Hey fellow pathfinders long time lurker here i'm about to run RotR:AE for a group of 5 plus a occasional 6th as a guest character. One of my players wants to play a Vigilante in the campaign I have no experience with the class but from what i have read of the adventure so far (the over view, Burnt offerings and the Sandpoint apendix) it seems like the Vigilante would work but it would be nice if there was anyone with experience in the matter could give me some tips.
Thanks in advanced!
--Lord_OF_Sabers may Desna's Light guide you.
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Well, what part of the Vigilante class do they want to lean into? There's not much use for dual identity in RotRL (though there are a couple times where it might come up), as the story is very much centered around adventurers becoming very public, very celebrated individuals. So, if they want that, it's not quite the right campaign for that.
HOWEVER, the Vigilante is so much more. You could go the Iron Man route, and everybody knows who you are! Your legend is that of 'the Silver Lion' or whatever, but in practice, you're just Bob to anyone who knows you. There's no mechanical penalty at all for going that route.
Vigilante by itself is a very solid class, and can easily be treated as just a 'social fighter,' wherein it's very modular, can be very good at combat, and is actually decent in social situations. It has some great abilities to accommodate a lot of fighting styles, and fits many classical hero tropes.
Overall? The Vigilante is a great martial class, excellent for anyone who wants to have an impact socially on the world while still being a big, strong fighter (or nimble, tricky rogue). While RotRL won't give them much use out of Dual Identity, it's a minor ability mechanically that really won't be missed.
ok thanks that is some good info I've talked it over with him and he is going to be close friends with father Zantus and have his hideout under the Cathedral, his character will also be related to the deverin house via the background campaign trait. Here is to hoping he doesn't clash with the LG Imodea Arcanist zealot!
--Lord_OF_Sabers may Desna's Light guide you.
ok thanks that is some good info I've talked it over with him and he is going to be close friends with father Zantus and have his hideout under the Cathedral, his character will also be related to the deverin house via the background campaign trait. Here is to hoping he doesn't clash with the LG Imodea Arcanist zealot!
--Lord_OF_Sabers may Desna's Light guide you.
I'm pretty sure there's already something under there... kind of important...
I'm pretty sure there's already something under there... kind of important...ok thanks that is some good info I've talked it over with him and he is going to be close friends with father Zantus and have his hideout under the Cathedral, his character will also be related to the deverin house via the background campaign trait. Here is to hoping he doesn't clash with the LG Imodea Arcanist zealot!
--Lord_OF_Sabers may Desna's Light guide you.
Oh whoops I better read father ahead then as far as I was aware the only think under the town was the Catacombs of Wrath and the shrine of Lamashtu that I thought was further underground then his base would go. Any suggestions for a better Hideout location?
For my 2 cp, I suggest you take a good long read into the newish Sandpoint Book.
There's a LOT of post RotRL development there, that you can steal portions of for your game, for during books 1, 2, 3 OR 4. (Sandpoint's a bit of a big deal. I highly favor at least a first pass read of all 6 books before going too much further, it gets the juices flowing for how to weave in things into a [Hopefully] tighter mesh)
Back on topic:
There's ... even a Vigilante that has a hideout you could co-opt.
Alternatively, there's always Chopper's Isle. (Not that THAT's a good plan, if you wanted to use the pattern killer hooks at all.)
Yeah the Sandpoint book is a really good idea, as it not only has a Vigilante active in the town but a pretty extensive rundown on various underground tunnels and their users in town. It is also jam packed full of places that would make great hide outs:
The Shrine of the Shroud
Chopper Isle
Valdemar Monor
Various Bunyip club hangouts
Ghoul warrens in the Sandpoint Boneyard
The Underflume
Even just playing the game without this material, it won't be long before both the Glasswork and the Catacombs of Wrath will be cleared out and could used depending on their choice of aesthetic. Or heck, even Father Tobyn's burial vault could be an early choice. It would be made available basically as the first thing after the Swallowtail Festival, and Sheriff Hemlock wants to keep the crime there under wraps. If you're a buddy with Father Zantus and can secure his permission, that seems like an excellent choice.
The common factor for all of these is they have stuff going on in them and need to be discovered, but I think that can make for a more satisfying hideout than one that just gets handed to you. So maybe tell your player they won't have a hideout initially but will discover one very soon, and more and more interesting ones will probably be uncovered as they adventure?
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Hi there Lord of Sabers,
As people have stated before, the Vigilante's abilities oscillate between an excellent fit for the campaign and one key one that doesn't fit great (Dual Identity). That being said, if the player really wants to make Dual Identity work, they may just be spending a lot of time in their Vigilante identity, which isn't a bad thing!
Being associated with the Deverin family makes for an excellent hook into being someone with an identity to protect - while people may be thankful for a vigilante who will quash goblins, fight the undead, or anything else a Hero of Sandpoint may need to do, they might look less kindly on this influence being put behind the Deverin name. Specifically, people like Titus Scarnetti may try much harder to undermine the character (and the mayor) if this comes to light, so while having their identity revealed isn't devastating, there are stakes.
Now, if your vigilante is friends with Zantus, this is a good opportunity to flesh out Zantus along a few axis. What injustice exists in Sandpoint that a man (Zantus) dedicated to a goddess of liberation from oppression (Desna) would look to a friend to fight back against while he cannot do so publicly? [The Courrin Whesterwill quest from the Sandpoint Campaign Setting guide is giving me some ideas...] What was Zantus's relationship to the previous Head Priest (Nualia's adopted father), and what did he think of Nualia before her tragic death? How will Zantus hope to bring succor to the hearts of a people plagued by goblins raids, a ghoul infestation, and giant attacks?
I think a Deverin vigilante who is friends with Zantus opens up a world of fun roleplay possibilities and relevant connections for your campaign - my main worry would be making sure your other players have connections that meaningful to the community, too!
As for my actual experience with Vigilantes, mechanically:
- The Faceless Enforcer has a lot of interesting opportunities for donning the armor of fallen enemies, as well as blending in as nameless, faceless members of an organization. Otherwise, it's still just a good damage-dealing "face." Ha.
- I can't recommend the Warlock without using 3pp, although I find it WICKED fun if you permit it. A sidhedron rune tattoo chamber inflicted on the warlock after contact with the minor runewell of wrath has a lot of interesting implications as well...
- I don't have any experience with the other archetypes, although I will say that a lot of them suffer MAD issues and have poor ability progression.
- Diverting information-gathering from enemies is fairly useful in Rise of the Runelords, as it turns out, as several major enemies rely on divination and information-gathering networks that the party rarely has much to retaliate with. Vigilantes have surprisingly good tools for combating both, which can lead to a lot of fun if your player considers this possibility.
My experience is coming from building and playing a Faceless Enforcer, Warlock, and Cabalist - the latter two IN Rise of the Runelords - across the past two years. I use third-party supporting material for the Warlock and Cabalist.