Post/Author/DateTime	Post
daphne 01-10-04, 04:34 PM	Hello everyone! I'm quite new to this all, so please forgive the likely naivety of my questions... I'd like to create a blackguard human female character. Which class is best suited to begin with, before biclassing to blackguard? warrior? barbarian? paladin (fallen)? else? Could someone kindly give me some hints about a suitable background for such a character? Which deity would be the best to worship for a blackguard? (could Orcus be one?) The only thing I'm sure about, is that I want the character to be VERY evil, malicious and cruel. A true badass, in the end. Many thanks in advance to anyone who will spare some time to reply. :)
Malavus 01-10-04, 04:55 PM	Welcome to roleplaying! I hope you find this hobby as ultimately fulfilling as I have. Blackguards are by definition evil of the blackest sort. So you could have someone who was born into the evil sections of your campaign. A girl who was mistreadted when younger and who lived a life wherein strength was the only thing anyone respected. This would lead to a cold, calculating, ruthless person capable of very little in the way of mercy. However, I find that there is more punch to an evil character if they have "fallen". there is a tragedy inherent in such a being that adds to the darkness and makes it that much more poigniant. To that end, I would suggest a female who was originally a caring, devoted person. Say a cleric of Pelor, for example. She had taken several levels in the worship of Pelor when disaster struck. She and her friends/companions were overrun by a powerful group of highly evil characters. She was the only survivor. They let here live because she was beautiful. They tortured her and had their way with her, all the while with her praying to her God for deliverance. Her spells would come each day, but they were never enough for her to win her freedom. The evil creatures always seemed stronger, the spells hurt SO much more. Slowly, she begins to lose faith. She begins to embrace the way of pain and dedicates her life to one of the evil Gods that her foul captors follow. She prays to this God for vengeance, for revenge against her tormentors. And the evil God hears her plea. Nothing in the universe is sweeter to an evil God than a convert from the opposition. The evil God immediately grants her full cleric powers (appropriate to her level) in his order, and she uses her newfound offensive powers and undead allies to wreak havoc on her captors. When they are all either dead or dominated, she begins a new walk of life, an evil walk. Convinced by her trials that goodness and healing can only get you pain, humiliation, and a set of manacles, she embraces her evil power full of the belief that only the evil are strong. How's that?
Strife 01-10-04, 08:00 PM	No offense meant but "fallen from grace" is rather cliché.... keep it simple and raise them evil.
daphne 01-10-04, 08:37 PM	ok. it's some nice beginning. i also would prefer the pure-evil-from beginning style, but your suggestion might work as well. only drawback is that good people always tries to make fallen chars raise again... anyway you gave me some starting hints i'll try bouilding on and from...
Malavus 01-10-04, 10:24 PM	raising them straight evil is boring and predictable as welll. Unfortunately, ALL tales have already been told. It is just a matter of how we dress them up..
Strife 01-11-04, 07:26 AM	True, I'm afraid I was talking out of my own experiences.
LiXinjian 01-11-04, 06:16 PM	As far as classes go, Fighter gives you easy access to most of the prerequisites for the Prestige Class. You'll still need some ranks in hide, which you can easily acquire if you have a high-enough intelligence OR the Cosmopolitan(Hide) feat. Now, for the meat of the matter. Background? I'd start out as evil or neutral. Your character is battling her inner demons, her upbringing, all that she has ever known. She doesn't want to believe what her father taught her, but as she gains levels and adventures, she discovers that it's sadly all true (yes, generosity is pointless, seeing how the poor squander the money on alcohols and such. Yes, the weak have inherited their position as wimps because they deserved it, etc.) , and she simply gives in to the blackness that's been beguiling her all her life... I once replied to a post where I gave what I consider to be a pretty nice idea for a blackguard. Check it out (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=136273) . You can work from there if you like the idea. That's a pretty dedicated blackguard, one who cares little for anything aside from her mission.
Lanoitakude 01-11-04, 08:48 PM	Sadly, most basic backgrounds for blackguards have been thought up already, but where you can shine is in the character itself. Think of great quirks and lifestyle choices that the character would have. --=none of these have any rules effect, just roleplay value=-- Examples of some delusions an evil character could have: 1) Consuming the heart of a fallen enemy grants you their strength (cool if you can cast Death Knell) 2) Consuming the brain of a fallen enemy grants you their intellect (see #1) 3) If someone maintains eye-contact with you, it means they want to kill you. 4) Everyone is below you, you are completely superior to everyone and everything (very funny when you talk to royalty). 5) You actually channel positive energy. 6) You never blink (penalty on saves versus gaze attacks, bonus on spot checks) *ask your DM about this one before you adopt it* 7) Rasberry jam makes complex machinery work better, so get out a jar and pour it on! Just some ideas
LiXinjian 01-12-04, 08:40 AM	There's a mistake in your sig, Lanoitakude. It should probably read: I ma Lanoitakude Adukarab, *EHT* citenikelet renim! Wob erofeb ym Gnicker Llab! not I ma Lanoitakude Adukarab, eth citenikelet renim! Wob erofeb ym Gnicker Llab! ;) As for Gnicker, I'm pretty sure you should spell it Gnikcer, or even Gnikcerw, but I'm not sure enough to argue about it.