of the Elven Fighter/Mage from AD&D/2E, or the Elf from Red Box D&D. The Bladebound Magus screamed Elric as soon as I saw it.

Wizard= Merlin
Paladin= Lancelot
Halfling/Rogue= Bilbo/Frodo (they've come a long way but this is the seed)
Barbarian= Conan
Bladebound Magus= Elric

[Turgan]

I also had the bladebound magus in mind, but how to build him with this class?

I understand that the vancian magic system will not translate well to the depiction of magic in the novels.

He will normally not function as a player character. But an elric-like figure in the forgotten realms could start as level xx? in a higher level campaign. Before adventuring he could have been a king in the border kingdoms. His father would have united these kingdoms and under Elric-alike's rule all fell apart again.

Important key points for a build: drug-addict, excellent herbalist/alchemist (but no bomb-thrower/Mr. Jekyll), bad health (without drugs), arrogance (if playable), extravagance, big (bad?) sword, ability to wield that sword efficently, summons powerful elementals (if possible), knowledge nobility, history, planes, arcana, spellcraft

Malus: inferior constitution (6 without being drugged, 12 with drugs)
Bonus: excellent equipment (unique armor, sword)

[GeraintElberion]

For drug addiction with some benefits, try the pesh addict feats in Dark Markets.

[Mok]

If you start at higher level and just wanted to get as many mechanical elements that hit at Elric themes then you'd want a mix of:

Alchemist (Vivisectionist) - This is really more just getting rid of bomb throwing, replaced with sneak attack, and getting all of the other alchemist goodies that more or less fit. The Mutagen doesn't have to be seen as him hulking out, but instead just a potent elixir that leaves him drained afterwards. You could even go for a dex boost rather than strength and just use weapon finesse with an elven curved blade.

Perhaps three levels of Alchemist.

Bladebound Magus - This of course is what is intended as the approximation of Elric, so plenty of levels of this.

Summoner or Master Summoner - This fills in his demon/elemental connections. Several levels of this would be needed for it to be worthwhile.

I'm not sure this configuration would mean much if the rest of the party is playing optimized characters, but if it's a campaign filled with players who are doing things for flavor and the GM isn't trying to beat down the party all the time then I'd imagine it would be a fun, versatile and flavorful version of Elric.

[Turgan]

Thanks for all the input so far. If I remember correctly, when Elric was fighting, he did not cast spells at the same time. So maybe there is no need for a magus. Was Stormbringer a two-handed weapon?

So I would probably go Eldritch Knight (I know it is mechanically flawed), focus on fighting, and a +5 soul drinking sword or something..

I will probably try a level 12 build, just not sure if it will really look like Elric in the end.

[ShadowcatX]

nathan blackmer wrote:

Bladebound Magus!

+1

[stringburka]

There IS a melniboné sourcebook for D&D 3.x (3.5 i think, not sure). I've got it at home, I can check if he was statted in it and what his stats are.