Character idea! What class would fit?

[Merellin]

So, I had an idea for a character..

The youngest child of a family of adventurers. His parents used to be great adventurers but have settled down and opend a tavern called The Adventurers Rest.
Their oldest child is a son, Who took to the ways of magic and left to study hard to become a great wizard and is making good progress.
The middle child is a daughter, Who was facinated with the strong warriors and their weapons and started practising and turned out to be a natural with the sword! And she left with a party of adventurers to find her fortune.
And the youngest, My character, He was left in the shadow of his older siblings, Not as skilled in magic as his brother, Not as strong as his sister. So he is trying to find a way to show himself as good as or better then both his siblings!

Not sure what class though.. I am thinking either a alchemist, Trying and mayhaps failing to outspell his brother with extracts and be stronger then his sister with mutagen. Or maybe a Summoner, Trying to outspell his brother with a diferent kind of magic, And trying to outfight his sister by summoning a warrior outsider..
Not sure if any other classes might fit..

[lucky7]

Have you considered Magus? It has both casting and melee potential.

[Merellin]

We already have a Magus in the party, and I'm just not that intrested in the Magus class.. Sorry!

[Louise Bishop]

lucky7 wrote:

Have you considered Magus? It has both casting and melee potential.

Alchemist, or Investigator would seem to be a nice fit. You can make Melee Alchemist and Inquisitors easy enough. Strength-based with a reach weapon. Vivisectionist Alchemist is very nice as is Emp Investigators.

An Inquisitor or Warpriest might also fit saying he gave up trying to study arcane arts and turned to a deity for strength to surpass his Kin.

[Merellin]

I am intrested in trying a Warpriest character at some point.. But I'm not sure if this character would turn to religion.. But maybe he would..? Hmm... This needs considering..

[Melkiador]

That sounds a lot like a bard to me. Or maybe a skald, if you want to go a little more martial. The Spell Warrior Skald is even a bit anti-wizard, which may be interesting to him, if he wants to surpass his brother.

[RumpinRufus]

Gunslinger.

[Shorticus]

Archaeologist Bstd might be a great fit. Investigator lets you have a character that serves as a power-nerd.

Personally, I say base Bard, Archaeologist Bard, or Arrowsong Minstrel. All three make good warrior bards.

[Grandlounge]

A smart, self taught magic user that is good with a sword sounds like a swashigator to me. Inspired blade 1, empiricist investigator x.

A grenadier alchemist would be good too. There is nothing wrong with any straight investigator for the build build.

I like the idea of not having access to magic training so attempting to replicate it on their own. Using mundane chemicals to create facsimiles of wizard's magic makes for great motivation.

[Merellin]

I do want to try a Summoner at some point.. But it might not fit this character, He dident manage to master the arcane arts.. So Alchemist or Warpriest.. Alchemist I know is awesome and I love the class.. But Warpriest looks nice and I havent tried it.. Hmm.. Bard I dont think would be good for this specific character (I do have another idea for a bard at some point though^^)

[David knott 242]

Let's see -- He lacks talent in the martial and arcane arts but wants to compete in other areas. That would seem to leave a skill monkey (like a Rogue -- preferably Unchained) or one of the divine or occult spellcasting classes. That leaves open a lot of possibilities.

[Merellin]

Rogues look intresting, But we have 2 in the party already (We had one, Then another player joined and made basicaly the same character as the other rogue.. So now we have 2! xD) The occult classes, Havent looked much at them. What little i have looked at them have made me confused and nothing quite reached out and grabbed me with them, Might look a bit more at them.

I'm currently leaning towards a Warpriest, He turned to the divine and trained as hard as he ever could to learn how to fight with weapons too, He's not as strong as his sister, And dosent have her natural talent, But he will try his hardest!

Other sugestions are also still welcome! I like hearing ideas and sugestions ^_^

[Melkiador]

Well, what kind of warpriest do you want? If you want to use any of the larger weapons, you pretty much have to take the arsenal chaplain archetype, though that archetype is pretty good at the smaller weapons too.

[Merellin]

Not quite sure.. Hmm... I guess a somewhat balanced warpriest, Who carries maybe 3 diferent weapons (Blade, Blunt and Reach mayhaps)And trains hard to be a good fighter, But also casts some spells, And tries to keep his party alive with after battle healing.. Hmm...

[Grandlounge]

A warpriest, especially one that uses a large 2 handed weapon, can find room for the Weapon Versatility feat. This means they rarely and eventually never have to change away from their main weapon (weapon versatility, +3, adamaintine, with align weapon gets past everything).

[Melkiador]

The warpriest doesn’t meaningfully have the resources for healing. It’s ok at status removal, but it’s spells per day are pretty limited and needed for keeping it relevant in combat.

[Louise Bishop]

Merellin wrote:

Not quite sure.. Hmm... I guess a somewhat balanced warpriest, Who carries maybe 3 diferent weapons (Blade, Blunt and Reach mayhaps)And trains hard to be a good fighter, But also casts some spells, And tries to keep his party alive with after battle healing.. Hmm...

Warpriest of Shelyn with Bladed Brush feat? Covers a Blade and reach options all in 1.

Then just carry around an Adamantine Morningstar for DR Bludgeoning and Piercing. I say Adamantine because you can use it to break down doors and things with ease.

If you want to make him weaker physically perhaps use Guided weapons or Guided Hand feat which allow you to use your Wisdom for attacks.

[Louise Bishop]

Melkiador wrote:

The warpriest doesn’t meaningfully have the resources for healing. It’s ok at status removal, but it’s spells per day are pretty limited and needed for keeping it relevant in combat.

Easy access to wands and scrolls. 750gp for a 50 charge wand of Cure Light wounds.

[Melkiador]

Louise Bishop wrote:

Melkiador wrote:

The warpriest doesn’t meaningfully have the resources for healing. It’s ok at status removal, but it’s spells per day are pretty limited and needed for keeping it relevant in combat.

Easy access to wands and scrolls. 750gp for a 50 charge wand of Cure Light wounds.

Yeah, but that's rarely unique to the warpriest. A rogue with a good UMD, could do the same thing.

[Louise Bishop]

Melkiador wrote:

Louise Bishop wrote:

Melkiador wrote:

The warpriest doesn’t meaningfully have the resources for healing. It’s ok at status removal, but it’s spells per day are pretty limited and needed for keeping it relevant in combat.

Easy access to wands and scrolls. 750gp for a 50 charge wand of Cure Light wounds.

Yeah, but that's rarely unique to the warpriest. A rogue with a good UMD, could do the same thing.

The party already has 2 rogues in it.

And No UMD Check> UMD check and chance of failure on a 1 and locked out of the wand for a day.

[Mr. Bonkers]

I would like to recommend the Ancestral Aspirant Occultist archetype. It is an Occultist who gains his/her powers from owning objects of his relatives (close or even from distant past). Your character could own the older sister's training sword, and use it as a Transmutation Implement. Or the older brother's Crystal Ball or Magic Book as his Divination Implement. You would need to start with an Enchantment Implement as per the archetype, but that could be the mother's Necklace.

[Dastis]

Occultist. Partial caster and partial combatant. He could be using old pieces of their parents adventuring gear for implements. With the right build he could end up outdoing either his brother or his sister

BTW stealing this backstory for some NPCs. Nice job

[Melkiador]

Louise Bishop wrote:

The party already has 2 rogues in it.

And No UMD Check> UMD check and chance of failure on a 1 and locked out of the wand for a day.

But they already have 2 rogues, so using scrolls or wands is hardly unique to the warpriest. And if one rolls a 1, then they can just pass it to the other. I'm just saying the warpriest isn't that hot at being a healer, and even the healer things it can do, aren't really that needed.

[Merellin]

Hmm... I'l take a closer look at the Occult classes, and the Occultist. Havent looked too much at them before.

[Louise Bishop]

Melkiador wrote:

Louise Bishop wrote:

The party already has 2 rogues in it.

And No UMD Check> UMD check and chance of failure on a 1 and locked out of the wand for a day.

But they already have 2 rogues, so using scrolls or wands is hardly unique to the warpriest. And if one rolls a 1, then they can just pass it to the other. I'm just saying the warpriest isn't that hot at being a healer, and even the healer things it can do, aren't really that needed.

Healing should be a side job on any build.

Which is what he mentioned about it being out of combat. Also at the end of the day, any leftover spell slots can be converted thus saving resources and expendables as well. Warpriest is a great frontline and he has an interest in playing one.

[Tacticslion]

I'm surprised no one has mentions the vigilante, yet. Or slayer. Or ranger.

I'm glad to see there is a gunslinger mention!

[Melkiador]

Louise Bishop wrote:

Melkiador wrote:

Louise Bishop wrote:

The party already has 2 rogues in it.

And No UMD Check> UMD check and chance of failure on a 1 and locked out of the wand for a day.

But they already have 2 rogues, so using scrolls or wands is hardly unique to the warpriest. And if one rolls a 1, then they can just pass it to the other. I'm just saying the warpriest isn't that hot at being a healer, and even the healer things it can do, aren't really that needed.

Healing should be a side job on any build.

Which is what he mentioned about it being out of combat. Also at the end of the day, any leftover spell slots can be converted thus saving resources and expendables as well. Warpriest is a great frontline and he has an interest in playing one.

I never said not to play a warpriest. It's a good class. It's just not much of a healer, and if you are expecting it to do that, even on the side, then you are probably going to be disappointed.

[David knott 242]

I would count some of the classes above as "skill monkeys" of a sort.

How about the Bloodrager? That class goes in the opposite direction from the idea of avoiding martial and arcane, but its magical rage transformations would put considerable distance in concept between that character and his older siblings and other party members.

[Merellin]

Hmm... Havent looked too much at the bloodrager, But my GM says it is quite a fun class. I'l have a look at it ^_^

[Tacticslion]

Merellin wrote:

Bard I dont think would be good for this specific character (I do have another idea for a bard at some point though^^)

I didn't mention bards because of this, but you should know: archeologist bard (the archetype) is the least bardly hard to ever not carry a lute. They lose all of their "performance" and related abilities for a some rogue-like talents (not sneak attacks) and a pool of "luck" they can use to boost their combat potential. Plus hard magic. Even if you're not interested in bards, it's worth checking out.

I still think the vigilante could do well for this concept - having a more social identity that promotes the inn (the "good boy" that stays at home) while having a more adventurous persona that accomplishes more than either of his siblings even lacking the physical strength or magical prowess. I'd suggest the stalker vigilante, though avenger could also work, as could zealot, if you like the divine connection.

All that said: war priest is a great idea, too! I hope you enjoy it!

[The DM of]

Your ideas are heavily used. Adventurers who opened a tavern, kids are all powerful, every single family member is a rare and powerful character class, youngest child who wants to prove himself. Any answer to your question works, but it's not unique and it's an extremely unlikely scenario even for a fantasy world. No offense. This takes time to get good at, and your heart is in the right place...

I love that you're trying to start with the background first and then work into the mechanics. This site is full of people min/maxing and using every splat book possible to build a grind monster first and then figure out a role.

I would spend some more time on your background. You want to work your family into it. That's good. Where are you going to be playing? What's the land like? How can you work your family into that more subtly than everyone-is-a-powerful-character? Did your family have a commission from their local feudal lord to expand the western reach of the land? Was the mother thrice removed royalty to whom your father married up in the world? A father with a background of sea merchanting who grew weary of always being away and sought to settle and serve his lord? Perhaps they cashed in his trade investments into a fortified hold and an inn for merchants who needed safe stoppage across a trade route. The oldest son was perhaps favored by the father and trained in administration, some basic warrior skills, the daughter in sewing but whose heart always wandered to a tattered primer on the arcane in which she tinkered... but hardship struck and...

See how that's more integrated into the land in which you'll be playing? It's also toned down a bit from Mom's a cleric, dad's a magus, oldest brother's a paladin, sister's a wizard, and me, what should I be?

It's more rich and less abuse-able to boot. Having a tavern full of uber family members isn't exactly fair to a party member whose background is living on the streets abandoned by everyone but with some smarts, savvy, and a will to improve his life. Just an opinion. Have fun!

[Merellin]

Well.. Now I feel kind of shitty about my idea.. And there is also no all powerful god powers or anything, No clerics or maguses or paladins. Sister is a fighter, Simple fighter who hapens to be good with swords while also being strong. Brother is a wizard who is studying at a academy and is doing quite well. Parents, I dont even have any ideas for what they would be..

[The DM of]

You don't have to come up with classes for your family. Start with what they do, not "what they would be." Come up with an interesting story. That's what character background is great at providing. It's for ways to give your character some life and reality, and it gives the DM ideas on ways he can integrate your background story with the campaign story and give it verisimilitude.

[Shorticus]

Your idea is fine it's trophy as Hell, but that works for Pathfinder, and you could even make it prove a source of personal conflict (living up to the family name).

My only suggestion, personally? Make his family nobility, not tavernkeeps. His is a former military officer, his mother of similar repute. His sister is renowned for swordsmanship, either through military service or tournaments. His brother is a respected court wizard.

And your character? He's not cut out for court life or the regimented life of a soldier. The road calls to him. Whatever profession you choose for him, make him a disappointment to the family. He has this odd fantasy of being an adventurer! Fool boy! But he will prove that he's as smart as his brother and as strong as his sister. Oh, he will.

[Melkiador]

Being original is overrated. The only thing that’s important is that everyone has a good time. And if it still bothers you, just consider that at least you aren’t copy-pasting some specific other fantasy character origin.

[Merellin]

Sorry about my previous post, I had just woken up and I tend to be in a bad mood when I wake up..

I find it hard to build characters into the world as the GM dosent have any world info, Instead he is creating the world as we play and as such we dont realy know anything exept for areas we have explored in character.. Currently we are on the western continent where most races have only lived for a few generations, It's the new world with old ruins of lost civilizations. While most races today come from the eastern continent. Though we are about to travel back to the eastern continent.

I am not good at thinking of ideas, I'm rather new to RPGs like Pathfinder.. I try and try, But I struggle to come up with good ideas.. Backstory is realy hard for me..

[Shorticus]

Melkiador wrote:

Being original is overrated. The only thing that’s important is that everyone has a good time. And if it still bothers you, just consider that at least you aren’t copy-pasting some specific other fantasy character origin.

Quoted for truth. If you have fun, that is what matters most.

[Scott Wilhelm]

Merellin wrote:

I find it hard to build characters into the world as the GM dosent have any world info, Instead he is creating the world as we play and as such we dont realy know anything exept for areas we have explored in character.

Then it is your job to create that part of the world for him: the part of the world where your character came from. This is not a bad thing. A tabletop RPG is an experience where the GM and the players collaborate to tell an awesome story, or just move the minis around the board and play wargames. Either way: you have the leeway to create the character you want with the backstory you want. If the GM hasn't yet defined the kind of culture where your character came from, you've given him the groundwork to do that, or else not.

Merellin wrote:

I am not good at thinking of ideas, I'm rather new to RPGs like Pathfinder.. I try and try, But I struggle to come up with good ideas.. Backstory is realy hard for me..

I have 2 things to say to that:

1. The cure for being bad at thinking of ideas is to keep thinking of ideas. You'll get better. Keep trying.

2. Who cares if your ideas are bad? What does that even mean? You are the player. Your ideas only have to entertain yourself. Who cares if they are unoriginal, unheard of, clever, or stupid? Play the game your own way. Make, choose, explore the ideas that you like: those are good ideas. As the player, you are the sole consumer of your ideas, and the only critic that matters.

[Merellin]

I am constantly trying to think of new ideas, Trying to make my brain work better so it can weave good ideas. As for making part of the world, I worry about that.. I'm not that good, I'm very new to things like this and I dont want to make something that takes away from everyones experiences in the world..

Maybe I should go for the Alchemist, I do love that class.. But should I go for this idea, With the parents being tavern keepers or nobles (Unsure if noble, But it might be a good idea, Thanks Shorticus) though we do have 2 nobles in the party already so they might have heard of my character if I go for noble.. Hmm... Or maybe I'l try to think of other ideas for a alchemist.. Hmm....

[nate lange]

If you’re idea is a character trying to live up to his older siblings a follower of Irori could make perfect sense... Irori is the god of self-perfection, or self-mastery. Could be a good start for a warpriest (which would blend melee and magic, so you’re kind of following both in a sense), or you could make an unchained monk (which is kind of the epitome of trying to perfect yourself, but along a pretty different path than either sibling).

[Merellin]

Unfortunately we arent using the Unchained classes. Our previous GM dident allow the Unchained rules, So when he needed a break he simpy shifted places with one of the players, So GM became player and player became GM, And the new GM uses the same rules as the old GM.

[Scott Wilhelm]

Merellin wrote:

I am constantly trying to think of new ideas, Trying to make my brain work better so it can weave good ideas.

Good. Keep that up. And don't beat yourself up if your ideas aren't "good." Most ideas aren't. And all your ideas for the game you're playing have to do is entertain yourself.

Merellin wrote:

As for making part of the world, I worry about that.. I'm not that good, I'm very new to things like this and I dont want to make something that takes away from everyones experiences in the world..

Don't worry about it. The main purpose of your character background is to give yourself a helpful framework as to how to approach roleplaying and maybe how to build your character. If your GM likes your ideas, your party might have adventures flavored by your input. If he doesn't, you won't. If you don't, that doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't like your ideas, and anyway, you might somehow have inspired him in some way.

Merellin wrote:

Maybe I should go for the Alchemist, I do love that class..

I like Alchemists, too.

Merellin wrote:

But should I go for this idea, With the parents being tavern keepers or nobles (Unsure if noble, But it might be a good idea, Thanks Shorticus) though we do have 2 nobles in the party already so they might have heard of my character if I go for noble.. Hmm... Or maybe I'l try to think of other ideas for a alchemist.. Hmm....

Tavern Keeper's boy or noble scion are both fine backgrounds for an Alchemist. If your parents were tavernkeepers, you helped out in the back room, learning alchemy by being their brewmeister and formulating soap and rat poison. You were talking about your character being like the 3rd son, weren't you? The 3rd son even in a noble family is likely to be the son who has to pioneer his own fortunes: middle or youngest child of a noble family is a classic background for a fantasy adventure character. Your character will be the child who doesn't inherit the family business (or land, mill, or whatever), so the parents sent him off to be a doctor or something. Alchemist could totally be the "or something."

At the moment, your background ideas don't immediately suggest a particular character build, and your character build ideas don't immediately suggest a particular background. It seems to me like you have a lot of slack: use it.

For me, ideas for characters coalesce from a variety of directions, and each one is different. I got one idea from a Beatle's song. I got a few ideas from cobbling together wicked combinations of Feats and Class Abilities, and the background came later. I got a character idea from an umm--shall we say--performance artist. Another was based on a decorated American military hero. Yet another came from an astrological sign. With 3 of my most successful characters, I didn't know their backgrounds or personalities until after I had been roleplaying with them for a while. Their backgrounds revealed themselves to me as I played them.

[Heather 540]

You could try a hunter. They are a spontaneous divine caster and great for fighting. Since your character probably felt overshadowed by his siblings, befriending an animal companion might be something he would do. And the companion sharing all teamwork feats at level 3, you could go with some pretty good builds.

[Theconiel]

Heather 540 wrote:

You could try a hunter. They are a spontaneous divine caster and great for fighting. Since your character probably felt overshadowed by his siblings, befriending an animal companion might be something he would do. And the companion sharing all teamwork feats at level 3, you could go with some pretty good builds.

I played a hunter once - GREAT class! I played the feral archetype, though, so I gave up the animal companion. The arbitrary duration of the feral aspect (replaces animal aspect), plus shape change, just looked too good to pass up. I was even better at spying than the rogue. Sure, she had a fantastic stealth score, but I could turn into a crow, or something equally unnoticeable.

[Heather 540]

Theconiel wrote:

Heather 540 wrote:

You could try a hunter. They are a spontaneous divine caster and great for fighting. Since your character probably felt overshadowed by his siblings, befriending an animal companion might be something he would do. And the companion sharing all teamwork feats at level 3, you could go with some pretty good builds.

I played a hunter once - GREAT class! I played the feral archetype, though, so I gave up the animal companion. The arbitrary duration of the feral aspect (replaces animal aspect), plus shape change, just looked too good to pass up. I was even better at spying than the rogue. Sure, she had a fantastic stealth score, but I could turn into a crow, or something equally unnoticeable.

That sounds pretty cool. My current hunter is built around flanking with her companion. And thanks to Pack Flanking, they're always flanking as she rides him. In my last game, she did more damage than the big ol' barbarian and she's a 27 pound halfling.

[psychie]

Another possibly interesting choice would be the questioner archetype for the investigator, which gives up alchemy for the bard spell list and spontaneous casting, but is still int based. This fits with arcane talents that aren't quite suited to a wizard's academy, and melee talents that come more from being intelligent and observant than through being strong and heavily drilled.

As far as the warpriest idea goes, I play a lot of warpriests, they are really fun but they don't lend themselves well to golf-bagging (carrying multiple weapons). However, you don't really need to have multiple weapons because a large part of playing warpriest effectively is using your self-buffs to shore up your weaknesses. If you want to be capable of reach but not always wielding a reach weapon, I'd recommend carrying some potions of enlarge person (which is sadly not on the warpriest spell list) at low levels and at higher levels prepping righteous might for your 5th level spell slots (I'm currently playing a rather high level warpriest of besmara in a pirate campaign, and I spend most battles buffed out with righteous might). As far as having both a blade and a blunt weapon, well the only way to really do that well without splitting your feats would be to pick a deity whose favored weapon is one and take your level 1 bonus weapon focus in the other, and even then you wind up specializing in one or the other over time anyway at higher levels if you don't split your feats. However it really isn't necessary to be capable of both, as the warpriest really shines at picking one weapon and become really, really good at it, and if you are concerned about getting around DR there are various ways to do that that don't require as much extra investment (for instance I have penetrating strike on my warpriest), but most of the time you'll be doing enough damage that DR shouldn't be overly concerning to you anyway, especially on the creatures that have a DR bypassable by damage type.

For a deity choice, I'd actually say kurgess fits really well with your backstory and motivations. Other choices that fit include: abadar, cayden cailean, desna, gorum, mazludeh, milani, etc.

Another class choice that might work is the eldritch scoundrel rogue, since usual roguish stuff is well covered, you could be the guy that focuses on being tricksy with magic, and even goes on to take the arcane trickster prestige class. The phantom thief archetype could also be interesting, but it is a rather hard class to build effectively. Vigilante has also been suggested and there are a great many ways you could go with that that are both effective and thematic for your backstory. You could also handle the issue of not being the best wizard or fighter by going a different way and taking a more nature based class like the ranger, hunter, or druid. Another possibility is oracle, sort of along the lines of it wasn't the path you chose, but rather the path that chose you, and maybe the reason you were never as good as your siblings was because of your curse, like you're blind or something so you couldn't read the magic books or do much for combat training, or you are prone to fits that make potential teachers shy away from really getting in depth with you.

[Merellin]

Speaking of me being bad at thinking of backstories (Sorry, This isent about my original idea in this thread) I was just talking to my GM and tossed out a random idea that randomly popped into my head (Probably over done too) thats a Half Orc Paladin, Who wants to show people that not all orcs are bad.
My GM thought it was a great idea and sugested he should be from the same clan as a corrupted orc ambassador our party is currently hunting down (To stop him from freeing a ancient lich..) and when I told him that might work, But I know nothing of the clan, My GM said "Perfect! It's your chance to create an involved and indepth background for them!" so.. Umm... Now I'm suposed to think of a good background for a orc clan aswell as a half orc paladin.. xD

[Scott Wilhelm]

Half Orc Paladin, Redeemed Redeemer, is another classic kind of character. Your GM sure doesn't think you have bad ideas if he wants you to write the history of your orc clan.

Ask your GM for any underlying information that will help: where do your orcs live: desert, swamps, mountains, grasslands? Hot, cold, wet, dry? Then picture your barbaric enclave accordingly. That will tell you if they live in castles, caves, yurts, or mud huts. That will also tell you about how these orcs live off the land and participate in the global economy. Is there a fishery? Do these orcs make good caviar? Do they grow potatoes? Raise pigs? Mine silver, coal, or whatever?

Ask your GM about any immediate neighboring humanoids and write some propaganda about them, talk about how the dwarves and elves and the Underdark denziens repeatedly violate this treaty and that, how they are stealing from your people, how they stubbornly refuse constant overtures for peace, and how your people are defending themselves against an obvious campaign of genocide. That's why your people must conquer the world, the world is out to get them.

Or else not. Make up something else. That's cool.

Come up with a set of Orcish table manners, gestures for saying "hello, "I'm sorry," and "I'm choking! Somebody Heimlich me please!" Also, invent some rules for mutual grooming gestures and gestures of affection. Use them at the gaming table, and assume your fellow players are using them even if they aren't. Think up some jokes. Then make them sound orcish--whatever that means to you. Tell them at the gaming table.

Go watch some historical documentaries on Youtube about Vikings, Indians, Mongolians, Medieval Welsh, and English people for inspiration. Your playmates will love it.

[The DM of]

No writing task is a bad one if you want to learn the skill.

So, an orc ambassador is trying to free an ancient lich, eh? This tells me a few things about the clan and your DM's impression of them. They have an ambassador? They must be crafty. Whether they are warlike and aggressive or not, these orcs are smart and devious and... their ambassador wants to free a lich? ...they sound like they maintain and value history and information.

Perhaps they live on the Chagnen Mountain, a craggy peak of caves with mines of iron and silver. In the vale below are wild horses they pick from, and nearby is a plain of farmers from which they extort tribute and grain. The clan has it good here and grows steadily in power and influence. They do not want to jeopardize that by warring without just cause and so they have sent out bands as mercenaries for hire only in the past century. This business with the orc ambassador going rogue and seeking to free a lich is counter to their leader's strategy. In fact the ambassador seeks to overthrow the clan leader with the lich's power (though it is more likely to spread death to all living, including the orcs).

Your half-orc is the son of a tribute wife from the farmers, and he despises their weakness. He is crafty, however, like his clan and wants to prove he is just as strong as they are. He claims to humans that he is a paladin, but in fact he is just a liar. He's not evil, but he places the clan above the petty rules of weak races... or at least he has until now. He is a skilled, deadly, and stealthy fighter. He wants to stop the orc ambassador and prove his worth to the clan and its leader, but what he learns along the way is that perhaps his human side is worth cultivating, and perhaps these friends with which he now adventures are worth cherishing and learning from.

Build: Fighter, high strength, high intelligence (important for skills like diplomacy, perception, stealth, survival, riding). Perhaps take stealth as a skill focus and Power Attack. Who cares about sneak attack damage when you can sneak up behind someone and do 1d12+9 with a great axe to the back?

[The DM of]

Now you try yourself.