Post/Author/DateTime	Post
LiXinjian 11-25-03, 08:38 PM	After many years spent DMing games left and right, I will finally be given a chance to play again. I have been expecting this moment for over 4 years, and I am really excited. I still don't know what character I'll play, but I've narrowed my choice on two: 1) a True Neutral (later to turn NG) half-elf ranger/horizon walker, out to find redemption. After he goofed up, several people got killed, and he fled his homeland because of the shame he brought to his noble house. People think he's dead, and he'd rather they keep thinking the same until he's made amends. He donates much of the gold he makes to various street urchins, sneaks out when the king congratulates his fellows and him for a job well done, dislikes formal parties, etc. 2) a LN deep imaskari wizard. Originally, I wanted to make this wizard a sneaky, deceitful fellow with half a dozen fake identities, but I realized I would have to allocate so many skill points on Disguise, Bluff and other charisma-related skills it would be hellish. The other option included taking a few levels of rogue to counterbalance this fact, but I decided against it for various reasons. So, now, what I am currently looking for is some original way/backstory for that wizard. I would go with the ranger since I have already figured out much about his persona and background, but I want to give the wizard a sporting chance, since I've always been a real sucker for wizards. I just need a cool idea to get my creative juices flowing. Also, one thing to keep in mind is that when I play a wizard, I like to have a nice tower and fill it up with magical stuff: golems, traps and the like. *sigh* I just know I'll have to hoard up all that gold I find on my adventures, just for those purposes... not to mention the occasional spell research, and perhaps a magic item or two. I've had an idea where my wizard has been instructed by his superiors in Deep Imaskar to build a haven on the surface for other deep imaskaris, to serve as the base of the nation's renewed contact with the outside world. Or something. Really, I'm looking for something original or some cool concept for a wizard character, who may or may not adopt the Zhentarim Skymage prestige class later on. Anyhoo, thanks to all who'll lend me a hand with this.
Ithilorien 11-26-03, 08:21 AM	Make him a bit of the dry, dusty scholar type but with a more experimental twist. Have him be obsessed with new magical theories and applications, always trying to create new spells and focussing heavilly on metamagic. The Shadow Weave would be a very interesting call for this character, synergizing with his interest in unorthodox magics and his shadowy heritage it could also create a "lure to the dark side" you could play against. You can still be quite sneaky and decietful (with several identities) by choosing to be an illusionist or use several illusion spells, though I'd question sneaky decievers with a lawful alignment . . .
LiXinjian 11-26-03, 08:52 AM	He could be a sneaky lawful type if he'd plan what identity he'd be using/creating. He wouldn't just create one on the fly when interrogated by a constable: he would carefully pick what ID would be more advantageous for the tasks ahead (ie. the current mission of the party, or his own quests) in a given region. Oh, and each major fake identities would be carefully researched, and backed with hard facts (a home in Baldur's Gate where he'd spend some time as a balduran merchant, a guild membership in Waterdeep where he'd be known as Karoo the Great Fire Extinguisher or something, then a farm in Shadowdale where he'd spend a few months a year as a farmer named Yorgson, etc.) That way, his IDs wouldn't be so shallow as to be easily shattered/seen through. That would be certainly be interesting somehow, the whole mind game and all, but would cost soooo much money and skill points, it's inconceivable. Or is it? In my second exploration of this character, I originally had him interested in all sorts of twisted genetic experiments. It could also have been the reason why he left (was exiled, most likely) from Deep Imaskar -> they don't want to repeat the errors of the past. Shadow Weave is cool, though. I like Shar as an evil goddess. But since I'm a transmuter at heart, and SW users are -1 caster level for transmutation spells, any character based on that PrC starts on the wrong foot with me..
Morka 11-26-03, 09:41 AM	Is there a ressource on line that speak of the Deep Ismakari? I remember reading about it, but I can't find it on the Wizard site. Perhaps in some preview... I like your first idea, the mission to build an haven on the surface and develop trade. That could be a good way to establish membership with the Zhentyls (their prime goal is to control trade). So you will be able to take Zhentarim Skymage PrC if you wish. Since you plan to have multiple identities, you could as well join the Harpers and take some level of Harper mage, just for the fun...
Aenigma 11-26-03, 10:25 AM	The Deep Imaskari make an appearance in 'Underdark' that was recently released. Aemigma
LiXinjian 11-26-03, 07:36 PM	Originally posted by Morka I like your first idea, the mission to build an haven on the surface and develop trade. That could be a good way to establish membership with the Zhentyls (their prime goal is to control trade). So you will be able to take Zhentarim Skymage PrC if you wish. Since you plan to have multiple identities, you could as well join the Harpers and take some level of Harper mage, just for the fun... I wouldn't even need to take the Harper Mage PrC. I could just go ahead and simply join the harpers. You don't actually need the levels in the PrC to be part of the organization. That would certainly be fun, playing both sides of the coin. I would be hated by all if the truth ever got out, though.. :D But that's just the problem: i'm not planning on having multiple identities. I think it's unfeasible. Any mid-level divination spell will quickly reveal me for who I am: Discern Lie means I can't tell a falsehood, and True Seeing means my best disguises are seen through with ease. At best, my lies are revealed as such and people get suspicious of me for lying all the time. At worst, I am mistaken for a spy and I get the rope. Not to mention the heavy investment in skill points and the prohibitive expenses. If anybody has an idea on how this could be feasible, I would gladly appreciate, but other, completely different ideas are welcome also.
TheMightyMcClaw 11-26-03, 09:54 PM	This may not be what you're looking for, but it's something me and some friends were playing around with.... The World's Strongest Mage. Since so many wizards are either Skinny Old Men or Skinny Little Punks, it'd be cool to see a wizard who's built like a greco-roman wrestler of yore.
LiXinjian 11-26-03, 10:07 PM	Hehehehehe ;) It would be funny, no doubt. The picture itself makes me smile. But for my first game in years, I'm looking for something more serious. I perhaps would consider it if I had played consistently over the last years, and wanted to try something really really out of this world without going for a strange race or something, but this is my first character in years. I want to make a wizard that acts like a wizard... that is, IF I find a suitable wizard character. As a NPC, the world's strongest mage would make an unforgettable character. Any PC is bound to underestimate this dude, until he casts Tenser's Transformation, Enlarge Person and Bull's Strength (definetely not in this order), then brings a heavy punch in the party leader's stomach. Heh. Thanks anyway for the suggestion. Thanks to all. Let's keep the ideas coming, we're bound to strike gold.
Ithilorien 11-27-03, 08:56 AM	Well, a ring of mind shielding might help you with the divinations. I just really like your "master of disguise" type theme too much to drop it for the moment. Have you considered making the character a rogue/wizard/arcane trickster? Skymage may synergize with this (never seen it).
LiXinjian 11-27-03, 10:00 AM	You are absolutely right. The ring of mind shielding. I had forgotten about it. It's fairly cheap, too, priced at only 8,000gp. (Seems my "master of disguise theme", as you so aptly dubbed it, is also haunting me, because I'm still thinking about it. Hehehe. Just have to wish it's better than the movie of the same name.) With the ring - the one ring - only True Seeing remains a bit of a problem. Since I plan on relying on both magical and mundane disguises, it makes predicting which of the two methods to use against a given NPC the trick during a game (because True Seeing won't penetrate mundane disguises). On a side note while I'm at it, Zhentarim Skymage is a PrC where you ride a monstrous beast, flying high and using feats such as Extend spell to blast your foes from a distance. I don't personally care that much about the distance thing, but thinking of my mage riding a black dragon (with the proper CHA bonuses and the class levels) makes me giggle. Also, you get an improved spell aquisition (2 free scrolls per level of any spell you could cast) and a ton of feats (craft wand, spell focus, skill focus, enlarge spell). You can also share spells with your mount. Not to mention a steady spell progression. All in all, it's pretty decent even by powergaming standards. Of course, what does a quasi-frantic roleplayer like myself knows about min/maxing? :) With a feat like Cosmopolitan, I could get Disguise as a class skill. Handy. I used to think Bluff would also be a must, but the way Disguise works, you don't need both at the same time (you are not required to make both a Disguise check AND a Bluff check to pretend to be someone else: only disguise is needed) and therefore many precious skill points can be spared there. I find the Arcane Trickster PrC doesn't quite catch my vision. It emphasizes too much roguish-ness. I don't picture my wizard picking locks. He casts spells, and he pretends to be someone else. Anyone else. Sometimes he's Radjan from Calimport, sometimes he's Jozzlin from Waterdeep. I have also just discovered the incantatrix PrC from Magic of Faerun. Can't believe I hadn't spotted this one before. Perhaps it would be better than Skymage? Not synergy-wise (none of the two really fit my master of disguise wizard), but mechanically-wise. I like the incantatrix's dedication to metamagic. Perhaps my wizard disguises himself in order to approach canny outsiders, among other things? Hmm, I'll have to sleep on that one.. for now.
LiXinjian 11-27-03, 10:03 AM	One question about Discern Lies. If my character has created a fake identity of one Radjan from Calimport, his he, somehow, Radjan from Calimport? In other words, if someone uses Discern Lies and asks: "are you Radjan from Calimport?", can my wizard reply "yes", and still tell the truth? Without my wizard, there is no Radjan. So, isn't my wizard Radjan? I think it would work. Unless there happened to be a real Radjan. But then, if my wizard didn't know about his existence, he couldn't possibly lie about this.
Morka 11-27-03, 10:07 AM	Well, LiXinjian, you're right: most divination spells will reveal what you really are. So play cards on table: you are from Deep Ismaker, your people is no longer an evil people, you only wish to establish an enclave on the surface for those of your people who left the city, and some trade between this enclave and the rest of the surface. Stay neutral on this. You could partly join any organization, be it good, evil or neutral, as long as it is only for YOUR goals. So instead of Bluff and Disguise, you should need more Diplomacy that is class skill. You should also need a bit of Appraise however. If you want some Appraise, Bluff or Disguise, you might consider to take one rogue level (I don't think bards are common in Deep Ismaker) to have those skills. Sure you lose some casting levels, but I don't know your personnal style...
Knight Marshal 11-27-03, 12:15 PM	Reminds me of the concept I had once for a mage I called Bruiser the Magic User. Use change and alter self a lot and if you can get a hat of disguise, use it to become a different person each day. Make up different personnas for each look and act like you are on the run from something/someone.
LiXinjian 11-27-03, 09:48 PM	Morka, it's not loosing one caster level that bothers me, it's the XP penalty that'll come along once I raise my PrC two levels above that rogue level. As for playing cards on the table, it's certainly an option, but I don't think my character would be afraid of revealing he's from Deep Imaskar (although he still might want to keep that a secret: physical appearance itself isn't enough to tell a human from a deep imaskari). The thing is, I think I want to play the deceitful dude. Which brings the question: why, then, bother concealing his identity from everyone? It's a question I haven't yet answered. He could be on the run from someone (as Marshal suggests) - a powerful enemy no doubt. He could have ugly secrets better left uncovered. He could be just plain paranoid. He could plan on having many enemies later during his career. He could simply enjoy deceiving others. He could use his skills to approach his targets - then he'd be some kind of assassin/information gatherer/foreign spy/etc. If I'm going the incantatrix way, he could simply wish to ferret out fiends and outsiders without being revealed. Because as his fame would grow, his targets would become more wary. They'd take extra precautions. Perhaps my mage enters a town under cover of anonymity (sp? is that even a word?), does what he came to do, then departs, nobody the wiser as to who banished the usurper fiend from the throne? Or if he doesn't leave town, he ditches the fake identity he entered town with, and assumes his identity as an adventurer (his most common ID, it would also be fake). Nothing would be what it seems with this fellow. By the way Marshal, what you describe is exactly what I had in mind. A perpetual game of deception, a mind game between me and the rest of Faerūn. Think I'm Radjan of Calimport? Nope. My real name is Lotharian. I'm an elf from Cormanthor (of course, underneath his elvish guise, he's really someone else). I would like to use both the disguise skill and the disguise self spells to create a double layer of disguise, just to further confuse my enemies. ;)
Morka 11-28-03, 09:05 AM	Deep Ismakar is in the Underdark. I doubt an ennemy from the city would hunt him to the surface, because this ennemy would be unable to return to the city. Drows? Duergar? Illithids? Why conceal one's identity if some Underdark ennemy is after you? Go to some huge human city, you will be in security enough. Perhaps he first exit from the Underdark in Mulhorand. Some Mulhorandi recognized him as an Ismakari, and they sent hunters to capture him. So he has to be everyone but an Ismakari. Other than this, I see very few groupe to be his ennemy. Can't you take the feat Cosmopolitain and have Disguise or Bluff as a class skill?
LiXinjian 12-02-03, 08:09 PM	A powerful enemy from Deep Imaskar might still send minions after the man, even if he's left the city. Perhaps my character could have left with something valuable to the man, who wants it returned. But I find it a bit too easy. With his incantatrix dedication, I see my wizard acquiring quite the fame as a demon-hunter of some kind. He's got an uncompromising attitude towards outsiders: both good and evil. Only with the good ones, he can parley and express his opinion. See, he doesn't want Faerūn becoming another one of their battlefields, where armies of good clash against the armies of the Lower Planes... or the Baatezu vs. the Tanar'ri. I think my wizard would consider concealing his demon-hunting identity the best way to avoid unnecessary or dangerous confrontations. It's one thing to fight a demon when you're ready to face him, but it's entirely another to have to defend against one when your spells are almost exhausted. If he wishes to survive, he must fight them on his own terms. Of course, to foil any determined demon's investigation of his real identity, nothing better than having more than two of 'em. And why not make sure even your closest friends don't know who you really are? I can see my wizard using spells such as Major Image to create a fake NPC, leaving the DM the task of running it. The other players will never know that the NPC was one of my illusions. With a fake NPC, my wizard could seize control of our adventuring group. Could be fun. Like playing one demon vs. another would be, too. Heh. Two hits one stone.. would have to create a fake demon identity, or assume the identity of an enemy.. Hmm, meesa likes where this is going. Outwitting demons. Do-able? Any suggestions?