Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Werrwaaa 01-27-06, 02:18 PM	So here's the idea for my shiney new Eberron character. He is a human, Dread Necromancer, from the nation of Karnnath; Neutral Evil. A distant nephew of one of the warlords, giving him enough of a connection to the rulers of Karnnath to make him patriotic, but also far enough removed to be dispondant and not get any real material benefit from it in-game. Also, it's a decent background for a necromancer that comes froma line of distinguished military necromancers. Unknown to his family anf friends, he works in secret with the Blood of Vol and their Emerald Claw organizations. He travels and does odd-mercenary work during which he hone's his skills to match his family's impressive history. Also, he collects necromantic secrets for his own use, giving enough to his family and the Blood of Vol to satisfy them. Unknown to the Blood, his loyalty still lies with his family and king, and is slowly mounting power before making a move against the cult, which will bring him and his family great honor in Karnnath. Does that sound like a decent background / motivation? Any tips on playing a character like this? Throw some thoughts at me! Thanks!
Moosh Nailo 01-28-06, 12:01 AM	Great story. Um, only things I can think of would be keep his bluff ranks full. Also, as far as the undead he controls, try to find some exotic ones, to represent his travels, and to show that he is not your normal necro-blaster. Along those lines, for the simple skeletons/zombies he controls, use a lot of different base creatures, not just "human skeleton with longsword". Like, say, hobgoblin with spiked chain. You get the idea.
Morka 01-31-06, 10:37 AM	Great story. Um, only things I can think of would be keep his bluff ranks full. Consider taking the first level as bard. You have more skill points, all your wizard skills are class-skills for a bard, and you get bluff, sense motive, diplomacy, listen & spot. I like the story and motivation. You could consider including a cousin rival, who is almost as high-ranked as you in the family hierarchy. Your DM will love you for giving him a recurrent NPC...
Werrwaaa 02-08-06, 09:30 AM	I liked the family rival idea. Here is the copy i turned into my DM. +++ Dhuron Balcard Born into the prestigious military elite of Karnnath seventeen years prior to the end of the war, Dhuron spend his youth training in one of Karnnath’s most infamous military schools: necromancy. The military use of undead was pioneered by Karnnath early in the war, and continues on to this day. At the end of the war, Dhuron was nearing the end of his training. Many saw it as a wasted life, a soldier in a world of peace. However, Khorvair has not become to utopia the common folk had hoped. There is still plenty of conflict in which a trained soldier can get involved, although some of it is less than honorable. But of what matter is honor to a necromancer? Seeing this loss of purpose for many of Karnnath’s trained necromancer corps, the Blood of Vol approached many of them soon after the signing of the Thronehold treaty. Not surprisingly, Dhuron was one of them. Eager for a change to gain power to match his family’s history, Dhuron eagerly signed up. He is no one important to the Blood, but he has been in the organization for a few years and is no fool. He knows a few of their secrets, and keeps some of his own. Unknown to the Blood or their Emerald Claw is that Dhuron is still quite loyal to his family and king. He sees his infiltration of the Blood as an opportunity to put his training to good use, and bring prestige to himself and his family. Dhuron is also not the only Balcard in the Blood of Vol. His cousin, Nolan Balcard, went through his training at the same time as Dhuron and signed up with the Blood even before his cousin. Dhuron and Nolan have always had a friendly rivalry, and have been competitive friends almost their whole lives. Of late though, Dhuron has had his suspicion that Nolan is not quite as loyal to Karnnath. It bothers Dhuron a great deal that he may not be able to save his cousin from falling too deeply into the Blood. He wishes for Nolan to see things his way, but has not approached him for fear of compromising his own cover. Dhuron has conceded to the inevitability of conflict, and is resigned to defeating his blood relative should things come to a head. Currently, Dhuron works outside of Karnnath doing various mercenary works. He is constantly being held to expectations from his family. The Blood often direct him toward opportunities to use his skills and expect him to do some token for them while he is on his various missions. Recent employment my Moregrave University has lead Dhuron to encounter a number of interesting characters. From the skilled Artificer to the dim witted Shifter, Dhuron sees a number of opportunities to use his new companions to further his own goals. There are even some pillars of justice and good within this new group, who should easily be turned to aid Dhuron with his ultimate goal of purging the Blood from Karnnath. The Blood of Vol with fall, and Dhuron Balcard will see it done. +++ Also, I've been speaking with my DM about the Leadership feat. I am going to take it at level 6 and my cohort will be a friend from the academy, a younger student who i took under my wing perhaps? He will be fiercly loyal to my cause. The followers won't acctualy follow, but rather be other family members, family vassals, and cult members who are more loyal to me than anything else. How does that sound? The Cohort will be a fighter with a bunch of Willing Deformity feats (body mod freak?), and maybe some Aberrant feats.
Werrwaaa 02-14-06, 09:40 PM	A little bump and request for more advice. Okay, first. When the character reaches 6th level I intend to take the leadership feat. I was planning on taking a fighter cohort. A human, Karnnathi, with a lot of the willing deformity feats. I figured someone who followes the Mockery. Then I thought, if he's part of the Mockery, wouldn't he make a really cool monk? But I just don't see it fitting the character. I was planning on his being a former student at the same military academy my character is from, and monk just isn't Karnnathi. Ideas? Next is my party. The other three adventurers are a CN Shifter Ranger/Barbarian, a NG Elven fighter, and a LG Ranger (race i dunno). The question becomes, how do i take advantage of all of these fellows to portray my NE alignment? I'm not about violence and murder, but self promotion and letting other people stand in the way of fire. Ideas? *Note: I am thinking of taking that cohort as a Cleric instead. I can get the fighter with Undead Leadership at level 9. If it is a Cleric, can you guys give me ideas on how to work one into the party?
Morka 02-15-06, 11:57 AM	A little bump and request for more advice. Okay, first. When the character reaches 6th level I intend to take the leadership feat. I was planning on taking a fighter cohort. A human, Karnnathi, with a lot of the willing deformity feats. I figured someone who followes the Mockery. Then I thought, if he's part of the Mockery, wouldn't he make a really cool monk? But I just don't see it fitting the character. I was planning on his being a former student at the same military academy my character is from, and monk just isn't Karnnathi. Ideas? Next is my party. The other three adventurers are a CN Shifter Ranger/Barbarian, a NG Elven fighter, and a LG Ranger (race i dunno). The question becomes, how do i take advantage of all of these fellows to portray my NE alignment? I'm not about violence and murder, but self promotion and letting other people stand in the way of fire. Ideas? *Note: I am thinking of taking that cohort as a Cleric instead. I can get the fighter with Undead Leadership at level 9. If it is a Cleric, can you guys give me ideas on how to work one into the party? Having the followers being members of your familly is a good idea. For a normal character, a familly member could help as much as a normal follower, but your followers could be some familly members who are completely lawful to you. Since there is a LG and NG PC in the party, I would avoid things that sound too... evil. Forget the Undead Leadership, the other PCs will never let you use it. A cohort with some Willing Deformities is a good idea, he could be wearing a long robe to hide his body. But if he is a cleric, he would have to show his deformities when he prays the Mockery... Now how to take advantage of the Goody PCs? First of all, having them accept you would be a good start. A ranger, a ranger/barbarian and a fighter? Well, you have a good bodyguard team, and you can hide your evil motive behind your goody "friends". You could even "manipulate" them from times to times to perform what they think would be a good mission, but that helps your personal goals: - Rescue the priest of the Silver Flame who is persecuted by some evil thugs: once your party rescued him, you "suddenly discover he has been poisoned!" Let the poor priest speak his last wills, then reports his death to the evil thugs and collect the reward! And then, use his last speech to blackmail his friends. - You need some Black Lotus for a necromancy experiment? Tell the PCs you have heard the mayor's daughter is sick and some Black Lotus is needed to heal her. Then let the stupid rangers risk their life to collect the rare plant. Once you have it, you can tell them the mayor's daughter is very grateful... - Don't be afraid to pit the other PCs one against the others for your own protection. The forces of Good are at their best when they are united against evil. Divide and conquer! Use their own avarice, greed, pride, fears against themselves.