Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ronyon 09-13-04, 11:47 PM	Well, here i am, a power mad rules lawyer, looking for some character developement action! Heres the deal: I want a Cleric of Shadow and Undeath, Who is the product of an un holy union of a creature of death and a creature of shadow. I think the race I use will be a Humen deathtouched, stunted by the cirumstances of his conception, so he is statted and statured as a halfling. Dont think i need a shadow template , and I cant afford one that raises the LA. He will be dedicated to creating a race of shadow undead, so he wont be so alone.The main question is this;Who's his daddy? And Who's his Mommy? What Races Do I use?What brought about this love child? Who Raised him? Any suggestions on these or other ideas will be apreiciated!
Eraleas 09-14-04, 02:29 AM	Well, for a character with those characteristics, I cannot think of any race without level adjustment, suitable for you but I have thought of some templates. If you don't want to use the "Shadow" template from Manual of the Planes/Planar Handbook, you could always consider adopting the "Shade" template from Forgotten Realm Campaign Setting. Something like, deathtouched can be found in Unearthed Arcana. A Vampiric Bloodline might be the one suitable for you. You cannot avoid having a Level Adjustment of at least 3, so think ahead and plan your character accordingly. Your parents... Your parents could both be Shade Vampires, inhabitants of the Shadow Plane. Their union would create a powerful child with vampiric characteristics without their weaknesses and of course, the essence of shadow. That's all I can think of right now. I'll let you know if something else can help you out. ~Eraleas
Trydan 09-14-04, 03:18 PM	Who Raised him?He could be raised by the temple clerics. Surely there are worshippers, to whom the charge of this offspring could be given. And then when he comes of age, he can use that particular temple as the springboard to a more extensive area of influence.
Mancer 09-14-04, 05:06 PM	If you want a shadowish halfing, think about being a Gloaming from the Underdark book. They are small size, in keeping with your stunted growth, and they are essentially shadow genasi. As soon as I read the 3rd sentence of your post they popped into my head. I believe they only have a LA of +1 or +2.
ronyon 09-14-04, 10:12 PM	Great Ideas!!!The shadowy half of him is something I had no ideas for,till now :D The idea of him being raised by a temple makes me want some monk action, but I mus'n't get greedy... Actually can vampiric blood line be fused with the Gloming? I don't own the Underdark, and the Unearthed arcanna is group(read DM)property. How ever, Underdark aparently has awsome shadow races and Prc, so it will be mine.. Your sugestions rock, so how about a few ideas on feats or even classes/Prcs?I was thinking Cloistered cleric for the skill points,and cosmopolitan for the skills, or maybe just one level rouge for both.I see him as a wiry spry little dude, with a nose for secretes and a pencant for stealth. Trickery domain might solve this problem, yet I want him dedicated to his heritage, with its study as the basis of his faith/philosophy.Sort of a" I'm black and I'm proud" sort of thing, 'cept with him it would be more like "From shadow and unlife I spring, leave us be or face the darkness..." The rules for Bluff and Intimidate, make them seem like things to max, as a flat footed Panicked target would be great fodder for his undead dogs and shadow_______s!
Eraleas 09-15-04, 03:41 AM	I can see a resemblance to Nightcrawler from X-Men if you know what I mean... If you choose the Trickery domain, then all the way towards Shadowdancer or Assassin. Also consider Ur-Priest and/or Entropomancer from Complete Divine. Sacred Fist is a good combination of Monk Might and Clerical spellcasting. Darkness Domain would fit this character formidably too! Vampiric Bloodline can be added to any creature and it has Minor, Intermediate and Major power. You may choose any. I'll think up of some feats that might help you out and post them down. ~Eraleas
ronyon 09-16-04, 07:00 PM	Once I gave up on optimizing this character, the fun began! How about this if he is human:First level feats of exotic weapon:lasso(maybe whip),plus the mounted combat starting feat. I imagine him wreathed in mist(obscuring, from the shadow domain :D ), riding his undead steed, roping the confused enimie, so the skelatal hounds can finish them off... Dont really need the mounted combat feat for that scene, man i wish I knew a way to get blindsight before Bab +4... Bolas, whips, nets ,lasso, mancatcher all these appeal to me...but they are all exotic. Tangle foot bags are prof free but they are expensive! Tripping and grappling are too feat/ability expensive... I mostly want to take a helpful harrier in combat, be it with my minions or my comrades,but it would seem to be difficult... Btw, has any one used the intimidate in combat rules to good effect? On the surface it looks like they could be used to reduce targets to blubbering piles of fear, but I think the math would tell us that it wont work on cr apropriate foes most the time...
Eraleas 09-17-04, 02:10 AM	There is also that spell from Complete Warrior... Shadow Hound (supposedly only for the Hexblade, but I think you can arrange that with your Dm) that would suit perfectly. If you like using whips and the like (whip-dagger, nagaika) why don't you try some levels of lasher, presented in Sword and Fist? Personaly I might go like: Cleric (Trickery and Shadow)/Necromancer (might consider the necromancer variants from Unearthed Arcana)/True Necromancer probably add a few Mystic Theurge levels along the way, to speed up the tr. necro 1st level acquisition. You should wait a bit until Libris Mortis comes out. This will have a whole new bunch of stuff about undead. ~Eraleas
ronyon 09-20-04, 10:37 PM	Thanks for all the help,I think I will in fact wait for the deadbooks to come out to finish this guy. I will not hesitate to post here agin, in fact it might be my new"home"! Youse guys is great, now to go sell some blood (mine or someone elses...)so I can get that book!