A Cleric tasked with a considerable challenge [Archive] - Wizards Community

A Cleric tasked with a considerable challenge [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
AffableDoomwalker
02-26-07, 04:24 AM In the campaign I'm currently involved in, a buddy and I play a team-up of one Human Paladin (LG, George Justice - buddy), and one Aasimar Cleric of Helm (LN, James Roy - yours truely).

The way we've been placed into the campaign, our characters are under orders to assist one-another, James Roy is a Trusted-Brother (the equivalent of a Junior/Second-Lieutenant) who embodies Helm's true faithful, and acts as spiritual guidance and a healer for his allies and his charge; Adept-Brother George Justice is a strong-arm, stronger-willed Paladin in need of direction as a follower of Helm, he acts as a bodyguard for Trusted-Brother Roy.

So its clear that our storyline is fairly well established, the only issue I really have is backstory, my friend has George Justice all figured out, but as to my own background on James Roy... well, all I have is a rough outline:

-With a high Charisma and Wisdom (18/19), an above-average Strength and Constitution (14/16), low Dexterity and moderate Intelligence (8/12) James is an excellent healer, an imposing presence, and a sturdy combatant more than capable of holding his own in single combat.
-No ranks in Knowledge (Religion): James is a stalwart believer in the tenents of Helm's faithful, and has very little knowledge of other religions' beliefs and customs, never feeling a need to learn about them.
-12 Ranks in Diplomacy: James is a firm believer in negotiation, believing that being a good negotiator allows one to better establish rapport and trust amongst your peers (and to a Helmite, trust is everything).

Any suggestions/ideas for a background? I'm open to suggestion, only stipulation is I'd like to avoid the cliched "orphaned Aasimar on the church steps", "peasant with an unrealistic higher calling", and so on and so forth.
SwarthmoreDB
02-26-07, 01:46 PM -With a high Charisma and Wisdom (18/19), an above-average Strength and Constitution (14/16), low Dexterity and moderate Intelligence (8/12) James is an excellent healer, an imposing presence, and a sturdy combatant more than capable of holding his own in single combat.

Hmm... did you do this using a point-buy system? If so, how many points (it seems like you used 32 but I'm not sure...)?

-No ranks in Knowledge (Religion): James is a stalwart believer in the tenents of Helm's faithful, and has very little knowledge of other religions' beliefs and customs, never feeling a need to learn about them.

Okay, the thing I had in mind requires you to have at least one point of Knowledge (religion). If you can afford it, put at least one point in there. You'll read why below.

-12 Ranks in Diplomacy: James is a firm believer in negotiation, believing that being a good negotiator allows one to better establish rapport and trust amongst your peers (and to a Helmite, trust is everything).

Any suggestions/ideas for a background? I'm open to suggestion, only stipulation is I'd like to avoid the cliched "orphaned Aasimar on the church steps", "peasant with an unrealistic higher calling", and so on and so forth.

So here goes: you were a normal child raised by your parents who were either farmers or artisans in the city. They wanted you to get a better education because both of them worked really hard to make life better for you, and that meant usually going without nicer things in life such as new clothes or a second horse or a more comfortable home.

After a few years, they were able to save a few gold pieces and talked to the more learned members of the Church of Helm; they were able to convince them to take you in and give you an education in the mental and spiritual. The church itself was glad to take you in because they saw much promise in you (since they could tell you were aasimar-descended).

You were going to train to be a simple preacher (hence the one rank in Knowledge (religion) but you found that it was not to your interest; however, argumentation, law and negotiation were more to your liking. As such you followed the more diplomatic Helmite members whenever they allowed you to. This is how you can explain away the high number of ranks in Diplomacy. After that, they let you go out on your own but before letting you leave alone, they had the paladin tag along with you (this particular church of Helm tends to do that, pair up a cleric with someone who is more martially inclined and more 'worthy' of Helm's grace).

This good enough for you?
AffableDoomwalker
02-26-07, 03:35 PM Yep, we're using point buy, we were given 34 points to spread around as we pleased, technically we started at level 4, so everyone was given 35 - so my ECL kind of burned me on that one, but for +2 Wis/Cha and the ability to spontaneously cast daylight, I felt it was worth it.

As to your suggestions for a background - I like it a lot, it works well with the character, fits his personality, especially the part concerning law, and you've inspired me to consider whether or not I want to add some ranks in Profession (Barrister), and even go so far as to increase his Knowledge (Religion). All in all, thanks for the assitance, much appresh man.
SwarthmoreDB
02-26-07, 08:25 PM As to your suggestions for a background - I like it a lot, it works well with the character, fits his personality, especially the part concerning law, and you've inspired me to consider whether or not I want to add some ranks in Profession (Barrister), and even go so far as to increase his Knowledge (Religion). All in all, thanks for the assitance, much appresh man.

Anytime sir! Please feel free to post up the whole character sheet on your PC and all as I'd like to see what you did and any changes to the background story you made!
Devlonir
02-27-07, 08:12 AM Yep, we're using point buy, we were given 34 points to spread around as we pleased, technically we started at level 4, so everyone was given 35

You know 35 point buy sucks when you dont get your lvl 4 enhancement because of it, right? Because with the lvl 4, you can make your 18 a 19 for one point. Cant do that point buy..

Ok, but on subject.. I think the background written for you was pretty solid. Except that I think the first moment you decided preaching wasnt for you was a different moment..

The moment you decided to become more diplomatic, was when you had to preach for a small community. You lost your words and forgot what you were talking about. For some reason you completely forgot what to preach! But then, you managed to keep on talking, not about the books, not about the dogma, but about what people should do to be good Helmites. You talked about how to live, from day to day, to honor Helm and what he stands for. The things you learned from the brothers in church, not what you learned from the books. The people loved your empowering speech and they still speak of you there.

From that moment on, you didnt believe that faith was in the books, but in the heart. And you learned how to convince people's hearts to see your way, even if their minds may not completely agree. Your vision is that people always follow their heart, not their mind. It is this insight that gave you the possibilities to be part of the diplomatic missions the church arranges. And finally, you have become a master of the spoken word for your church.

This concept still preaches, but not from the books... He preaches from the heart. Consider taking 1 rank in knowledge religion and a few in perform(speaking) as well. This way you can not only persuade small groups, but also large groups to agree with you.
(I as DM would allow a character with this concept to make a diplomacy check to a large group of people with no penalty if he makes a perform(speaking) check. DC depends on the size of the group... hmm.. i should think this concept through..)
SwarthmoreDB
02-27-07, 08:27 PM This concept still preaches, but not from the books... He preaches from the heart. Consider taking 1 rank in knowledge religion and a few in perform(speaking) as well. This way you can not only persuade small groups, but also large groups to agree with you.

(I as DM would allow a character with this concept to make a diplomacy check to a large group of people with no penalty if he makes a perform(speaking) check. DC depends on the size of the group... hmm.. i should think this concept through..)

Actually, depending on how you wanna play the character too, you can also take a level or two in the Divine Bard variant (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantD ivineBard) class and then take the PrC in Complete Divine (IIRC) that allows you to basically become an awesome evangelist; I don't remember the name but I think it allows you massive bonuses to making Perform (speaking) checks and all that. I'd suggest looking it up though, as I'm not too sure on how it works, or what it is named.
AffableDoomwalker
03-02-07, 01:56 AM Bad news time - my local games store has shut down shop and moved 20 miles away, so, all the work my bud and I put into our characters seems to be for naught - since our DM in possession of our character sheets, we only have a rough idea of what our characters looked like on paper. C'est la vie. I still have what I posted here and your collective of excellent ideas, all hope isn't lost yet, but its damn close - updates to come soon, and thanks for all the info assistance!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
AffableDoomwalker 02-26-07, 04:24 AM	In the campaign I'm currently involved in, a buddy and I play a team-up of one Human Paladin (LG, George Justice - buddy), and one Aasimar Cleric of Helm (LN, James Roy - yours truely). The way we've been placed into the campaign, our characters are under orders to assist one-another, James Roy is a Trusted-Brother (the equivalent of a Junior/Second-Lieutenant) who embodies Helm's true faithful, and acts as spiritual guidance and a healer for his allies and his charge; Adept-Brother George Justice is a strong-arm, stronger-willed Paladin in need of direction as a follower of Helm, he acts as a bodyguard for Trusted-Brother Roy. So its clear that our storyline is fairly well established, the only issue I really have is backstory, my friend has George Justice all figured out, but as to my own background on James Roy... well, all I have is a rough outline: -With a high Charisma and Wisdom (18/19), an above-average Strength and Constitution (14/16), low Dexterity and moderate Intelligence (8/12) James is an excellent healer, an imposing presence, and a sturdy combatant more than capable of holding his own in single combat. -No ranks in Knowledge (Religion): James is a stalwart believer in the tenents of Helm's faithful, and has very little knowledge of other religions' beliefs and customs, never feeling a need to learn about them. -12 Ranks in Diplomacy: James is a firm believer in negotiation, believing that being a good negotiator allows one to better establish rapport and trust amongst your peers (and to a Helmite, trust is everything). Any suggestions/ideas for a background? I'm open to suggestion, only stipulation is I'd like to avoid the cliched "orphaned Aasimar on the church steps", "peasant with an unrealistic higher calling", and so on and so forth.
SwarthmoreDB 02-26-07, 01:46 PM	-With a high Charisma and Wisdom (18/19), an above-average Strength and Constitution (14/16), low Dexterity and moderate Intelligence (8/12) James is an excellent healer, an imposing presence, and a sturdy combatant more than capable of holding his own in single combat. Hmm... did you do this using a point-buy system? If so, how many points (it seems like you used 32 but I'm not sure...)? -No ranks in Knowledge (Religion): James is a stalwart believer in the tenents of Helm's faithful, and has very little knowledge of other religions' beliefs and customs, never feeling a need to learn about them. Okay, the thing I had in mind requires you to have at least one point of Knowledge (religion). If you can afford it, put at least one point in there. You'll read why below. -12 Ranks in Diplomacy: James is a firm believer in negotiation, believing that being a good negotiator allows one to better establish rapport and trust amongst your peers (and to a Helmite, trust is everything). Any suggestions/ideas for a background? I'm open to suggestion, only stipulation is I'd like to avoid the cliched "orphaned Aasimar on the church steps", "peasant with an unrealistic higher calling", and so on and so forth. So here goes: you were a normal child raised by your parents who were either farmers or artisans in the city. They wanted you to get a better education because both of them worked really hard to make life better for you, and that meant usually going without nicer things in life such as new clothes or a second horse or a more comfortable home. After a few years, they were able to save a few gold pieces and talked to the more learned members of the Church of Helm; they were able to convince them to take you in and give you an education in the mental and spiritual. The church itself was glad to take you in because they saw much promise in you (since they could tell you were aasimar-descended). You were going to train to be a simple preacher (hence the one rank in Knowledge (religion) but you found that it was not to your interest; however, argumentation, law and negotiation were more to your liking. As such you followed the more diplomatic Helmite members whenever they allowed you to. This is how you can explain away the high number of ranks in Diplomacy. After that, they let you go out on your own but before letting you leave alone, they had the paladin tag along with you (this particular church of Helm tends to do that, pair up a cleric with someone who is more martially inclined and more 'worthy' of Helm's grace). This good enough for you?
AffableDoomwalker 02-26-07, 03:35 PM	Yep, we're using point buy, we were given 34 points to spread around as we pleased, technically we started at level 4, so everyone was given 35 - so my ECL kind of burned me on that one, but for +2 Wis/Cha and the ability to spontaneously cast daylight, I felt it was worth it. As to your suggestions for a background - I like it a lot, it works well with the character, fits his personality, especially the part concerning law, and you've inspired me to consider whether or not I want to add some ranks in Profession (Barrister), and even go so far as to increase his Knowledge (Religion). All in all, thanks for the assitance, much appresh man.
SwarthmoreDB 02-26-07, 08:25 PM	As to your suggestions for a background - I like it a lot, it works well with the character, fits his personality, especially the part concerning law, and you've inspired me to consider whether or not I want to add some ranks in Profession (Barrister), and even go so far as to increase his Knowledge (Religion). All in all, thanks for the assitance, much appresh man. Anytime sir! Please feel free to post up the whole character sheet on your PC and all as I'd like to see what you did and any changes to the background story you made!
Devlonir 02-27-07, 08:12 AM	Yep, we're using point buy, we were given 34 points to spread around as we pleased, technically we started at level 4, so everyone was given 35 You know 35 point buy sucks when you dont get your lvl 4 enhancement because of it, right? Because with the lvl 4, you can make your 18 a 19 for one point. Cant do that point buy.. Ok, but on subject.. I think the background written for you was pretty solid. Except that I think the first moment you decided preaching wasnt for you was a different moment.. The moment you decided to become more diplomatic, was when you had to preach for a small community. You lost your words and forgot what you were talking about. For some reason you completely forgot what to preach! But then, you managed to keep on talking, not about the books, not about the dogma, but about what people should do to be good Helmites. You talked about how to live, from day to day, to honor Helm and what he stands for. The things you learned from the brothers in church, not what you learned from the books. The people loved your empowering speech and they still speak of you there. From that moment on, you didnt believe that faith was in the books, but in the heart. And you learned how to convince people's hearts to see your way, even if their minds may not completely agree. Your vision is that people always follow their heart, not their mind. It is this insight that gave you the possibilities to be part of the diplomatic missions the church arranges. And finally, you have become a master of the spoken word for your church. This concept still preaches, but not from the books... He preaches from the heart. Consider taking 1 rank in knowledge religion and a few in perform(speaking) as well. This way you can not only persuade small groups, but also large groups to agree with you. (I as DM would allow a character with this concept to make a diplomacy check to a large group of people with no penalty if he makes a perform(speaking) check. DC depends on the size of the group... hmm.. i should think this concept through..)
SwarthmoreDB 02-27-07, 08:27 PM	This concept still preaches, but not from the books... He preaches from the heart. Consider taking 1 rank in knowledge religion and a few in perform(speaking) as well. This way you can not only persuade small groups, but also large groups to agree with you. (I as DM would allow a character with this concept to make a diplomacy check to a large group of people with no penalty if he makes a perform(speaking) check. DC depends on the size of the group... hmm.. i should think this concept through..) Actually, depending on how you wanna play the character too, you can also take a level or two in the Divine Bard variant (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantD ivineBard) class and then take the PrC in Complete Divine (IIRC) that allows you to basically become an awesome evangelist; I don't remember the name but I think it allows you massive bonuses to making Perform (speaking) checks and all that. I'd suggest looking it up though, as I'm not too sure on how it works, or what it is named.
AffableDoomwalker 03-02-07, 01:56 AM	Bad news time - my local games store has shut down shop and moved 20 miles away, so, all the work my bud and I put into our characters seems to be for naught - since our DM in possession of our character sheets, we only have a rough idea of what our characters looked like on paper. C'est la vie. I still have what I posted here and your collective of excellent ideas, all hope isn't lost yet, but its damn close - updates to come soon, and thanks for all the info assistance!