Post/Author/DateTime	Post
catharz 03-07-05, 02:58 PM	I'm just looking for some feedback here, either on how I should RP this guy or what classes/base race he should be. Base idea~ Fallen celestial: Must be of the steriotyped variety (Wings, humanoid, maybe even a halo). His incorporeal spirit is bound to his corporeal body by means of iron. He therefore shares similarities with celestials, constructs, and undead. Yes, I realize that it doesn't make sense for an outsider to be even partially uundead in most cases, but remember that his corporeal form is his soul, and so magically binding one should bind the other. Physical fluff (appearance)~ He does not bleed in a normal sense, but a black oily tar does seem to circulate through his body. His skeleton is a "Thinaun" [CW] alloy containing "Abyssal bloodiron" [Pln]. The utility and signifigance of this is fairly obvious: The bloodiron is infused with lower-planar energies, while Thinaun is known for its soul-trapping powers. Apparently this is what currently binds his soul to his vessel, although it is unclear what effects it would have upon his death. Most likely, it would simply trap his soul in his corpse. His immunity to disease and resistance to poison allow him to exist while in constant contact with such inimical substances. In appearance it is hard to distinguish him from a Movanic deva. He seems, however, to lack a certain vitality that all celestials have. The glow of his skin is sickly and wan, and it is cold to the touch. His eyes hold the "1,000 yard stare." RP~ Lawful evil and true neutral both seem like appropriate alignments. He would be fairly brash and callous in combat, due to his regenerative abilities and immunity to pain. However, the thought of true death obviously terrifies him more than it would most mortals. Lawful evil makes the most sense soon after his release from Dispater's grasp. His unique position (remade by a Baatorian lord, Dispater) has made him into somewhat of a mercinary, which fits te adventuring life rather well. I'm thinking that inwardly his fear of death makes him a coward, while his self-loathing makes him judgemental ('He who has the most sins usually casts the first stone,' a basic idea of Projection of guilt), puritanical even. He therefore almost uncontrollably hates the lower-planar denizens, even as he serves (or served) them out of fear. However, he reserves his greatest (externalized) hatred for his celestial former-brethren, who he views as having betrayed him (hypocrytically). History~ Most likely originally a human, he was risen up to angelic status for his unwavering loyalty to Hieronius, and fell 'under the wing' of a Planatar known as Restyn [Pln pg 183]. Restyn and her followers went on a 'pilgrimage' to Archeron, and set up fort near Hexor's domain to do battle with him directly. Although the followers of Restyn endured for a surprisingly long time, their defeat was inevitable. When it came, it was complete. Somehow, the corpses of some of the celetials were conveyed to Dispater, who began a program of necromantic experientation on them. Obviously, this character is one of his 'successes.' Lacking in direction an filled with bitterness, he served Dispater for a time. Eventually Dispater released him from service, more likely out of cruelty than as some sort of reward. Statistics~ I really had no idea how to stat this guy out until I saw the Gheden template in Dragon magazine 313. It is basically a Half-zombie template, with many abilities that seem to fit perfectly. I was at a loss when it came to making him a winged celestial. Their ECLs are far too high when they have them: Trumpet archon is 20. Plus, Gheden can only be added to a humanoid. Then I realized that Half-celestial works just fine. So I'm thinking Half-celestial Gheden Human for the race. But I really have no idea what class levels to give him. I don't really like Disciple of Dispater or Blackguard, although I suppose that those could work. I really like the sigil/rune-like infernal magic illustrated by Wayne Barlowe, and was hoping that I could work that kind of flavor in. So, any ideas? Please don't send me to C.O., I really don't want Optimization :P Oh ya, equipment and feat suggestions would be nice too, but please realize that I am going for flavor on that too. Thanks!
Morka 03-07-05, 08:39 PM	Great concept. Many stuff I've never heard off, but easy to figure out. I don't know what is a Gheden; but I could suggest you to be an Half-Celestial Warforged. Warforged are partially healed by magic, but must repair themselves, that seems to fit your description. If you don't have Eberon or MM3, check in Crystal Keep (see my sig), they are summarized there. As for the class, I suggest you plain fighter with an heavy shield and a battleaxe, always fighting defensively. You are immortal, you don't care to have a battle last for days, you know that your foe will be fatigued before you.
Persephone Imytholin 03-08-05, 04:07 AM	Not quite what you're after, but he seems like a prime candidate for the Athar - if the Powers were really gods, then that would never have happened.
catharz 03-09-05, 02:15 PM	Morka: The Warforged thing does seem like a decent fit mechanically, although I would have to muck around with the flavor text a bt. It would certainly make the character playable at lower levels. Still, assuming that the campaign I'm in starts at high enough level, the Gheden is flavor just too good to pass up. Heaven forbid that I should violate CoC and copyright law, but here is a small bit of into on the Gheden: They get a % of Fortification, like the armor. They are immune to pain. They take 1/2 damage from negative energy. They have minor vulnerability to turning and holy water. And a good amount of other (mostly flavor) abilities. I especially like the immunity to pain and minor damage from holy water. Digression~ Being part human also means that he can take the Troll-blooded feat from Dragon 319, which also seems to fit perfectly. Whenever he is exposed to sunlight, he becomes fatigued. This would include his Daylight ability. He also gains Regeneration 1/Fire or Acid, which makes a lot of sense: Because an outsider is basically a corporeal soul, they don't die by having their soul severed from their bodies. Rather (and I'm not entirely sure how this is supposed to work), damaging their body means damaging their soul as well. And if you imagine that his soul+body is bound to the iron skeleton, he becomes very difficult to kill. Unless you damage the iron itsself, which would probably mean melting it. With Acid or Fire. It also means that he can take full advantage of his immunity to pain, flagrantly disregarding his own health as a sort of fatalist berserker. At least until someone pulls out a firebrand. Persephone Imytholin: Excellent idea. I was actually thinking that he might take up the mantle of an Ur-priest, but that seemed both too evil and rather over-powered. On the other hand, I'm not sure if he could stand their rationalizing and sophistry. This certainly is worth considering.
Persephone Imytholin 03-09-05, 05:22 PM	Excellent idea. I was actually thinking that he might take up the mantle of an Ur-priest, but that seemed both too evil and rather over-powered. On the other hand, I'm not sure if he could stand their rationalizing and sophistry. This certainly is worth considering. Oh, aye. If you don't do it, then I might have to nick the idea. Sounds like a lovely Defier to me.
Rowan_Whispercloak 03-11-05, 11:59 AM	If you go true neutral there is alway Barbarian/Frenzied Berserker. All the carnage you can swing a sword at.
Rapida 03-13-05, 01:11 AM	I think the Defiant PrC in the Planar Handbook would fit this dude pretty well. Its a member of the Athar organization that was mentioned before, and it gets alot of stuff against divine beings. Which I'm thinking he wouldn't love any god, good or evil since his been in the power of evil outsiders and betrayed(kind of) by good outsiders. Although the party cleric wouldn't like you.
catharz 03-13-05, 05:38 AM	Ya, I looked at Defiant and it is probably the way to go. I'm not too worried about angering the cleric, this character has (low-grade) regeneration and immunity to energy drain anyway. The only problem with Defiant is not being able to speak any deities names or read religious writings. And the whole idea of having a cleric cast Atonement on him if he wants to gain his Defiant abilities back after doing one of those... I'm not really a big fan of frenzied berserker. It does fit the character somewhat, but I find it too damage-focused. So, Ex-cleric Defiant it will be :)
Persephone Imytholin 03-13-05, 05:42 AM	For extra Athar crunch, you could also have a look through the stuff at http://www.planewalker.com