Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

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willpell
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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by willpell » Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:19 pm

Ayeaka wrote:Well, the were template itself only has a level adjustment of 3, but it also includes nothing related to the actual species. The book labels the additional beast levels as optional
Whatver book that was, it's wrong and stupid. You can't just be a "were" and not be a were-something. The moment you get bit and fail your Fort save, you gain all the animal HD and the +2 "afflicted" template LA; the only part that you could conceivably earn through XP would be the 3rd point of LA to count as a natural lycan, and even that's iffy, as normally it's assumed that the difference between natch and 'flicted lycans is that the natches are born that way (not that they ever explain how). That fluff could be changed, but I just don't buy that it's possible to be "just a little" a werecreature. There's at least one case where gaining a template in play is explicitly detailed - the Saint in BOXD - and it does state that you just add the template and then spend the next two levels (it's LA +2) not leveling up when you would, until you've "caught up" with the template. It stands to reason that any other template gained through play functions likewise, which would include the HD from becoming a lycanthrope - you would not level up again for a loooooooooong time, though that would admittedly suck. (Especially since, per the game's official rules, a character is incapable of learning anything or evolving as a person in any way except by leveling up; I'd be inclined to make a few exceptions there just for the sake of realism.)
Brown bears have 6d8, hence the 6 levels.
Hm. Okay, I see the size of the problem. I had forgotten that the werebear I made was a black bear, but that just doesn't have the same panache does it. So...I might have to start you out at ECL 8-10, making you even more thoroughly the party tank, and creating a very significant competence gap. If the other players are cool with that idea, the rules do support it; you'll get far less XP from the same encounters that the others, and anything really challenging to you would be flat-out impossible for others, while weak "mop-up" jobs for them wouldn't be worth anything to you. But it is possible, as long as I keep to median CRs fairly religiously, and as long as you can live with waiting a long time before hitting Paladin 2 (or Paladin 1 if we start you out as a 0-HD nobody before you get the template, not that I'm sure that's even legal).
Since I technically don't have to take the beast levels at all
According to me you do, but as I said I think you can just start as a full werebear and be a bit tougher than the rest of the party. (Speaking of which, we should start thinking about what kind of a party were' getting together here - a werebear, a kitsune, a spider-druid and an LN theurge, plus whatever Feytala comes up with...I'm sure there's a theme in here somewhere.)
(I do know the rule about paladins and multiclassing, yes. I hadn't meant that.)
Don't worry too much about that one; there are so many workarounds for it that few games even bother enforcing it. I do, but not in any kind of punitive way; it certainly wouldn't apply to something like going werebear, as that's hardly a failure of paladin commitment.
Nioca wrote:Yeah, I read through the thread again and spotted the "standard elf-dwarf-orc-gnome-hobbit stuff" restriction
That isn't meant to be binding, though; more like a gentle encouragement. There are some more exotic things I'm up for, I just prefer to stick to 3.5 stuff, and to ditch a few things that I have a personal dislike for.
I missed it on my first read-through and thought that, like classes, it was pretty much anything (sane) goes.
I try to get somewhat close to that, but a class is just a job that you learn to do, and thus most all the options can fit into a campaign world without much difficulty (to date the only class which I'm fairly certain I'm NOT using is Artificer, since that's very heavily tied to Eberron and strongly contradicts my idea of magical theory). But the races (gah I hate calling them that) are a very different story. A world where elves exist is completely different from a world where they don't, and that goes triple for weird creatures like Ormyrr and Warforged, so I scrutinize every creature with a very critical eye to decide whether it has a place in my worldbuilding. You'll never see a Dread Blossom Swarm in my game, because I have not used enough controlled substances in my life to think that anything about the idea of a buch of flowers that fly around in a colony makes any sense. That's about the most extreme example of idiocy I can think of, but there are races presented as player-character options which are not much less insane, and I'm totally not cool with them being part of my setting.
A - Isn't human (I tend to default to and play those a bit too often)
B - Mechanically meshes with my intended class (Battle Sorcerer) well, preferably with some sort of INT or CHA bonus or spellcasting support
C - Isn't loaded down with dozens of racial hit-dice or level adjustments
Hm. Inconveniently few races have a bonus to Charisma...Aasimar would actually have fit, but since I threw them out, let's see, what else has promise....

Actually...

...Okay, I can come up with a few ideas, but all of them have certain issues. But one of the best options I can come up with offhand would actually be one of the homebrew "Genasi" I mentioned before. If you don't like the penalties and the 1 LA, we'll move on to a few of the second-stringers, but take a look at this:

House Brujheria, "Firehearts"
+2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma. Hot-blooded and as hypnotic as a flickering flame, the fire Genasi are prone letting their emotions get the better of their common sense.
Native Outsider; not affected by Something Person spells.
Darkvision 60 feet.
Unaffected by extreme temperatures and can survive indefinitely without food or water, as long as he or she can eat anything combustible.
Resist Fire and Lightning 5.
Favored Class: Rogue
Level Adjustment +1.
You either die Chaotic, or you live long enough to see yourself become Lawful.
Glemp wrote:To some extent, you need to be arrogant - without it, you are vulnerable being made someone's tool...for Herbert's sake, have the stubbornness not to submit to what you see instantly, because you can only see some facts at a time.
My long-neglected blog.

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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by Feytala » Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:00 am

Nope. There is no word as "Hei", I fear.^^┬░

The closest in sound would be "Hai", but that means "shark". "High" would mean "Hoch" and if you would want it sound somewhat pseudo-religious, "Die Erhabenen" (The sublime) or short "Die Hohen" (The High ones).

"Volk" is indeed "people".

Settle for "Heivolk" if you want, it sounds sorta "nordish", and that should be enough for a fantasy setting ^^.

(Sorry for useless information...^^┬░)


I always missed the possibility to play a Tiefling with Succubus Ancestry instead of Baatezu or something like that...

And I am not only out for the Crunch. I actually like "Close-to-human"-Things. Elves... Well... Elves get much crunch thrown at them, great wizards and so on (While I think the Con-Penalties suck as hell for a wizard and about 90% don't even get an Int-Bonus...)... But fluff-wise... So i am a being that could become 400-a few thousand years old... And I risk my life as an adventurer, when I haven't finished the first century ? Yay, cross out that Wisdom-Stat entirely...^^

I mean... Elves are hot... I love screwing elves, euh... In a purely unselfish way, of course.

I should stop typing as long as I still can.

Do I only imagine, willpell, or will our party actually look like a zoo ? (A Bear, a Fox, something the elv tries to forget on THAT night... And me. Oh, yes, ME...).

Hmm... On a totally unrelated matter, Half-Fiend looks interesting if it can look like THAT. Where can I find it ? :D

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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by Amara » Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:00 am

willpell wrote: Whatver book that was, it's wrong and stupid. You can't just be a "were" and not be a were-something. The moment you get bit and fail your Fort save, you gain all the animal HD and the +2 "afflicted" template LA; the only part that you could conceivably earn through XP would be the 3rd point of LA to count as a natural lycan, and even that's iffy, as normally it's assumed that the difference between natch and 'flicted lycans is that the natches are born that way (not that they ever explain how). That fluff could be changed, but I just don't buy that it's possible to be "just a little" a werecreature. There's at least one case where gaining a template in play is explicitly detailed - the Saint in BOXD - and it does state that you just add the template and then spend the next two levels (it's LA +2) not leveling up when you would, until you've "caught up" with the template. It stands to reason that any other template gained through play functions likewise, which would include the HD from becoming a lycanthrope - you would not level up again for a loooooooooong time, though that would admittedly suck. (Especially since, per the game's official rules, a character is incapable of learning anything or evolving as a person in any way except by leveling up; I'd be inclined to make a few exceptions there just for the sake of realism.)
It was made separate so that people could be a were whatever they want. (Since you'd always get that odd person that REALLY wanted to be a were wolverine, or were seal, or something even more random.) The were template can't be taken without picking an animal obviously, but the "levels" are separate from the HD levels for the creature. It was a change that was made to make weres easier to play. I know they did something similar for satyrs (making them a "class" you could take, while still being a species template,) just to get around the level adjustment. Taking levels in the creature itself is generally explained as just learning to use one's body and getting better with one's natural abilities... but it was of course just done to make the creatures easier to play. I'd be assuming he was born a were (my general assumption there was just were has child, child is were, child is natural born, which seemed to be what the book said anyway.)

willpell wrote:Hm. Okay, I see the size of the problem. I had forgotten that the werebear I made was a black bear, but that just doesn't have the same panache does it. So...I might have to start you out at ECL 8-10, making you even more thoroughly the party tank, and creating a very significant competence gap. If the other players are cool with that idea, the rules do support it; you'll get far less XP from the same encounters that the others, and anything really challenging to you would be flat-out impossible for others, while weak "mop-up" jobs for them wouldn't be worth anything to you. But it is possible, as long as I keep to median CRs fairly religiously, and as long as you can live with waiting a long time before hitting Paladin 2 (or Paladin 1 if we start you out as a 0-HD nobody before you get the template, not that I'm sure that's even legal).
I'd be okay with that. I'm fine with waiting for things. C: Pay off's in the end, right? Just makes it more rewarding when he finally gets it. He was gonna be a kodiak, but that basically doesn't mean more than "Oh he's just a really HUGE brown bear, but his size class doesn't change."
Will I still get the 2 skill points per bear HD to spend on physical skills?
willpell wrote:
Since I technically don't have to take the beast levels at all
According to me you do, but as I said I think you can just start as a full werebear and be a bit tougher than the rest of the party. (Speaking of which, we should start thinking about what kind of a party were' getting together here - a werebear, a kitsune, a spider-druid and an LN theurge, plus whatever Feytala comes up with...I'm sure there's a theme in here somewhere.)
That's fine. C: And thanks for working with it. This is one of those ideas I've had digging at my brain a long time, but I've never gotten to do it. Never had a game start high enough level.

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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by Nioca » Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:04 am

willpell wrote:
Nioca wrote:Yeah, I read through the thread again and spotted the "standard elf-dwarf-orc-gnome-hobbit stuff" restriction
That isn't meant to be binding, though; more like a gentle encouragement. There are some more exotic things I'm up for, I just prefer to stick to 3.5 stuff, and to ditch a few things that I have a personal dislike for.
I missed it on my first read-through and thought that, like classes, it was pretty much anything (sane) goes.
I try to get somewhat close to that, but a class is just a job that you learn to do, and thus most all the options can fit into a campaign world without much difficulty (to date the only class which I'm fairly certain I'm NOT using is Artificer, since that's very heavily tied to Eberron and strongly contradicts my idea of magical theory). But the races (gah I hate calling them that) are a very different story. A world where elves exist is completely different from a world where they don't, and that goes triple for weird creatures like Ormyrr and Warforged, so I scrutinize every creature with a very critical eye to decide whether it has a place in my worldbuilding. You'll never see a Dread Blossom Swarm in my game, because I have not used enough controlled substances in my life to think that anything about the idea of a buch of flowers that fly around in a colony makes any sense. That's about the most extreme example of idiocy I can think of, but there are races presented as player-character options which are not much less insane, and I'm totally not cool with them being part of my setting.
Yeah, that makes sense. As far as Kitsune (maybe) fitting in: Maybe as a minor civilized fey-like race (similar to elves), albeit with a mischievous bent? I don't think there's a lot of D&D races (other than perhaps elf variations) that have that combo of Fey and Civilized, although since my knowledge of D&D races is limited, I could be very very wrong.

Also, Dread Blossom Swarm. Wow. That's... wow. :lol:
Hm. Inconveniently few races have a bonus to Charisma...Aasimar would actually have fit, but since I threw them out, let's see, what else has promise....

Actually...

...Okay, I can come up with a few ideas, but all of them have certain issues. But one of the best options I can come up with offhand would actually be one of the homebrew "Genasi" I mentioned before. If you don't like the penalties and the 1 LA, we'll move on to a few of the second-stringers, but take a look at this:

House Brujheria, "Firehearts"
+2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma. Hot-blooded and as hypnotic as a flickering flame, the fire Genasi are prone letting their emotions get the better of their common sense.
Native Outsider; not affected by Something Person spells.
Darkvision 60 feet.
Unaffected by extreme temperatures and can survive indefinitely without food or water, as long as he or she can eat anything combustible.
Resist Fire and Lightning 5.
Favored Class: Rogue
Level Adjustment +1.
Hmm... It's interesting and I like it (I don't mind the LA+1), but in my case, the INT and WIS penalty really hurts: Battle Sorcerer means I can't devote as much to INT as I would really like, since I've got to divert some attention on STR and CON in addition to DEX and CHA, and I've already got WIS as a dump stat. The race's penalties would send WIS down to 6 (a dangerous proposition since WIS determine Will saves, not to mention Listen and Spot), and would leave me with only 10 INT, which means very few skill points and no mod to half of my class skills (For reference, my current stat array before racial adjustment is 13+1 STR/15 DEX/13 CON/12 INT/8 WIS/16 CHA; albeit that's with Kitsune in mind, and I'd probably bump STR down and CHA up).

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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by CelineSSauve » Thu Mar 28, 2013 5:46 am

In class, so I'll just give a general reply now, and if that lacks the detail you want, just let me know.

Formatting in that program tends to be off because it doesn't let you save the results, so I had to copy/paste it instead.

He was originally sent to a relative before the Dwarves, though I can't remember off the top of my head if there were others between the two.

If others need to know of those Skills, then maybe that part could be repeated outside the spoiler tag?

With the extra skill point, it would be more than 30 Ranks, right? (That was me point.)

...If he was Lv1 at that point, then his BG doesn't work. I was going with him being Lv2, at least, before he was fixed with his anti-magic shackles. Otherwise, he couldn't have cast Dancing Lights at all.

If he was Lv1 when he was freed, then I need to scrap the concept and start over. I was figuring that since magic was in his blood, it kept building up over the years, as the anti-magic metal was sucking it from him. {This does not mean he can gain XP by sitting around now, but backgrounds are different that way, and he'd had plenty of experiences, just not combat ones... It was basically a result of his Goddess needed to continue channelling magical energies into him to keep him alive with the anti-magic devices basically sucking his life-blood away. No collar, no growth without RPed challenges.}

As for the doppelganger: I was suggesting that PC could have been the Elf who convinced the Dwarf to sell Ado, then released him, and left. Just something that the other PC would know they had a connection over, but Ado did not. But that idea was already scrapped when it was revealed that race had only one form they could take.

LG doesn't really fit his background, IMHO. Ado's mindset is not right or wrong, it's get hurt for disobeying or not get hurt (usually) for obeying.
So it doesn't matter the root of the Law, it is to be obeyed. If that's not LN in your setting, please tell me what it is.

As for the LN Deities you listed... Hmm.
Wee Jas, being a Goddess of Magic, and likely having hung over his head most of his life as an aspect of Death, best fits him.


It is strange that for a Race with such long lives, it seems that Elves evolve the most into specific subraces. ;)

[That Tiefling 4e Cleric actually dressed that way in character. She was in the service of the Raven Queen, and really young for a Tiefling.
[Huh. I'd actually missed the wings until just now, but the tail was soooo good for flirting. :lol: ]

Could we not all start at ECL 8-10, instead of having one PC more powerful than the rest? It stops the "on the one hand, everything's a breeze for you; on the other hand, you'll be the exception to the TPK" issue.

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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by willpell » Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:22 am

Feytala wrote:Nope. There is no word as "Hei", I fear.^^┬░
I suppose this is what I get for "learning" German from Rammstein lyrics....
Settle for "Heivolk" if you want, it sounds sorta "nordish", and that should be enough for a fantasy setting ^^.
Indeed. "Tiefling" is also only half-German as far as I know; having them be different halves is probably fitting.
(Sorry for useless information...^^┬░)
No such thing. >:D
I always missed the possibility to play a Tiefling with Succubus Ancestry instead of Baatezu or something like that...
I know, right? Especially since tieflings can all make Darkness, which to me sounds more like a Demon thing (I picture Hell as being on fire and thus rather brightly lit), and yet they speak Infernal but not Abyssal. I definitely think you should get some choices to make when designing a Planetouched character, to help specify what exactly they're descended from.
But fluff-wise... So i am a being that could become 400-a few thousand years old... And I risk my life as an adventurer, when I haven't finished the first century ? Yay, cross out that Wisdom-Stat entirely...^^
Yeah, the implications of the elvish lifespan are not really thought through in this game. They touch on it a little in ROTW and elsewhere, but some things you just have to kind of shrug off as necessities of the genre even if they don't make a lick of sense.
I love screwing elves
I'm wondering if that's quite what you meant to say... :lol:
Do I only imagine, willpell, or will our party actually look like a zoo ? (A Bear, a Fox, something the elv tries to forget on THAT night... And me. Oh, yes, ME...).
Yeah, I was noticing that. Though the fox part is in question at the moment, I've been kinda trying to steer that player toward something either canonical to 3.5 or homebrewed by me, rather than imported from PF.
Hmm... On a totally unrelated matter, Half-Fiend looks interesting if it can look like THAT. Where can I find it ? :D
Half-fiend is in the Monster Manual; unfortunately it's a +4-LA template, so very much not friendly to a caster, but it gives some Spell-Like Abilities so that might help make it feel like a caster even without actual spells (or a lot fewer of them). As written it might nail the evilness just a bit harder than I prefer; we may have to adjust it slightly to make it playable, but it has interesting implications in terms of the narrative themes I like. One ruling I've already made is that half-celestials are not always Good, nor are half-fiends always Evil; it's more that they have inclinations in those directions, but not overpowering ones.
Ayeaka wrote:Will I still get the 2 skill points per bear HD to spend on physical skills?
Yep, you just get 'em all at once.
You either die Chaotic, or you live long enough to see yourself become Lawful.
Glemp wrote:To some extent, you need to be arrogant - without it, you are vulnerable being made someone's tool...for Herbert's sake, have the stubbornness not to submit to what you see instantly, because you can only see some facts at a time.
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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by willpell » Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:06 pm

Nioca wrote:As far as Kitsune (maybe) fitting in: Maybe as a minor civilized fey-like race (similar to elves), albeit with a mischievous bent?
Again that pretty much sounds like gnomes. They certainly look cooler though.
I don't think there's a lot of D&D races (other than perhaps elf variations) that have that combo of Fey and Civilized, although since my knowledge of D&D races is limited, I could be very very wrong.
Not literally fey perhaps, but there's quite a few with the attitude. Merfolk were one I stumbled across when looking for you, although that of course has a rather obvious problem.
(I don't mind the LA+1)
Well that opens up lots of options. Half-Giants and Goliaths get a ton of bonus strength so you can afford to dump that stat and still be decent in combat, or not dump it and be amazing. Getting a CHA bonus is harder; they give physical stats away like candy in D&D but few are the races with much of a mental boost.

On the LA +0 side, a couple more options present themselves for a bonus to STR without too many penalties:
* Skarns - reptile-infused human hybrid with bone spines on their arms and legs, and a very lawful and militaristic society. Renamed the Ni Shaan in my setting; they're the feudal-Japan analogue I alluded to earlier, a somewhat unsympathetic portayal of the Samurai as ultra-Darwinists who refuse to admit error and shed blood at the slightest pretext.
* Illumians - No actual strength bonus, but they can add as much as +3 to their skill and ability checks at 2nd level with a feat, which would include the Strength bonus to trip someone; with the Improved Trip feat, that'll give you a free attack against the prone target, and throwing some spells in there wouldn't hurt either. Again, the canon is adjusted slightly; in the books Illumians have a halo of glowing symbols around their head, but in my world they keep a lower profile, and the only place the symbols appear is as a brief flicker in their eyes when they fully exert themselves. Thusly, they look exactly like humans but don't have the bonus skill points and feat.
CelineSSauve wrote:With the extra skill point, it would be more than 30 Ranks, right? (That was me point.)
40 ranks.
...If he was Lv1 at that point, then his BG doesn't work. I was going with him being Lv2, at least, before he was fixed with his anti-magic shackles. Otherwise, he couldn't have cast Dancing Lights at all.
Ah, good point.
So it doesn't matter the root of the Law, it is to be obeyed. If that's not LN in your setting, please tell me what it is.
That's certainly one of the main definitions, yeah.
Wee Jas, being a Goddess of Magic, and likely having hung over his head most of his life as an aspect of Death, best fits him.
Okay, I'm actually really fond of her and have had a player devoted to her before, so this works well enough.
Could we not all start at ECL 8-10, instead of having one PC more powerful than the rest? It stops the "on the one hand, everything's a breeze for you; on the other hand, you'll be the exception to the TPK" issue.
Hm. We'll see what everyone says. Feytala had indicated not wanting to be too high level, but that was before I mentioned Half-Fiend. I certainly don't have any problem with you getting all your prerequisite levels together or even starting with 1 level of theurge, although level 9 is well above where I've been in the past.
You either die Chaotic, or you live long enough to see yourself become Lawful.
Glemp wrote:To some extent, you need to be arrogant - without it, you are vulnerable being made someone's tool...for Herbert's sake, have the stubbornness not to submit to what you see instantly, because you can only see some facts at a time.
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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by spiderwrangler » Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:13 pm

Ok... so for spider cleric, there is a spider domain, but I have a few questions.
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I'd also talked to Theis2 about the possibility of running the character with some modifications to make him more fun for me...
► Show Spoiler
For second domain, I've been pondering Animal (perhaps with the option of of a similarly leveled spider as an option for Summon Nature's Ally??), or Healing with the flavor/story that character is able to get help in healing from nearby spiders (or companion, if that's okayed) to use silk to bind wounds, etc?
Games I GM:
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Games I play in:
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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by CelineSSauve » Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:20 pm

willpell wrote:
CelineSSauve wrote:With the extra skill point, it would be more than 30 Ranks, right? (That was me point.)
40 ranks.
I did the math and agree. Though my headachy head still wonders why I made it do math right now. :sulk:

I'll keep that division until I know if we're starting at ECL7 or higher, as stated below.
willpell wrote:
CelineSSauve wrote:Could we not all start at ECL 8-10, instead of having one PC more powerful than the rest? It stops the "on the one hand, everything's a breeze for you; on the other hand, you'll be the exception to the TPK" issue.
Hm. We'll see what everyone says. Feytala had indicated not wanting to be too high level, but that was before I mentioned Half-Fiend. I certainly don't have any problem with you getting all your prerequisite levels together or even starting with 1 level of theurge, although level 9 is well above where I've been in the past.
I'm willing to wait and see what others think. I'd have the most class levels of the bunch, but I think I might be the less optimized of them all! :lol:

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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by Feytala » Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:28 pm

willpell wrote:
Indeed. "Tiefling" is also only half-German as far as I know; having them be different halves is probably fitting.
Nah. Tiefling is alright, with "Tief" meaning "Deep" and ling meaning... Well... It is more of a phrase tucked onto enother word to decribe a... Uhm... Wow, you got me. No idea how to describe in english. I gues in this kind of word it means something as "Cute little descendant" (What would show what the Demons think of Tieflings in general...^^).

I always missed the possibility to play a Tiefling with Succubus Ancestry instead of Baatezu or something like that...
I know, right? Especially since tieflings can all make Darkness, which to me sounds more like a Demon thing (I picture Hell as being on fire and thus rather brightly lit), and yet they speak Infernal but not Abyssal. I definitely think you should get some choices to make when designing a Planetouched character, to help specify what exactly they're descended from.
Hrmm... Maybe I could throw around a little with the Tiefling-Stats ? Dex would be better for a wizard, but I am thinking of throwing that Dex-Bonus out of the window and having Cha instead... As Int and Cha almost never synergize it wouldn't look to uber on my thinking. And would be cooler fluff... But yeah, you're obviously right, not all people like the "dangerous" thing, so looking good and havin a penalty is workable somehow. I'll look around in the net for alternatives, though. As for the darkness-Thing, word... I never even knew for what to use that thing... In the Campaign setting Faerun it is basically said, you can tell the "look" of your Tiefling however you like, base on his descending... And I also think, demonic ancestry would make for a little, well, chance on what the offspring looks like...
But fluff-wise... So i am a being that could become 400-a few thousand years old... And I risk my life as an adventurer, when I haven't finished the first century ? Yay, cross out that Wisdom-Stat entirely...^^
Yeah, the implications of the elvish lifespan are not really thought through in this game. They touch on it a little in ROTW and elsewhere, but some things you just have to kind of shrug off as necessities of the genre even if they don't make a lick of sense.
Guess, you're right.
I love screwing elves
I'm wondering if that's quite what you meant to say... :lol:
So ? Hu ? What did I say ?^^┬░
Do I only imagine, willpell, or will our party actually look like a zoo ? (A Bear, a Fox, something the elv tries to forget on THAT night... And me. Oh, yes, ME...).
Yeah, I was noticing that. Though the fox part is in question at the moment, I've been kinda trying to steer that player toward something either canonical to 3.5 or homebrewed by me, rather than imported from PF.
As long as everybody actually TRIES to look humanoid most of the time... No prob with me. Hey, I somehow imagine all of us imprisoned in some kind of arena at start... Exotic Races make for fun for publicum and we can be told "work together". "You're a team. Anybody who eats one of the others will be punished and his chance of survival considerably lessens. You begin in a dirty pit. If you win, you can win better equipement, housing, even fun in the sheets.

Would fit well with our "slaves" story somehow and if we stay or escape, we would actually have a reason to stay together... Ah, sometimes ideas just go trough with me.
Hmm... On a totally unrelated matter, Half-Fiend looks interesting if it can look like THAT. Where can I find it ? :D
Half-fiend is in the Monster Manual; unfortunately it's a +4-LA template, so very much not friendly to a caster, but it gives some Spell-Like Abilities so that might help make it feel like a caster even without actual spells (or a lot fewer of them). As written it might nail the evilness just a bit harder than I prefer; we may have to adjust it slightly to make it playable, but it has interesting implications in terms of the narrative themes I like. One ruling I've already made is that half-celestials are not always Good, nor are half-fiends always Evil; it's more that they have inclinations in those directions, but not overpowering ones.
I looked the fiends up. Aside from the LA, which is much to high for my taste (I would more likely go for a +1, MAYBE+2, but that would have to be really cool (Not like Drow, say...) and higher should better be incredible... I mostly like staying with LA+0 and +1, no HD.^^ - their SLAs are, well, mostly just nice in an evil party. Out of that, they are not of much use, as I see it, especially the low level ones. I think, I'll pass. Half Celestial is cool, but to shiny for my taste. A Fighter-type with Magic in the Blood and Half-Celestial would work out quite cool... But no. I just don't like "touched by divinity-softie-do-gooders"... :D Especially born with it. Earning it is another matter.^^

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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by CelineSSauve » Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:14 pm

Three quick questions:
1) I'm thinking that Ado's FS spells might lean slightly towards Necromancy, seeing who his Patron is, would that work? After all, the NPC who extended his name to Adofaer might just have had wishful thinking on his side. :lol:

2) As far as spell selection goes, I have found Cleric Spells in both PHBs, Complete Arcane and Complete Divine. I have found Sorcerer spells in the first three books. Are there any other sources I should be looking at?

3) If Ado were to get a familiar, would it be possible for him to have some sort of small skeleton? Especially if he expresses more Necromancy spells at that point?

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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by Feytala » Thu Mar 28, 2013 2:07 pm

To 2) I found the Spell Compendium, which is an incredible Source for all Magic users. :)

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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by Nioca » Thu Mar 28, 2013 2:12 pm

willpell wrote:Well that opens up lots of options. Half-Giants and Goliaths get a ton of bonus strength so you can afford to dump that stat and still be decent in combat, or not dump it and be amazing. Getting a CHA bonus is harder; they give physical stats away like candy in D&D but few are the races with much of a mental boost.

On the LA +0 side, a couple more options present themselves for a bonus to STR without too many penalties:
* Skarns - reptile-infused human hybrid with bone spines on their arms and legs, and a very lawful and militaristic society. Renamed the Ni Shaan in my setting; they're the feudal-Japan analogue I alluded to earlier, a somewhat unsympathetic portayal of the Samurai as ultra-Darwinists who refuse to admit error and shed blood at the slightest pretext.
* Illumians - No actual strength bonus, but they can add as much as +3 to their skill and ability checks at 2nd level with a feat, which would include the Strength bonus to trip someone; with the Improved Trip feat, that'll give you a free attack against the prone target, and throwing some spells in there wouldn't hurt either. Again, the canon is adjusted slightly; in the books Illumians have a halo of glowing symbols around their head, but in my world they keep a lower profile, and the only place the symbols appear is as a brief flicker in their eyes when they fully exert themselves. Thusly, they look exactly like humans but don't have the bonus skill points and feat.
Skarns (and Half-Giants): The Dex penalty makes me hesitant. Battle Sorcerers can obviously hold up in melee far better than Wizards or normal Sorcerers, but they're still Spellcasters first and melee combatants second. Since a lot of sorcerer combat spells utilize a Ranged Touch Attack (and DEX has other useful benefits), it means that Dexterity is just as important as Charisma. This is doubly true since Celine will be playing a support caster, meaning that my character will likely lean more towards direct attacks and blasting. I only need STR high enough so as not to collapse under the weight of my own armor and gear (and maybe get a small damage bonus in melee); DEX and Weapon Finesse can handle the rest.

Illumians: I'm having a hard time tracking down a stat block, but from what I can find, they're basically arcane humans, right? I'm still trying to steer away from playing a human, if at all possible.

Goliath: Again, I'm having a hard time tracking down a stat block (although I did find a couple complaints that they were overpowered for an LA+1). They seem kinda odd, but depending on the mechanical side of things, I don't think I'd be opposed to playing one.

All-in-all, though, I'm still wanting the Kitsune, simply because it's a great fit for what I'm going for. And, finding out about the deficit of CHA-boosting races, an LA+1 is starting to make more sense in that regard.

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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by willpell » Thu Mar 28, 2013 3:21 pm

spiderwrangler wrote:Ok... so for spider cleric, there is a spider domain, but I have a few questions.
Unfortunately I'm not sure I have answers for them, let alone ones you'd like. I didn't plan to include Spider among the domains in my game; it seems too narrow to be one of the (at most) 64 founding principles of the cosmos, along with Good and Evil and Earth and Fire and Protection and Destruction and Celerity and Endurance. I've never managed to nail down the exact list, so I could allow Spider on a provisional basis, but am reluctant to do so. it seems to me as though it should conceptually fall under the Animal domain, even if spiders aren't considered animals in D&D land. As for Theis's suggestion, replacing T/RU with "vermin empathy" and a companion...yeah, really don't know about that one.
or Healing with the flavor/story that character is able to get help in healing from nearby spiders (or companion, if that's okayed) to use silk to bind wounds, etc?
That on the other hand is just plain cute. People would end up paying you not to heal them.... :lol:
Feytala wrote:Nah. Tiefling is alright, with "Tief" meaning "Deep" and ling meaning... Well... It is more of a phrase tucked onto enother word to decribe a... Uhm... Wow, you got me. No idea how to describe in english. I gues in this kind of word it means something as "Cute little descendant" (What would show what the Demons think of Tieflings in general...^^).
Okay, I didn't think that was German construction, but I stand corrected.

Also I''ve figured out where I got the impression that Hei was German for "high" (specifically in the sense of drug use)...I'd thought this usage is found in the lyrics of several songs by the industrial band Megaherz and its spinoff Eisbrecher, notably the songs Freiflug, with the refrain "Jede Nacht bin ich high", and Wilkommen Im Nichts, with "Ein bisschen high, ein bisschen hohl". In both cases I assumed the word being sung was "hei" and that it was the same pronunciation in both languages, but it looks like it was actually just the English "high" being used as a loanword. Oh well...
Hrmm... Maybe I could throw around a little with the Tiefling-Stats ? Dex would be better for a wizard, but I am thinking of throwing that Dex-Bonus out of the window and having Cha instead...
Yeah, I'm not comfortable with players just rearranging their stat bonuses to create the most powerful character possible; it defeats the purpose of having such a wide array of choices in the first place, if you never get stuck with anything suboptimal and have to make the most of it.
I love screwing elves
I'm wondering if that's quite what you meant to say... :lol:
So ? Hu ? What did I say ?^^┬░
"Screw" is a colloquial word for "have sex with"; I'm guessing you were trying to say "I love screwing with elves" - which kind of means the same thing, but looks less like you're being crude. As in you're "messing around with" elves in some sense, but less likely a sexual one than if the verb is directly acting on the noun.
I would more likely go for a +1, MAYBE+2, but that would have to be really cool (Not like Drow, say...) and higher should better be incredible... I mostly like staying with LA+0 and +1, no HD.^^
Yeah, that's definitely preferable if you need to play a caster - Half-Fiend is better on a fighter-type, where the wings and natural attacks help cure two of the major drawbacks of playing a melee character.
A Fighter-type with Magic in the Blood
Ironically I just found an LA +2 race which is almost perfect for your purposes, except for being completely worthless. :sulk: The Karsite gets both +2 Strength and +2 Charisma, but unfortunately, it's simply prohibited from casting spells. (Techncially you could manifest psychic powers, which are basically spells in all but name, but I would probably have to veto that even though my game doesn't use psionics/magic transparency, as it's just too much of an exploit.) Thusly, while they'd make a great Binder or Incarnate or Swordsage or any number of similar "magic-touched fighter" concepts, they can't really pull off Battle Sorcerer. :ktongue:
CelineSSauve wrote:1) I'm thinking that Ado's FS spells might lean slightly towards Necromancy, seeing who his Patron is, would that work? After all, the NPC who extended his name to Adofaer might just have had wishful thinking on his side. :lol:
Up to you. I may veto individual spells if they're overpowered, or make houserules where I see fit (for instance I don't allow anyone to sleep in a Rope Trick), but for the most part your spell selection is your own business as a PC, and I don't interfere too much. Though if you're not taking healing spells the players will need to find someone else to act as their healbot (unless someone wants to be a Necropolitan or something, in which case you could heal them with Inflict spells).
2) As far as spell selection goes, I have found Cleric Spells in both PHBs, Complete Arcane and Complete Divine. I have found Sorcerer spells in the first three books. Are there any other sources I should be looking at?
There are many spells in many other books, but I would just as soon you didn't go too far afield; spells are the most brain-breaking part of the game, and I haven't familiarized myself with everything in the PHB, nor read the spell section of Complete Arcane at all (except the Earthen Grasp spell, since warlocks get that as an Invocation). I can't tell you not to use any spells I don't know, but in general I'd prefer if you mostly stuck to the "classics" just for the sake of making my life easier...in general, a spell is "approved" if you see an NPC casting it or find it on a scroll or something, and otherwise I may get a slight headache when a player first busts the thing out and messes up my plans. Which is something you have to deal with as a GM, I know - I'm just saying...have pity on me. :paranoia:
3) If Ado were to get a familiar, would it be possible for him to have some sort of small skeleton? Especially if he expresses more Necromancy spells at that point?
There's a Wizard ACF for Necromancers to get a skeleton bodyguard, but I dunno if it's right to transfer that over to sorcerers. It probably doesn't break anything, but having an undead following you around is not really a way to be subtle, so you might run into issues dealing with NPCs.
Nioca wrote:Skarns (and Half-Giants): The Dex penalty makes me hesitant. Battle Sorcerers can obviously hold up in melee far better than Wizards or normal Sorcerers, but they're still Spellcasters first and melee combatants second. Since a lot of sorcerer combat spells utilize a Ranged Touch Attack (and DEX has other useful benefits), it means that Dexterity is just as important as Charisma. This is doubly true since Celine will be playing a support caster, meaning that my character will likely lean more towards direct attacks and blasting. I only need STR high enough so as not to collapse under the weight of my own armor and gear (and maybe get a small damage bonus in melee); DEX and Weapon Finesse can handle the rest.
Well Weapon Finesse only helps you hit, it doesn't add your Dexterity to damage, so if your STR is low, you'll be relying very heavily on spells to damage things, and a battle sorc doesn't get very many of those. If you wanted to dump STR altogether, you could use poisons to make your attacks effective despite them doing very little damage, but with as much MAD as you have, getting a good Craft: Poisonmaking check would be hard.
Illumians: I'm having a hard time tracking down a stat block, but from what I can find, they're basically arcane humans, right? I'm still trying to steer away from playing a human, if at all possible.
Fair enough, I just thought I'd offer. There is one other race which is a bit more "human+" than that, but I'm hesitant to offer it, since I haven't figured out how it fits into the campaign world. They're called Spellscales, which is a realy dumb name, and I'd have to modify them somewhat, as one of their racial abilities is tied to the Draconic pantheon, which my game doesn't use. But it seems like it's about as good a race option as you're going to get for what you're looking for, other than me giving in and letting you have Kitsune.
Goliath: Again, I'm having a hard time tracking down a stat block (although I did find a couple complaints that they were overpowered for an LA+1). They seem kinda odd, but depending on the mechanical side of things, I don't think I'd be opposed to playing one.
Not sure what you mean by stat block; all the info on the Goliaths is in Races of Stone.
All-in-all, though, I'm still wanting the Kitsune, simply because it's a great fit for what I'm going for. And, finding out about the deficit of CHA-boosting races, an LA+1 is starting to make more sense in that regard.
That wasn't my intent really; Charisma isn't stronger than the other stats (though it isn't weaker either, as the designers thought originally). Really, the best stat is CON, and Dwarves get that in exchange for Charisma, while Gnomes get it for Strength. Neither of those deserves an LA, somehow.
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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by spiderwrangler » Thu Mar 28, 2013 3:35 pm

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Hmmm.... Looks like summon monster from cleric spell list would still let me get a spider... but have even less of an idea about domains then... Animal I guess, like you said, but seems kinda 'blah'? Also not quite sure what the difference is between summon monster and summon nature's ally... A cleric casting at 4th level with animal domain could have both spells, yes? What would the difference be, would they be able to have both out at the same time?
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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by CelineSSauve » Thu Mar 28, 2013 3:36 pm

willpell wrote:
CelineSSauve wrote:1) I'm thinking that Ado's FS spells might lean slightly towards Necromancy, seeing who his Patron is, would that work? After all, the NPC who extended his name to Adofaer might just have had wishful thinking on his side. :lol:
Up to you. I may veto individual spells if they're overpowered, or make houserules where I see fit (for instance I don't allow anyone to sleep in a Rope Trick), but for the most part your spell selection is your own business as a PC, and I don't interfere too much. Though if you're not taking healing spells the players will need to find someone else to act as their healbot (unless someone wants to be a Necropolitan or something, in which case you could heal them with Inflict spells).
So... Never take Rope Trick since that removes it's only useful features. Okay. Duly noted. :roll:

I'd also never said I'd take no healing at all, just that he might lean towards Necromancy, due to Wee Jas supplying the juice.
willpell wrote:
CelineSSauve wrote:2) As far as spell selection goes, I have found Cleric Spells in both PHBs, Complete Arcane and Complete Divine. I have found Sorcerer spells in the first three books. Are there any other sources I should be looking at?
There are many spells in many other books, but I would just as soon you didn't go too far afield; spells are the most brain-breaking part of the game, and I haven't familiarized myself with everything in the PHB, nor read the spell section of Complete Arcane at all (except the Earthen Grasp spell, since warlocks get that as an Invocation). I can't tell you not to use any spells I don't know, but in general I'd prefer if you mostly stuck to the "classics" just for the sake of making my life easier...in general, a spell is "approved" if you see an NPC casting it or find it on a scroll or something, and otherwise I may get a slight headache when a player first busts the thing out and messes up my plans. Which is something you have to deal with as a GM, I know - I'm just saying...have pity on me. :paranoia:
Um... Since I have to select spells before I see NPCs... You're saying I can only select 7+ levels of spells, between two classes, from only the PHB? :shock:
willpell wrote:
CelineSSauve wrote:3) If Ado were to get a familiar, would it be possible for him to have some sort of small skeleton? Especially if he expresses more Necromancy spells at that point?
There's a Wizard ACF for Necromancers to get a skeleton bodyguard, but I dunno if it's right to transfer that over to sorcerers. It probably doesn't break anything, but having an undead following you around is not really a way to be subtle, so you might run into issues dealing with NPCs.
I wasn't thinking anything huge. Just a Tiny skeleton, like a monkey, or cat or something. Which would act just like any other familiar.

But fine, I wasn't married to the idea or anything.

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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by willpell » Thu Mar 28, 2013 3:50 pm

spiderwrangler wrote:Hmmm.... Looks like summon monster from cleric spell list would still let me get a spider... but have even less of an idea about domains then... Animal I guess, like you said, but seems kinda 'blah'? Also not quite sure what the difference is between summon monster and summon nature's ally... A cleric casting at 4th level with animal domain could have both spells, yes? What would the difference be, would they be able to have both out at the same time?
There's a big difference between the two summons in terms of what sort of creatures you can get, especially as levels go up. And yes it's possible to spam any number of both summons, to substantial GM-annoying effect. :ktongue:
CelineSSauve wrote:So... Never take Rope Trick since that removes it's only useful features. Okay. Duly noted. :roll:
The ability to alternate an infinite number of 15-minute adventuring days starting at character level 3 is not a "useful feature"; it's game-breakage. Granted you don't have to wait a very long time before you get Leomund's Secure Shelter, but still. Rope Trick is still good for vanishing from known space long enough for a patrol to pass by, or something like that; it's just not a complete spoiler like it is by RAW.
Um... Since I have to select spells before I see NPCs... You're saying I can only select 7+ levels of spells, between two classes, from only the PHB? :shock:
Not quite that bad, just that I'd prefer you didn't get too fancy. If you'd like suggestions on spells I'm comfortable with to fill gaps in your selections, I'll see if I can oblige.
I wasn't thinking anything huge. Just a Tiny skeleton, like a monkey, or cat or something. Which would act just like any other familiar.
Even if it had all the same game stats, being type Undead rather than Magical Beast would have a number of implications which I don't fully understand, so yeah, I'd appreciate you sticking to the basic rules for now. When we reach a point at which you have a Feat slot you don't need, we'll talk about Improved Familiar as an option.
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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by Amara » Thu Mar 28, 2013 3:55 pm

Oh, quick question.
What time period-ish are we looking at? (as far as civilization advancement, tech "magically done" or otherwise, character heights,) Also would you prefer I actually roll for height/weight, or can I just stick whatever fits on there as long as it isn't too ridiculous? :b Teasing. Mostly.
Base height for a human male is 4'10 +2d10, (so I'm assuming 4'10+10 for average, or 5'8, which is almost modern day average male height (5'10).)
I ask because modern day the character I've in mind would be around 6'5, 250lb or so. If that sounds fine as is I'll just make up a quick sheet, haha

(I ask as I once ran a 6'9 character and was a bit sad when this was treated as if this was normal, until the DM noticed, and I then spent the rest of the campaign whacking my head on things.)
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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by CelineSSauve » Thu Mar 28, 2013 3:56 pm

Naw. Just won't bother with rope trick. Or a Familiar.

Can't get around Spells without nuking my build, though. So hopefully that can be addressed to mutual satisfaction.

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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by Nioca » Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:03 pm

willpell wrote:Well Weapon Finesse only helps you hit, it doesn't add your Dexterity to damage, so if your STR is low, you'll be relying very heavily on spells to damage things, and a battle sorc doesn't get very many of those. If you wanted to dump STR altogether, you could use poisons to make your attacks effective despite them doing very little damage, but with as much MAD as you have, getting a good Craft: Poisonmaking check would be hard.
Not initially, but I do have a plan. Can't do it quite yet, but I'm leaning towards getting Improved Critical in tandem with a Flaming and/or Icy and/or Shocking Burst Rapier, which would alleviate the damage issue somewhat. Plus, Enlarge Person is definitely going on my spell list, so if it turns into a melee fight, I can bolster my damage output somewhat. (Other buff spells may also get added down the road as well)
Fair enough, I just thought I'd offer [Illumians]. There is one other race which is a bit more "human+" than that, but I'm hesitant to offer it, since I haven't figured out how it fits into the campaign world. They're called Spellscales, which is a realy dumb name, and I'd have to modify them somewhat, as one of their racial abilities is tied to the Draconic pantheon, which my game doesn't use. But it seems like it's about as good a race option as you're going to get for what you're looking for, other than me giving in and letting you have Kitsune.
If push comes to shove and you really don't want to allow Kitsune, I suppose I can default to an elf. The CON penalty would sting a bit, but I suppose I could make it work.
Not sure what you mean by stat block; all the info on the Goliaths is in Races of Stone.
I meant its bonuses, its abilities, so forth. I don't actually have Races of Stone; in fact, I think I mentioned it earlier, but the SRD is about all I have to work with, so unless someone else has posted the relevant info online, I can't really pursue it. :|

(Same goes for Illumians)
Charisma isn't stronger than the other stats (though it isn't weaker either, as the designers thought originally). Really, the best stat is CON, and Dwarves get that in exchange for Charisma, while Gnomes get it for Strength. Neither of those deserves an LA, somehow.
Yeah, I noticed that those two seemed to have a massive heap of bonuses and such when compared to the other core races. Maybe the designers thought their size/speed penalties balanced it out? >:-?

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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by Amara » Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:12 pm

Nioca wrote:I don't actually have Races of Stone; in fact, I think I mentioned it earlier, but the SRD is about all I have to work with, so unless someone else has posted the relevant info online, I can't really pursue it.
...I was about to offer it to you, but sadly I don't have it as a PDF. D:
Um if anyone needs though, I could screenshot what I DO have and link to PDFs people need.

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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by willpell » Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:36 pm

A quick correction to something I posted before - per the RAW, Karsites get +2 CON rather than +2 STR; them getting STR instead is apparently a houserule I made up, either accidentally or without explaining my logic to my future self. Still, I think it's more useful, as they have both Damage Reduction and built-in healing, so they don't really need higher HP on top of that, and Strength helps them be effective as fighters.
Ayeaka wrote:What time period-ish are we looking at? (as far as civilization advancement, tech "magically done" or otherwise, character heights,) Also would you prefer I actually roll for height/weight, or can I just stick whatever fits on there as long as it isn't too ridiculous? :b Teasing. Mostly.
Height and weight don't actually matter much, so make 'em up if you want. I roll for my NPCs when I'm in the mood, but only for the sake of keeping things vaguely realistic. As to time period...the world has more or less the basic medieval paradigm, but I can't purge modern modes of thought from my brain, and so instead I've embraced them, so it's sort of more like a Renaissance Faire than the actual Middle Ages. In particular, the humans are mostly united under a very progressive central government, so the quality of living rises rapidly as you move toward the more prosperous regions. Technology isn't reliable, so it never goes mainstream, being more an occasional curiosity. However, the standard of living is somewhat better across the board - cities aren't quite the open-air toilets they were in the real Dark Ages, and the druids and clerics of the world have all but eliminated disease, resulting in the maladies listed in the DMG being practically the only ones that exist, and not very common to boot.
Nioca wrote:If push comes to shove and you really don't want to allow Kitsune, I suppose I can default to an elf. The CON penalty would sting a bit, but I suppose I could make it work.
There are elf subraces that take the hit to INT instead of CON, oddly enough. In fact, Wild Elves have Sorcerer as a favored class. But I couldn't blame you if you didn't want to go that route.
I meant its bonuses, its abilities, so forth. I don't actually have Races of Stone; in fact, I think I mentioned it earlier, but the SRD is about all I have to work with, so unless someone else has posted the relevant info online, I can't really pursue it. :|
Well the short version is that Goliaths have +4 Strength, +2 Con, the Powerfuil Build ability like Half-Giants, a bit of natural armor, and a bonus to Climb and Jump. Might be a couple other things on there, but all told it's pretty sweet for just LA +1, and they have a rather neat culture described in the book, where they're nomads with a highly communal society and a strong competitive streak. (I don't love their goofy names though.)
(Same goes for Illumians)
Okay well Illumians are way too complex for me to summarize; if you had been interested I'd just have told you which specialization of theirs works best for a Battle Sorc and wouldn't have worried about the rest. Same will go for Spellscales if you decide to try them, even if you have the book they're described in.
Yeah, I noticed that those two seemed to have a massive heap of bonuses and such when compared to the other core races. Maybe the designers thought their size/speed penalties balanced it out? >:-?
The speed is kind of a big deal IMO, and a lot of the bonuses aren't very relevant. But CON alone makes both races very solid. Another race that gets a CON bonus for LA 0, along with +1 square of speed and and a few immunities from the Fey type, are Dusklings, who I call Bubasti; the only problem there is that they suffer an INT penalty, but otherwise they'd be right up your alley, as a race of extraplanar blackish-blue cat people with a primitive society and a talent for shamanism (they favor the Totemist class, which conjures thought-forms to gain the abilities of magical beasts).
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Feytala
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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by Feytala » Thu Mar 28, 2013 6:03 pm

Yep, "high" is a Loanword in german. Quite often used in terms of "Being high", while "hohl" meaning as much as "dumb", "stupid" or "MinMax"... :D


Hrmm... I searched the last hours after another possibility for a little Abyssal touch... That picture sure got me drooling and now I wanna play someone like that... The only things I wfound were Fey'ri (which seem Faerun-specific have a LA of +2 or +3 and are -again - elves. Damn, is there an elv for everything ?). Still, I am impressed by their abilities... Especially if the "lesser" Planetouched variant from Players Guide to Faerun is used... But generally it looks for me like to much work for the GM. The fiendish creature template on the other hand is, well, boring... And comes with an LA of +2. Pass. The Half-Fiend ist just bad in my eyes... The hell-Bred is to good and to lawful and not mischievous and flirty enough.^^

So I stay with two questions.

1. Does anybody know other possible ways to portray a character with a fiendish touch in their ancestry ? Oh... I want them to be humanoid, possibly halfway decent-looking and medium-sized :D

2. Would the game master allow some of the feats out of Races of Faerun in Recording to planetouched bloodlines ? Then I would just get one or two of them (via flaws maybe) as wings or more Spell-like-abilities and say, well, year, with my character, the blood obviously got thicker there... The other possibility is straight taking a young Tiefling wizard, which is annoyed being kicked around and uses Alter Self or Polymorph quite often for a "cooler, more exotic, yet possibly intimidating look"... Instead of just being the poor Emo girl. :D

3. I also saw the possibility for Tiefling going into some kind of Progression Class to Half-Fiend. As I could always by of the LA more or less imediately and not need to take all in a row or even to an end, that would be funny... but I consider it to much cheese, so I will NOT choose that option...

Also, I think I can say relatively sure at this time, that I will play a wizard, if not an Out-of-PHB-Class strikes my eye like hell.^^

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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by willpell » Thu Mar 28, 2013 6:20 pm

Update - Having just read the Spellscales chapter in Races of the Dragon, I formally retract my previous objections, and would like to strongly recommend this race instead of the Kitsune. +2 Charisma, favored class Sorcerer, and a racial obsession with variety and experience - not to mention that they look a lot like elves, except for the titular scales, and a few ridges on their forehead or possibly sharp teeth. I even have a better name for them - Dracaena, the scientific name of a plant which produces a resin called "dragon's blood". The name comes from the latin for "female dragon", and Spellscale women are slightly larger than men on average, so it's as good a fit as I could manage without referencing Dracula (and that would be confusing since they're not vampires).

Alternatively, if the CON penalty of spellscales bothers you, the Draconic Creature template is +1 LA and gives +2 STR, +2 CON, and +2 CHA along with natural weapons, natural armor, darkvision (along with LLV, which spellscales also have), and a couple skill and save bonuses.
Feytala wrote:Yep, "high" is a Loanword in german. Quite often used in terms of "Being high", while "hohl" meaning as much as "dumb", "stupid" or "MinMax"... :D
The translation I saw gave it as "hollow" (which would indeed imply "stupid", if you were referring to someone's head).
Hrmm... I searched the last hours after another possibility for a little Abyssal touch... That picture sure got me drooling and now I wanna play someone like that... The only things I wfound were Fey'ri (which seem Faerun-specific have a LA of +2 or +3 and are -again - elves. Damn, is there an elv for everything ?).
There really is. But on that topic, I have one other option to suggest: Fiendish Codex 2 gives us the Hellbred, specifically Spirit-Aspected ones: yet again, +2 CHA and -2 CON (just like the Spellscales as well as Faerun's Star Elves, who are in my game but I haven't figured out exactly how to adjust them), with a few other assorted bonuses. The default fluff is kind of a deal-breaker, but I might be able to work out an alternate backstory to let you go with something resembling the picture. See, Hellbred are people who were damned for their actions in life, then repented at the last minute. The forces of Good suspect them of trying to weasel out of their just punishment without really being sorry, and so they're reincarnated in a devil-tainted form and given a last chance to try and achieve an act of Good sufficiently powerful to un-damn them. (Since I don't really hold with the idea of damnation in the first place, I'll have to reinterpret this idea slightly; my version of Good is both more tolerant and less forgiving than the classically Catholic version that's being referenced here, but I'm sure I can work something out.) So in this case, the character might have run afoul of a Pleasure Devil (the diabolic equivalent of a Succubus), and now be reborn as something resembling such a creature.
Still, I am impressed by their abilities... Especially if the "lesser" Planetouched variant from Players Guide to Faerun is used...
I'm very baffled by the idea that the race drops from LA +1 to LA +0 based solely on losing their immunity to Hold Person and similar spells. Still, LA +1 costs all of 3000 XP to buy off, so it's not really a big deal, unless you're stacking it with other templates (being a draconic tiefling would suck as much as being a Drow or Karsite, costing you 16,0000 XP to buy off by level 9).
The fiendish creature template on the other hand is, well, boring...
Everything I said before about Celestial (as opposed to the more powerful Half-Celestial...nice one, MM writers) applies to Fiendish as well; they are utterly awful templates and unquestionably not worth LA +2. If you liked the general concept, I'd be comfortable letting you have Fiendish for LA +1, but I think Hellbred would be a better execution of the same concept.
The hell-Bred is to good and to lawful and not mischievous and flirty enough.^^
Oh, well, nevermind.
2. Would the game master allow some of the feats out of Races of Faerun in Recording to planetouched bloodlines ? Then I would just get one or two of them (via flaws maybe) as wings or more Spell-like-abilities and say, well, year, with my character, the blood obviously got thicker there... The other possibility is straight taking a young Tiefling wizard, which is annoyed being kicked around and uses Alter Self or Polymorph quite often for a "cooler, more exotic, yet possibly intimidating look"... Instead of just being the poor Emo girl. :D
Er....lemme think about that one.
3. I also saw the possibility for Tiefling going into some kind of Progression Class to Half-Fiend. As I could always by of the LA more or less imediately and not need to take all in a row or even to an end, that would be funny... but I consider it to much cheese, so I will NOT choose that option...
That does indeed sound cheesy...can you point me to the book and page so I can see for myself what they were smoking? (I'm guessing this is totally a Forgotten Realms thing...the concept of "game balance" doesn't seem to have entirely entered their lexicon.)
Also, I think I can say relatively sure at this time, that I will play a wizard, if not an Out-of-PHB-Class strikes my eye like hell.^^
Wait, were you not the Battle Sorcerer? Crap, I'm confused. Anyway, one and a half sorcerers plus a wizard would make this an extremely magic-heavy party, which will be a challenge for me, although possibly enjoyable. The absence of rogue and healbot niches might be a problem, but I suppose I could give you a Factotum Hireling or DMPC optimized for Opportunistic Piety, or a Trickery cleric with a Rogue level for Trapfinding. Or I could just not use traps, but that'd be killing the genre a bit; they'll probably be a bit sparse since I don't consider them to be great storytelling, but I don't think they should be entirely absent.
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Glemp wrote:To some extent, you need to be arrogant - without it, you are vulnerable being made someone's tool...for Herbert's sake, have the stubbornness not to submit to what you see instantly, because you can only see some facts at a time.
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Feytala
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Re: Recruitment Thread for Pell's D&D 3.5 Game

Post by Feytala » Thu Mar 28, 2013 7:00 pm

Well, hell-bred is cool and such, I just don't like the fluff. I don't want to be super-inclined towards being good. Had that kind of character way to often. And i even less want to be inclined being lawful.^^ If we could somehow change the fluff a little, it might be a possibility...

As I read it, Outsider also gives you very cool polymorph-possibilities for a wizard, as well as martial Weapon proficiency... That at least was the thought in the forum where I found the link to this idea. But nevermind.^^

The link to the studd they were smoking... Year, give me a moment.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040319a

Scroll down until he Tiefling/Half-Fiend Transition Class- i think it's just the same as in Savage Progression. The prob for the wizard would be, well... The cool stuff (+Dex, Int, Cha) comes at the end, while you get thrown with physical stuff on the first levels.^^

After all I heared, 4th edition is pure crap, but they surely have cooler Tieflings... :D


And nope. My other considerations besides wizard were "Rogue/wizard" Dark templated Whispergnome for the Arcane Rogue-niche.
And human battledancer going Dervish.

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