Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Cadfan 05-07-05, 01:49 AM	I was chatting with some of my friends about the various characters they've played or seen played over the years, and it occurred to me that the vast majority of what we see or play are characters who are, in some way shape or form, professional adventurers. The equivalent of fantasy world superheroes, who for whatever reason picked up a sword and decided to fight crime in a kooky and weird band of brothers or whatnot. I don't really like this. It makes sense for a game, where the characters are going to adventure until this big evil bad guy is defeated, then there will be a new one, and so forth, but it wouldn't hold too well as, say, a book, which has more strict demands as to concise, coherent plots. And in those books, you often find characters who would never, ever describe themselves as "adventurers." They're just people who for some reason had an adventure. Maybe even a really big one that changes their life and the entire world. But they start out as just regular people, and they usually continue to think of themselves that way. So, as a challenge, I made some characters who would never, ever describe themselves as "adventurers." But they can certainly adventure. I used level 12 since these were created more for fun than to use, but the goal was to create people who's professions and personalities and lives had nothing to do with some label like "rogue" or "barbarian." Here's the first. I hope you like him. --------- Jaska is a professional surgeon from the northern, wild reaches of the Kingdom of Vargas. He spends his days as a travelling physician, moving from town to town providing medical care for the peasants. His arrival is usually a cause for at least some small excitement, as it is rare for the people of the northern reaches to have access to even basic skilled medical care, such as the removal of an abscessed tooth. He travels his circuit on a regular schedule, so that his patients will know when he can be expected to arrive. He primarily treats long term illnesses, as his roving schedule obviously does not leave him available for emergency care, and he also has had time to pick up some small skill in not only human, but veterinary medecine. Jaska feels an obligation to treat the needy, whether human or horse, and often accepts payment in shelter or food, in lieu of money. When in the northern reaches, he is protected somewhat by his reputation. A resident of the northern reaches who knows of Jaska (and nearly all do) is unlikely to want to harm him, as he or his family might need Jaska's services in the future. Between his reputation, his calm demeanor, and his soothing tongue, he is able to travel the northern reaches with relative safety. Jaska has always had an aptitude for divine magic, although he is not particularly religious. He does not know what deity provides him with his spellcasting abilities, and when asked about it typically answers, "Someone up there likes the work I do, I guess," and shrugs politely. His primary use for his spells is to assist his medical endeavors. His life hasn't been entirely peaceful, however. The northern reaches are an unfriendly land, and when danger threatens, every able bodied man is pressed into service. Jaska has had opportunity, on many occasions, to not only treat wounds from combat, but to engage in combat himself. It was during the Goblin Incursion of 1217, that Jaska was drafted into the militia and obtained serious training as well as brutal combat experience. In the process, Jaska realized a second use for his knowledge as a healer- causing harm. Against an opponent who is distracted for even a moment, Jaska can land his blows onto arteries and tendons, cutting viciously and inflicting grave injury. Jaska the Surgeon Character Level 12 Rogue 3 Fighter 4 Cleric 5 Lawful Good, not fervently so. HP 75 AC 18 Init +1 Base Attack +10/+5 MW Longsword +16/+11, 1d8+6, +sneak attack Fort 9 +1 +10 Ref 5 +1 +6 Will 6 +3 +2 +11 Str 18 Dex 12 Con 12 Int 12 Wis 17 Cha 12 Feats *Focus Longsword *Improved Unarmed Strike *Specialization Longsword Divine Vigor Iron Will Practiced Spellcaster Arterial Strike Hamstring Sudden Still Abilities Trap Sense +1 Sneak Attack +2d6 Evasion Turn Undead 4/day Cleric Spellcasting L5 Domains Protection Healing Spells Per Day L0 5 L1 4+1 L2 3+1 L3 2+1 Typical Spells L0 Guidance (2), Light (2), Resistance L1 Cure Light Wounds, Bless, Command, Divine Favor, Shield of Faith L2 Cure Moderate Wounds, Augury, Bull's Strength, Lesser Restoration L3 Cure Serious Wounds, Prayer, Stone Shape Skills Bluff 5 +1 +6 Concentration 5 +1 +6 Craft (Tools) 5 +1 +6 Diplomacy 10 +1 +4 +15 Gather Info 5 +1 +2 +8 Handle Animal 5 +1 +6 Heal 15 +3 +18 Jump 5 +4 +9 Know Local 5 +1 +6 Listen 5 +3 +8 Ride 5 +1 +2 +8 Search 5 +1 +6 Sense Motive 8 +3 +11 Spellcraft 4 +1 +5 Spot 5 +3 +8 Swim 5 +4 +9 Gear Elven Chain (+5 light armor, -2 checks) Heavy Steel Shield (+2, -2) Healing tools -------- In game, he's got good miscellaneous skills that make him an acceptable member of any wilderness party, his healing spells will always be appreciated, and in combat he's almost as good as a fighter, especially if you get him into a flanking position. Remember, the goal was character design, not optimization, so if I could have taken feat OMGWTFBBQ!!!! from the DEAR LORD ITS BROKEN supplement, but I didn't, I don't need to know. :)
Ashianyl 05-07-05, 05:31 AM	I would like to point out that adventurers are much more than well, adventurers. On the basic level, adventurers are the frontiersmen who help build new settlements and keep them safe, find new trade routes, keep trade caravans safe and sometimes even put down evil tyrants wherever they may be found. They could also be warriors of faith who seek to spread the words of their god or seekers of long forgotten knowledge and secrets. And to do all that, an adventurer should be good at what he/she does if they are to survive the harsh realities of the world. In real life, if you intend to be good at something, you would practise at it and learn as much about it as you can. So personally, I don't see optimization and character development as two separate entities. Rather, the two do go hand in hand for a good session of RP. :)
Need_A_Life 05-09-05, 03:34 PM	I have actually made a concept too, a guy who had a reason for leaving the safe village he came from and take up a path of adventuring. He was a warlock who came from this elven village where there was a few people of 'PC-classes' (such as sorcerer and ranger) and one night, he and some of the other children ran out into the forest with a spellbook belonging to one of the boys' parents. They began reading but nothing happened, except when a boy (who had always been quiet and uninteresting) tried to read, the explosion of arcane energy sent them flying through the air and knocked them out. He was awakened by fey who healed him and his friends and showed them back to the village, since then he began showing a spark of affinity for arcane magic... [lots of uninteresting things] One day, the village was attacked through a portal, the attackers were demons; now him and his various friends took first line and most of them were mortally injured, him included but was saved when the portal collapsed (and thereby cutting off the demons' reinforcements) so that they could be healed. He looked around, seeing friends and family brutally slaughtered in an instant and he decided that he would not allow such things to happen again, so he set out on his journey to fight evil (outsiders in particular). He would be fun to play, but I need to find a game...
zioth 05-09-05, 03:53 PM	That description of Jaska sounds great -- until the paragraph about divine magic, and then the list of D&D stats. He doesn't strike me as a divine caster. In fact, I can't see him as more than a level 3 expert. If I were playing this guy, I'd start as a low-level expert (maybe my DM would let me have an extra feat or two in exchange for taking a statistically inferior class), and have him discover his aptitude for divine magic during his adventures. Eventually, he finishes his adventures and returns to the northern reaches, equipped with the power to heal woulds and cure desease with a touch. I think this works a lot better with your story-style character creation. He's an ordinary guy who goes on an adventure and is better for it in the end.
Helmed Horror 05-09-05, 06:11 PM	My newest character is a druid in a FR game. (check the sig) Things of not in his backstory. He is born of illuskan/rashemi decent in Quaervarr (mom was rashmei pop was an ex-adventurer). His pop is the master groundskeeper of the Whistling Stag. He loved day-dreaming in trees about life outside his small town... like the mystical rumors of Silverymoon he heard so much about. To pass the time, he devolped the knack of tracking down lost pets. Later he became a devotee to Milekki. The town's Mayor Pro Tempore was a meany and framed Tree for the "wolf attacks" the past week as a result of his taxes. Mostly due to his pet wolf making him a likley scapegoat. The truth is that it is just a coincidence, and he paid the price of being kicked out of quaervarr. (Yet, the general populace knowing of his innocence turn a blind eye when he comes...) He know travels to town to town, helping find lost pets here, take care of some noble's garden there, while his pay is mostly donated to the church of Milekki. I havent got to play him yet, but he seems like great fun.
Cardinal Teplin 05-09-05, 07:46 PM	Ok.. A little contest then, that I first tried on a friend of mine who insisted that you simply can't roleplay using AD&D. These are all real characters from my past AD&D games - characters that people actually designed and played. Any ideas what character class the following are? Fabian is a young man from the Frozen North. Reared according to the strict tenants of his faith, he was constantly on the watch for evil, from without or from within. He was horrifed to discover that he had started to develop strange and disturbing dreams of dark powers, reaching out to claim his soul. In particular he dreamed of a dread foe, half beast, half man, raging with human cunning and animal savagery, a foe that was somehow seeking to become one with him. When the transformations started, a claw here, a patch of fur there, he fled from his temple into the night, seeking the sanctuary of warmer lands. He lacks the courage to do what he feels he must - kill himself before evil overtakes him completely. He prays every day, and every day puts himself in more and more dangerous situations, hoping that fate will do what his own hand can not... Fabian wears leather armour and fights with a crossbow or shortsword. He keeps himself to himself, and rarely trusts anyone with his troubles, save his deity in fervent prayer. Or this one? Niklos, the innkeeper of the Traveller's rest, is a jovial fellow, well pleased with his lot in life. Much of this is spent in the kitchen, where he specialises in the kind of good substantial food that stops anyone moving for the rest of the day. He is fiercely protective of his wife, Kiara, and has been known to show a strength, speed and ferocity that is quite unsuited to his small well-rounded frame, when he thinks that her honour is threatened. His reputation is such that some beligerent patrons flee merely at the sight of him emerging from the kitchen. He has a similar, although less pronounced reaction, to those who harm rabbits. He also experiments with carpentry, turning out oddly shaped wagons, furniture and other gift items, including the world's first portable pastry oven. Niklos is a halfling. He had been known to use a sling to hunt foxes, with deadly accuracy, and usually carries a selection of kitchen knives, more for practical purposes than anything else. Kiara, his wife, acts as the chief barmaid and handles the hospitality of the inn. She is, in general, rather shyer than her husband, and far less violent, but with much better business sense. She has also, on occasion, displayed a prestidigious strength, literally lifting and throwing patrons who cause trouble into the water trough outside. She also enforces a strict 'no magic' policy, and has surprisingly sharp eyes when it comes to spotting those who avoid such. While shy in terms of getting to know people personally, she is in not in the least bit timid, largely ignoring threats unless they are acted on, and seemingly afraid of noone. However, after any kind of violence she often turns hysterical, and usually disappears for a while, presumably to calm down. Kiara and Niklos are both very attractive for their species. Both use slings, although Kiara favours a staff for any kind of serious fighting. Neither wear armour. It is rumoured that Kiara is some kind of 'fallen woman', hiding from a former disgrace, although this has never been confirmed. In fact, noone who knows Kiara before she met Niklos has ever been found. And one more. Janarra is a striking women, in part because of her remarkable wardrobe. A half-elf, her precise ancestry is hard to place, and she never loses the opportunity to brush up her aristocratic credentials. It is also immediately obvious that there is something magical about her. Her fine clothes are never torn, dirty or wrinkled, and her cane has been known to burst into eldrich flames when she or those around her are threatened. She is literate, cultured, intelligence, and a first-rate historian, but her relationship with her lover, a wastral elf of royal blood, rumoured to lead a dashing life as a pirate, is forever dragging her into unsuitable and dangerous situations. She has a strong romantic streak, and is forever trying to get into a sitatuation where she might be rescued by heroes strong and valerous, either her lover or someone else who will show him what he's doing wrong, and hopefully make him jealous enough to pay more attention to her. Jenarra always dresses formally, usually a ballgown with many folds, tresses and ruffles, no matter how impractical this may be. In a fight she fights with her flaming walking stick, but has also been known to have been discovered surrounded by charred corpses, desperately checking in her mirror to see if she's messed up her hair. It's possible to be an adventurer and have a life outside adventuring. Anyone caring to guess what character class these people are are more than welcome. I'll post answers in a few days time...
Cadfan 05-09-05, 08:28 PM	I won't be able to guess well, since I don't know AD&D... But I'll try. Fabian- Rogue? There aren't many clues here to anything other than his lycanthropy. He throws himself into dangerous situations with intent to get himself killed, and he uses a rogue's weapons. That sounds like a roguish setup to me. Niklos- barbarian. He is comfortable outdoors, likes animals, and flips out when people pick on his wife. Kiara- also barbarian? She gets really strong in dangerous situations. (I like Niklos and Kiara the most.) Janarra- probably some sort of spellcaster since she uses a magical weapon, and probably not a wizard because she sounds too flighty to study. Sorceress then? She could also be a bard or something with a high use magic device skill, and who uses that skill to activate her staff.
Cardinal Teplin 06-04-05, 11:09 AM	Fabian is not a lycanthrope, he's a psionist specialising in personal transformation, and an unfortunately tendancy to trigger his powers when he has nightmares. Niklos is a wizard, a specialist enchanter. He uses both silent and still feats an awful lot, and treats magic as basically an inferior form of cookery. Kiara is an ex-priestess of Vecna, who had to give up her dread lord when her alignment changed. She is indeed very strong, although the belt of giant strength, and the unarmed combat feat she got for use with touch spells, do help. After what she's seen in her life, the barrroom holds no horrors. Jennarra is a mystic theurge, cleric/wizard. She worries about the social accepabilty of either profession, and tries to portray herself as a scholar, or lady of leisure. The point I'm trying to make is that it's entirely possible to create a character than fits the world, and the situation, and only then worry about abilties and character class. I find the most memorable characters often have personalities that are really very little to do with their character abilties. Combining the character abilties with a fully fleshed personality can create some interesting cobinations. For example, Jenarra needed a high wisdom for spellcasting purposes, so the character ended up with more wisdom than she was really comfortable with, and a host of magical abilties. The result was someone who is far more practical and sensible than they would dearly wish to be, and tends to get through situations using her largely inadequate social skills, before resorting to her magical abilties to get her out of trouble.
573v3 06-04-05, 06:23 PM	I'm glad people are role-playing! This is my archtype, my best fit as a character. I've actually never played him in a campaign, due to the lack of dm's and I tend to think this type of character would be not party oriented and hard to dm. Nermissar Stormclaw Known only by that name by his original tribe, he is more popularly referred to as 'Celer Mortis'. He began his journy in a tightly knight catfolk tribe. They taught him strong values and morals that could not be shaken. A base that was nearly unbreakable. Unfortunitly, a break occured. An Ancient copper dragon caught the attention of the Nermissar. Nermissar spoke with this dragon, quite intrigued. This copper, like most coppers, spoke in riddles and attempted to make Nermissar look foolish. After a brief verbal spar, Nermissar was the cause of the coppers laughter, walking into a verbal trap. Nermissar was wildly embarrassed, and wanted to prove himself. For the next several years, he talked to the town elders, mocking them and frustrating them. After perfecting his wit, much to the catfolks distress, he felt he was ready for another bought with the copper. He found the copper in the same place as before, this time older and more prepared. The copper took the offensive, reminding Nermissar of his puny attempt previously. Nermissar was nearly put off balance. He instead informed the copper that he had in fact won. This made the copper laugh, and the copper began replaying the prior verbal spar. This was Nermissars plan, and that would account for Nermissars apparent victory. Before he could even laugh, the copper began to attack furiously. The catfolk had trained for this as well, but still only barly dodged out of the wake of the dragons swinging tail. While Nermissar had prepared extensivly, he completely forgot about his only true asset-his tribe. The dragon lept out of his cave, Nermissar on his back the whole time. While he thought the back leap would be the best insult possible-it turned out to be the worst move he could have done. The dragon attacked his tribe, killing almost all of them in a single breath attack. The dragon would'nt stop untill all of the peaceful catfolk were dead. Nermissar watched tear ridden, but refused to jump off. Such was the first of many losses Nermissar has encountered. Training to be a skillful combatent without the use of strength was the occupant of his time for years. His personilty was shaped after many losses. Still retaining a sharp tongue and a quick mind, he now sees the world as a loveless ****-hole. Making is money through scams, trusting none-he is both sarcastic and sadistic. He takes advantage of almost everyone by exposing weakness. Those that cannot be outsmarted or killed, are avoided alltogether. He can be described as a cross between Jack Sparrow, and Puss 'n' Boots. His exploits are legendary. I can't think of a good class for him. Maybe 7 swash/3 duelest. I like the focus on Intellegence, but I wish cha/dex were bigger in the character.