Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Stormbrand 05-31-07, 08:40 PM	So far my aasimar paladin has proven himself a mighty warrior by defeating a large group of unruly sellswords while in full view of many independant/unaffiliated warriors. As a result, some of the fighters will approach this great and glorious fighter with the intention of joining him and his warband (read, forming a warband to begin with). More details can be found here (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=851569). That thread is about motivating the warriors. This thread is about the warriors themselves (apparantly I need to design their personalities). What I need is some new appearances and personalities for these followers. The basic info thusfar is that they are all free blades or hired swords, mercenaries seperate from any formal unit or company, the best they have formed are small cliques. They have either seen or caught word of a spectacular victory on his part (personally defeated 8 while attacked 14-on-3, and both companions survived), and so have decided that this is a warlord worth joining. They were attracted more by his skill than his morality, so other paladin figures would need some good justification. The setting is very opposed to magic - the government insists that all spellcasters register and unauthorised spellcasting is punishable by death. The Paladin himself is allowed to use his healing and protective abilities, and even his Smite (since it is less magic use than an augmented strike), but needed to go through a full trial for that. The region is also 80% human, so his band should reflect that. Currently 2 followers are already covered. One is a spearman ex-farmer trained from before the whole situation. The other is a massive orc, created in an 'orc-pit' by a dragon mage. Between 7 and 10 followers would be perfect for now, each with basic appearances and personalities to make them more than 'warrior x' - that will give me details to add when writing up posts (PbP game). One concept in particular that I am looking for more detail on is a Shield Maiden, and more ideas on her personality. So, any thoughts?
Fithero 05-31-07, 09:03 PM	A halfling sling-man: Cheerful under even the most horrid circumstances, his positive attitude grinds on most in the wrong situations but he is also good for morale (Always jokes, looks on the bright side, motivates others) A elven javalin (sp?) thrower: Everything is a competition for this girl. Who can run the longest, who can drink more, who can kill an enemy from further away. (Promotes competition, likes to take on really bad odds, hard working) Dwarven shield-man: Slightly clueless but still a good sort, uses two shields instead of a weapon and shield. Bashes with one while defending with the other. (A bit slow, helpful, likes to look after others) Should do for now, more later.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 06-02-07, 12:31 AM	Every good Paladin Leader needs a Banner Man. I like the Halfling Slinger for that one (might need to go over to bard but hey:P ) A scout, former horse thief (stolen directly from Wheel of Time yes) who is overweight and looks like a sack of potatoes riding a horse but knows every back road and hidden cave in 100 miles of his home. A Noble of a minor house who sees you as a ticket to raising his own prestige in the courts.
Fithero 06-02-07, 01:38 AM	A rebelious, teenage human whose sorcerous powers are just comming into form. Reckless, thinks her new power makes her stronger than she really is. Eager, brave, fool hardy.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 06-02-07, 01:42 AM	Add in a healer who laments every wound loudly. Should want to heal both friend and foe. "I suppose my work shall never be done... sigh." Also a mercenary type. Always wants to know whats in it for him. Likes to question your orders but is probably second only to you in skill on the battlefield.
KillFrenzy 06-02-07, 06:36 AM	Or the Caelach drinking buddy The Caelach are a human ethnicity i made up theyre master warriors and black smiths a Caelach drinking buddy would be a friend ideal for a fighter or barbarian or a rogue who gets drunk off his nut at the pub and is a great help in a fight and for eaker characters makes a loyal body guard who loves a good fight
warwinner 06-02-07, 06:47 AM	An ultra-pessimistic and shabby looking warrior who was once an adventurer who lost everything when a dragon took revenge upon his party for stealing it's hoard by killing them and burning their houses down. Only he survived.He's become a drunkard and part-time mercenary
BloodyChariot 06-02-07, 07:05 AM	Let's not forget the quintessential bumbling intellectual! An educated and well-read but naive young man who comes off as a know-it-all (but doesn't mean to be).
Stormbrand 06-02-07, 08:47 AM	Thanks so far, am updating first post to be more clear. A halfling sling-man: Cheerful under even the most horrid circumstances, his positive attitude grinds on most in the wrong situations but he is also good for morale (Always jokes, looks on the bright side, motivates others) A elven javalin (sp?) thrower: Everything is a competition for this girl. Who can run the longest, who can drink more, who can kill an enemy from further away. (Promotes competition, likes to take on really bad odds, hard working) Dwarven shield-man: Slightly clueless but still a good sort, uses two shields instead of a weapon and shield. Bashes with one while defending with the other. (A bit slow, helpful, likes to look after others) Should do for now, more later. Definately taking the dwarf! Make it axe and shield, with more focus on the shield, and we have the same role. Add an ultra-lawful duty-fanatic personality and we have a new henchman. May use the javilen thrower, although more likely to make that one human. Every good Paladin Leader needs a Banner Man. I like the Halfling Slinger for that one (might need to go over to bard but hey:P ) A scout, former horse thief (stolen directly from Wheel of Time yes) who is overweight and looks like a sack of potatoes riding a horse but knows every back road and hidden cave in 100 miles of his home. A Noble of a minor house who sees you as a ticket to raising his own prestige in the courts. Will take the noble, has some interesting potential. Just wondering what sort of noble to be a mercenary. A rebelious, teenage human whose sorcerous powers are just comming into form. Reckless, thinks her new power makes her stronger than she really is. Eager, brave, fool hardy. While an interesting and viable concept, mages are not really suited to the setting (which persecutes most spellcasters). Or the Caelach drinking buddy The Caelach are a human ethnicity i made up theyre master warriors and black smiths a Caelach drinking buddy would be a friend ideal for a fighter or barbarian or a rogue who gets drunk off his nut at the pub and is a great help in a fight and for eaker characters makes a loyal body guard who loves a good fight Appreciated response, but no to this idea. The ethnicity means nothing to me (nothing to work with) and the warband would not tolerate drunkards. Let's not forget the quintessential bumbling intellectual! An educated and well-read but naive young man who comes off as a know-it-all (but doesn't mean to be). :thinks: That is a good concept, but I forgot to mention a few things I am after - the warband should be all warriors (warriors training to improve to Fighters, a Barbarian, and possibly a Knight). That concept seems more suitable for scholars and spellcasters.
Fithero 06-02-07, 09:53 AM	Tiefling barbarian (not a savage, but a noble warrior who just looses it in combat): Constantly trying to prove himself a good person, but constantly fails. His strength comes from his anger at being rejected from normal society. Whenever he does good, he ends up ruining it intentionally (on a subconscious level) because he needs people to hate him. He needs the challange of trying to get people to like him, to give him focus, a purpose)
Fithero 06-02-07, 10:00 AM	Incarnate. Hasnt been 'alive' for that long. Was originally a construct of some sort, but was given freedom/life by some sort of arcane spell caster. Doesnt know much about the world but is very eager to learn as much as possible. Attentative, eager, full of wonder-lust.
Alyri 06-02-07, 10:21 AM	You all do remember that the OP said 80% human out of 10.. I would just root thru the phb2 it has plenty of ideas for 'fleshing out' pc and the like
Stormbrand 06-02-07, 02:05 PM	Have edited the first post to be more clear and helpful.
fiendish_platypus 06-02-07, 02:50 PM	A gnome with Wild Talent who later becomes a Psychic Warrior, he's afraid of his psychic powers and is used to fighting without without them, very cowardly.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 06-03-07, 12:05 AM	Will take the noble, has some interesting potential. Just wondering what sort of noble to be a mercenary. Don't think mercenary intent had been mentioned yet but he now needs to be a minor member of said minor house. Probably refuses to think of himself as a mercenary and flies his own flag but accepts orders just the same since he needs the pally's strength. (may hope to have pally join or ally with his house eventually). May even refuse pay having enough personal wealth of his own. :thinks: That is a good concept, but I forgot to mention a few things I am after - the warband should be all warriors (warriors training to improve to Fighters, a Barbarian, and possibly a Knight). That concept seems more suitable for scholars and spellcasters. I'm pretty sure there is a non-spellcasting variant of bard somewhere in one of the books. Should help if you want to use this and if you can get away with healing and smiting bard songs should still be good.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 06-03-07, 12:07 AM	Niave young man who thinks battle is all glory and victory. Has never even once seen death on the scale war can bring and plans on being a hero without giving such any thought.
Aaarrrgh 06-03-07, 09:14 AM	A risk-taker, who only uses a small dagger in battle, because that makes it "a bit more interesting". Will volunteer for any dangerous mission, and seriously asks the question: "Do you think it's possible to kill a dragon with a dagger? 'Cause I'm thinking 'bout trying..."
Fithero 06-03-07, 10:12 AM	A risk-taker, who only uses a small dagger in battle, because that makes it "a bit more interesting". Will volunteer for any dangerous mission, and seriously asks the question: "Do you think it's possible to kill a dragon with a dagger? 'Cause I'm thinking 'bout trying..." I dont know about anyone else, but im going to use this as a character of mine. Love the idea :P
Stormbrand 06-03-07, 02:11 PM	Don't think mercenary intent had been mentioned yet but he now needs to be a minor member of said minor house. Probably refuses to think of himself as a mercenary and flies his own flag but accepts orders just the same since he needs the pally's strength. (may hope to have pally join or ally with his house eventually). May even refuse pay having enough personal wealth of his own. Interesting. I really like this idea. The mercenary part is simply the pool from which the new fighters are drawn from. There has been a call sent out for fighters by the local Fighter's Guild, who are actually going to the aid of a troll clan (there is a chieftain seeking to unite the troll clans into a nation, and a knightly order attempting to nip this new thread in the bud by eliminating troll clans before they join the new nation). Many of the formal companies are in the city, but there are also a number of lordless/landless men enticed by promises of wealth, these free blades stay in the nearby village rather than the city itself (the city is a police state and would crack down on new mercenaries), with most of them bullying the townsfolk into submission... which is changing with the intervention of the paladin. Part of the reason for this recruitment is divide-and-conquer. Obviously the paladin intends to drive off the thugs and protect the townsfolk, and he does not want to fight every mercenary there to do it - call it a diplomatic offensive. So in this case, I would need a reason for the nobleman to have answered the call for fighters and even be there. Since he made a long journey (we are in the middle of nowhere). The Paladin himself is already tied to a Noble House (is a noble himself), so how would that affect matters? Concerning the noble himself, what sort of warrior would he be? The catagory of noble is fairly broad, so what style of noble would he be to make a fitting warrior? For example, the paladin is more the style of the Celtic kings, but his family has more latinate influences (much like Roman Imperialism). Other nobles from later periods include the swashbucklers and such. Any suggestions what to narrow it down to? Niave young man who thinks battle is all glory and victory. Has never even once seen death on the scale war can bring and plans on being a hero without giving such any thought. This is something to work with. Grinding out those bad habits would be some interesting interaction. That would be another fine contrast, between the very sober and thoughtful paladin and the glory-seeker.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 06-03-07, 11:49 PM	Interesting. I really like this idea. The mercenary part is simply the pool from which the new fighters are drawn from. There has been a call sent out for fighters by the local Fighter's Guild, who are actually going to the aid of a troll clan (there is a chieftain seeking to unite the troll clans into a nation, and a knightly order attempting to nip this new thread in the bud by eliminating troll clans before they join the new nation). Many of the formal companies are in the city, but there are also a number of lordless/landless men enticed by promises of wealth, these free blades stay in the nearby village rather than the city itself (the city is a police state and would crack down on new mercenaries), with most of them bullying the townsfolk into submission... which is changing with the intervention of the paladin. Part of the reason for this recruitment is divide-and-conquer. Obviously the paladin intends to drive off the thugs and protect the townsfolk, and he does not want to fight every mercenary there to do it - call it a diplomatic offensive. So in this case, I would need a reason for the nobleman to have answered the call for fighters and even be there. Since he made a long journey (we are in the middle of nowhere). The Paladin himself is already tied to a Noble House (is a noble himself), so how would that affect matters? Concerning the noble himself, what sort of warrior would he be? The catagory of noble is fairly broad, so what style of noble would he be to make a fitting warrior? For example, the paladin is more the style of the Celtic kings, but his family has more latinate influences (much like Roman Imperialism). Other nobles from later periods include the swashbucklers and such. Any suggestions what to narrow it down to? I would look to the line of Roman Imperialist for the noble. He probably answered the call because of the paladin's name. He wants in on that family and thinks he can forge an alliance between the two houses by defending the paladin. If I recall from another thread this paladin already has a love interest (may not be this paladin since I'm going by memory here) but the Minor Noble probably is hoping to marry off a little sister and thus tie the two bloodlines together garnering much rank in the process. Chances are he is a ransuer type fighter with breastplate who usually prefers to leave fighting to others and hangs to the back himself. This is something to work with. Grinding out those bad habits would be some interesting interaction. That would be another fine contrast, between the very sober and thoughtful paladin and the glory-seeker. Not to mention the fact that you have access to a rare sort of healing magic and eager young man is likely to develope some serious wounds if you don't reign him in quickly.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 06-03-07, 11:52 PM	A risk-taker, who only uses a small dagger in battle, because that makes it "a bit more interesting". Will volunteer for any dangerous mission, and seriously asks the question: "Do you think it's possible to kill a dragon with a dagger? 'Cause I'm thinking 'bout trying..." I dont know about anyone else, but im going to use this as a character of mine. Love the idea :P One of these days I'll get around to posting a PrC I made called knife fighter. Abilities revolved around getting AoO when you normally wouldn't and upgrading damage on shortsword or dagger. Flavor text for the class was: "Bah. Anyone can kill a dragon with an axe!" Thrax -- Dwarven Shortblade.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 06-04-07, 04:44 AM	Interesting. I really like this idea. The mercenary part is simply the pool from which the new fighters are drawn from. There has been a call sent out for fighters by the local Fighter's Guild, who are actually going to the aid of a troll clan (there is a chieftain seeking to unite the troll clans into a nation, and a knightly order attempting to nip this new thread in the bud by eliminating troll clans before they join the new nation). Many of the formal companies are in the city, but there are also a number of lordless/landless men enticed by promises of wealth, these free blades stay in the nearby village rather than the city itself (the city is a police state and would crack down on new mercenaries), with most of them bullying the townsfolk into submission... which is changing with the intervention of the paladin. Part of the reason for this recruitment is divide-and-conquer. Obviously the paladin intends to drive off the thugs and protect the townsfolk, and he does not want to fight every mercenary there to do it - call it a diplomatic offensive. So in this case, I would need a reason for the nobleman to have answered the call for fighters and even be there. Since he made a long journey (we are in the middle of nowhere). The Paladin himself is already tied to a Noble House (is a noble himself), so how would that affect matters? Concerning the noble himself, what sort of warrior would he be? The catagory of noble is fairly broad, so what style of noble would he be to make a fitting warrior? For example, the paladin is more the style of the Celtic kings, but his family has more latinate influences (much like Roman Imperialism). Other nobles from later periods include the swashbucklers and such. Any suggestions what to narrow it down to? Re-reading this I see a potential match-up. The Noble could have been going for much the same effect that the pally was. If he had been attempting to recruit amongst the more brute forces in the nearby villages he may well try to use his abilities as a go-between for the palladin and the cruder blades-for-hire. Meanwhile the much more diplomatic Paladin is better suited to life in the bigger city where the law is being strongly enforced. The two would act together to reduce the mercenary forces while bringing them into line. As for what the noble is doing there initially, well, if his family has recently come into a greater degree of wealth or is hoping to capitalize on this new opportunity he may well be hiring his own forces for his family... if so he might initially be wary of palladin x as a potential competitor and then switch to viewing him as a potential ally after you bring him into the fold. Here's the idea. Bob is a noble of a minor family. His family is a small splinter of a greater house known for its military capabilities and has maintained that tradition, focusing on producing military officers. When the Troll chieftan came to power and started gathering forces a call went out for skilled fighters and mercenaries began gathering in villages outside The City. Bob siezed the initiative, picking out the strongest blades and gathering them for his house. When Stormbrand, an exeptional palladin, started acruing victories in the field Bob saw an even greater opportunity. He sent most of his forces home to join the House Guard and taking only one or two of his best approached the palladin. He would offer his services, free of charge, and those of his men, who the paladin would pay, in exchange for a place as second in command of the continously victorious armies that Stormbrand led. Edit: Now I'm considering playing Bob the Noble.
BenSan 06-09-07, 12:21 AM	A quiet intellectual with a sharp head for tactics. He's not the strongest in the company, but he uses well-planned defensive techniques (and Combat Expertise) to maneuver into flanking positions that give his allies a substantial advantage. He might train into a Marshal eventually, or a fighter with Improved Trip and other tactics-type feats. A back-alley brawler trying to put his antisocial talents to constructive use now that he's seen what a tough guy with honor is like. He prefers to fight with gauntleted unarmed strikes and leverages his physical strength into bull rushes and grapples. Will probably become an Unarmed Strike fighter.
Stormbrand 06-09-07, 02:24 AM	Thanks guys, now only need 2 archers. :w00t:
Terjon of the Blue Rose 06-09-07, 03:50 AM	Brother Archers... twins even Constantly competing with each other.
DX2052 06-09-07, 08:15 PM	A bragart that constantly "reminds" everyone that he is better then them.
mettyc 06-10-07, 08:57 AM	[QUOTE=Terjon of the Blue Rose;12599513]One of these days I'll get around to posting a PrC I made called knife fighter. Abilities revolved around getting AoO when you normally wouldn't and upgrading damage on shortsword or dagger.QUOTE] Y'know in complete warrior there is a class called invisible blade which fights with 2 daggers only. For an archer use a wise, nearing retirement extremely brave archer who never talks unless he needs to and never flees unless he absolutely has to for the greater good. best name for that is Zemi. Great character if played properly.
Prime361 06-10-07, 12:27 PM	Brother Archers... twins even Constantly competing with each other. twins are always fun, I has a set of mages in 2nd ed that were shackled together at the ankle and used it as a weapon.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 06-10-07, 10:45 PM	Y'know in complete warrior there is a class called invisible blade which fights with 2 daggers only. For an archer use a wise, nearing retirement extremely brave archer who never talks unless he needs to and never flees unless he absolutely has to for the greater good. best name for that is Zemi. Great character if played properly. I know it. My class had a very different flavor and abilities though. Invisible blade focused far less heavily on the idea of a warrior type with knives and more on a rogue type with combat ability.