Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Bladedancer 08-26-05, 12:26 AM	After my tiefling hexblade/warlock got distengrated by a harper mage. The reason for becoming too vocal in his support for ressurecting the witch king of Vassa. The campaign which I am a new player in has been going on for 7 years. Currently we are in Vassa and have been approached by two sides in a conflict. First a wild eyed cleric that claims to be son of the Wich King Zhengy wants our help in ressurecting him. The other side led by Gareth Dragonsbane wants us to help foail the rebirth of Zhengy. So I decided on this character which I had to have a reason to be in Vassa. The dm says he will place the character in the group somehow Khalan Del Armgo of House Barrison Del Armgo 2nd house of Menzoberranzan Rogue 1/fighter 5/ Kyorlin Velve 8 ( a drow prestige class from Eric Boyd's Web site created by Tom Costas )Alignment- NE Patron- Vhaerun Personality- Cold (except towards his twin sister) Calculating plays every angle to his advantage Description- While not gaining his fathers impressive bulk he did gain his height. He is tall for a drow standing 6 foot 2 inches with a lean body he weighs in at 170 lbs. He keeps his Ivory colored hair in a single long braid that goes to the middle of his back. His amber colored eyes are a rarity among his people and is usually the last thing a person sees before he stabs a blade in their belly. He moves with an uncanny grace even among drow. He dresses in simple practical clothes in dark colors to help him blend into the darkness that is his profession. Background As one of the many children sired by the prized stud of House Barrison Del Armgo Uthentegel and Thalis one of the daughters of Mez Barris who died in childbirth. Even though their mother died ( she was a severly average drow fo a noble) the birth of Khalan and his twin sister Mythn'ri was celebrated as a blessing from the Spider Queen. As 2 nobles for the price of her disapointing youngest daughter was deemed a paltry sacrifice. Quickly Mez Barris realized that Khalan would not gain his sires bulk and psychotic personality. She waited to see how he would turn out before sacrificing him. He was quick and intelligent so they still put him into training as a fighter. he was seen as a capable but not exceptional warrior. Until his talents as an effective killer shined through on a a raid on a minor house whose matron mother offended his Grandmother by seducing her current patron. On the attack on that house a young Khalan slipped through the house defences with ease and killed the matron and her new found lover as they were directing the defence of their house. After this success he was sent to Melee Magethere to be trained as a Kyorlin Velve( a specialized assasin that slips through the defences of noble houses and kill the the opposing matron and other nobles especially priestesses of Lolth.) He excelled at his training and quickly absorbed the lessons of his teachers and graduated in record time. Meanwhile his sister was showing herself to have strange new powers (psionics) that the matron had no idea how to perfect or to control. So she brought in a mindflayer that was allied with her house to train the young drow. The mind flayer also found out her darkest secret she was a heretic. She was always considered soft by her family. But they did not know the half of it. She hated Lolth and everything she stood for. She used her powers to hide her feelings from the probings of the clerics. She also used her powers to rise in the ranking of the house that belied her age. Upon graduation from Melee Magethere Khalan returned home and was put to work by Mez Barris. Including her favorite assasination the stalking and killing of a rising star among the priestesses of House Baerne. He rose fast within the house and was named the Annoited Blade (top assasin of the house). He soon grew restless with the position and resented being dominated by the females of his clan. He saw himself as only a tool and soon realized he would rise no higher in his house no matter how good he got as his craft. He also developed a soft spot for his sister. So he helped her rise in the house by elminating rivals that he saw as a threat to her. Mez Barris soon began to fear the powers of his sister after seeing the ease in which she climbed the ranks of the house. She began to remember all too well the what the power of psionics could do with the hated fallen house of the Obladras. Soon after a failed high ritual Mezbarris communed with a Yolchol to ask what her family had done to offend Lolth. The Yolchol told her to speak with her mind flayer ally. When brought before her the mind flayer quickly told her about Mythn'ri's heretical beliefs. She was seized by the house guard and her mindflayer mentor as she falsely prayed to Lolth in house chapel. She was thrown into the house dungeon to await sacrifice to the Spider Queen. Upon hearing of the stupidity of his sister in trusting such a secret with an illithid. He tried to leave her to her fate when a strange feeling came over him .... love. Without another thought he used his training his house had provided to free his sister. With his skills and her psionics they managed to escape the house but not before killing the mind flayer that had betrayed her. Upon hitting the streets of Menzoberranzan they hid out in the slums. Until Khalan used his contacts from his profession to get a meeting with Kimmuriel Obladra leader of Bregan D' Aerth. Always looking to add more talent to his organization he was intrigued with the idea of adding another psion (especially one so easy to manipulate or so he thought) to mentor plus a killer of Khalan's reputation was a windfall as well. Upon request they were given missions on the surface to avoid their Matron's wrath. Khalan was sent to Skullport to act as a spy and freelance asassin with a front as a drow slaver from a minor drow city. Mythn'ri was sent to Vassa to study the origins of the Darkswords used by a certain tribe of Vassan barbarians. She vanished soon after she made her first report to Kimmuriel. Khalan was recalled from Skullport and told to find out what happened to his sister and if she left Bregan d Aerth he was told to bring her back into the fold or kill her. Equipment "Spiders Kiss" +3 wounding Shyrlass ( a drow perfected rapier which is also from Eric Boyd's website) upon a sucessful sneak attack releases a venom that paralyzes it's wielders foes (DC 20) it also confers the following abilities to the wielder a constant spider climb spell and the effects of a ring of free action. This blade was given to him by Mez Barris on his graduation from Melee Magethere "Vhaerun's Embrace" +3 Keen Shyrlass grants the wielder (as long as his patron is Vhaerun) the following abilities Daylight Adaptation as a bonus feat, improved invisibility 3 times a day, alter self 3 times a day and +5 to all move silient, tumble and hide checks. This blade was given to him by his mentor in Bregan D Aerth Qualinthos Agroth a cleric of Vhaerun. Seeing the potential of Khalan he turned the young blade to the ways of Vhaerun. After proving his worth to Qualinthos on killing a paticular bothersome priestess of Lolth in Skullport he was given the blade as a reward to the faithful. "Auril's Fang" +2 dagger spellblade: grants the user immunity to fireballs this dagger is made from a single piece of blue crystal that is cool to the touch. Khalan took it as his share of treasure from a red dragon horde "Hunters Shadow" Glamered, shadow, slick, silient +3 leather armor This armor was taken from a Cleric of Shevaresh that was hunting Khalan. Which he turned the tables on and ambushed, tortured and killed. Taking the armor for himself he found it useful in his profession. But he has also marked him as a special foe of the clergy of Shevarash. Elven Cloak and boots. (also taken from the cleric of Shevaresh. This character is finished now if y'all will jump to the bottom of the thread and help me out with the next problem my group is having it would be greatly appreciated! :D Thanks In Advance
Morka 08-26-05, 09:53 AM	Great background. He has two great reasons to find his sisters, and I doubt he will ever kill her... What are the prerequisites for the PrC? I'm sure you could have better than rogue 1/fighter 5, the 5th level of fighter is useless. Perhaps ranger 3/fighter 2 should be better? Or rogue 2/figher 4?
Fithero 08-26-05, 10:05 AM	That is a pretty good character and im just so....damn....*glad* that you didnt make him good. Evil people love to you know!!!! I dont know what that prestiege class does for you, but the character itself sounds very cool. Later
Bladedancer 08-26-05, 03:07 PM	Thanks guys, it is an assasin like prestige class off of Eric Boyd's web site the rogue 1/fighter 5 was the quickest way to get levels in the class with all the prerequesite feats. I took it more for flavor than anything although I do like the PRC. Keep the comments coming I have to turn the background into the dm by Monday before he totally accepts the character. So any ideas for anything including armor/wondorous items will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance
Bladedancer 08-26-05, 09:29 PM	:bump:
schof 08-26-05, 10:03 PM	your thread calls for reviews so i will give you that: -good start, suttle but powerful -i like the sisters hatred of lloth its good -i like how the mind flayer gave away the secret -i like how he helps his sister grow in the ranks -i ESPECIALLY like the ending, open ended but not to forceful giving the dm alot to work with -i dont really like that he was just sent away to do buisness and he has no idea why his sister left over all its excellent
Bladedancer 08-28-05, 10:47 PM	Bump only because we start play tomorrow night and would like to know if anyone thinks any changes should be made Thanks for the responses so far!
Bladedancer 10-09-05, 02:12 AM	This a follow up to my original character one of my friends is joining up with our campaign to replenish the ranks as a few of our players moved out of state. She has showed interest in playing the sister of my character. So I need some help on what type of psionic classes she should take and what she has been up to since she left Khalan and Bregan DAerthe. Also what was her motivation for hating Lolth and the rest of the matriarchry. I have my own ideas but I want her to make this character her own. She just wants some suggestions from someone outside the campaign. The level the character is starting out is 13 (one to three levels lower than the rest of us) So I leave it in your capable hands :D Thanks In advance
Bladedancer 10-12-05, 04:50 AM	:bump:
Bladedancer 10-19-05, 12:19 PM	Last bump before I finally let this thread die :bump:
nihility 10-19-05, 02:07 PM	Here's the salient points that I gathered regarding the sister: 1) Psionic (that one was easy... heh) 2) Trained by an Illithid 3) Hates Lloth 4) Capable of masking her thoughts Regarding being trained by an Illithid, I note that Illithids tend to use their powers to dominate others and control minds. Masking thoughts is quite difficult without specialized class abilities or spells, particularly at low levels. However, it is possible through a bluff check at epic levels, so one could assume that a particularly charismatic person might be able to accomplish a lesser feat in a similar way at low levels. Additionally, Psions have exceptional mental control in general, so you could just leave it at that without the need for more mechanics. As for hating Lloth, I can think of a host of reasons, many of which still allow an evil alignment. I'll get to those in a bit. I would recommend Psion (Telepath) or Wilder as a base class, though Shaper might also be interesting for another take on manipulation. Bluff seems like a vital skill. I would recommend going into one of a few PrCs to further develop the character. The Thrallherd (http://d20srd.org/srd/psionic/prestigeClasses/thrallherd.htm) represents a clear continuation of her training with an Illithid. Much like her teacher, she uses her powers to dominate and control others. In this case, perhaps she hated the disorder and mayham of Drow culture, and blamed this disorder - and Lloth, as its source - as the cause of the inability of the Drow to fully dominate the Underdark. A Wilder/Thrallherd would be particularly well-suited to Drow culture, in my opinion. The Illithid Slayer (http://d20srd.org/srd/psionic/prestigeClasses/slayer.htm) represents a complete hatred and rejection of the character's Illithid trainer. In this case, she devotes herself to destroying this psionic race, and perhaps other psionic races in the process. Perhaps she hates Lloth for forcing her people to have to ally with these horrid non-Drow, rather than relying on their own might. In a similar vein, since Psionic classes tend to be very self-reliant, perhaps she hates Lloth because of her people's dependence on Lloth. Slayers are particularly self-reliant, so this dependence might cause extra ire. The Sangehirn (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040625c) represents a combination of self-reliance and teamwork, and ties in to some of the anti-Lloth concepts I've mentioned. This could be a sort of "we can do it ourselves!" mentality, rejecting Lloth as a source of healing magic and magical enhancement as well as Lloth's doctrine of infighting. Alternately, this could represent a person with some inclinations away from evil. Anyway, just some ideas.
nihility 10-19-05, 02:17 PM	Seeing as how you've already tracked down and killed an Illithid, the Illithid Slayer makes even more sense. Plus, it provides those strong mental defenses that Sis seems to have.
nihility 10-19-05, 10:49 PM	Two more ideas for anti-Lloth motivation: 1) Lloth as a rival; this works particularly well as a Wilder. Wilder have a sort of innately uncontrollable aspect to them. Take an uncontrollable person who wants to dominate and have power over others and you have someone with a psychology not unlike Lloth's, and this person also isn't beholden to Lloth for her mystical powers. Lloth, then, is nothing but an obstacle to this person in her desire for power. This is sort of a personification of hubris, as it were, and not unreasonable for a Drow in my opinion. 2) Mind Flayer mischief. Suppose that the Illithid teaching this girl was under the thumb of the girl's house. Maybe he owed them, or they had something on him, or maybe he was somehow a hostage or captive (perhaps with the help of shackles or a collar that prevented dimensional travel). Bored and resentful, he sees the spark of hatred for Lloth in his student and decides that "corrupting" this girl against Lloth would be a dandy way to get payback. Slowly, through subtle telepathic suggestion and other psionic tricks, he turns that spark of hate into a raging flame, then enjoys the show as this girl's attitude threatens to destroy her house. Toss in some random sadism towards the girl if you wish.
Bladedancer 10-21-05, 10:08 AM	Thanks for all the ideas Nihility! We both are grateful for all the options given. If anyone has any other ideas we will gladly take them.
Satori 10-21-05, 01:06 PM	First off, listen to everything Nihility tells you. Anything. Change your gender, race, hair color, and tax accountant if Nihility tells you to. Period. Second, seriously reconsider your class choices. Fighter 5th is useless, and you're already accumulating a 20% exp penalty for having your classes so far apart. I'd highly recommend fighter 4/Rogue 3 or Ranger 2/Fighter 2/Rogue 3. Fighter is not a favored class for Dark Elves. Third...I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for making him some form of neutral or evil. I also thank you for using him appropriately, with other Dark Elven PCs. Having Alter Self is also very appropriate...I HATE it when players WANT to be seen as a Dark Elf, then get pissy when their lvl 1 character is killed off within minutes. Sorry, I really have nothing useful to add that hasn't been added already. Happy gaming!
Bladedancer 10-22-05, 10:33 AM	Heya, Satori thanks for the good advice. But this was a special case as that was the the fastest way to get the requirements for the prestige class(kyorlin velve). The dm waived the xp penalty because he liked my background. Plus the other players agreed it was ok as well.
nihility 10-22-05, 11:26 AM	Heya, Satori thanks for the good advice. But this was a special case as that was the the fastest way to get the requirements for the prestige class(kyorlin velve). The dm waived the xp penalty because he liked my background. Plus the other players agreed it was ok as well. Good to hear it. The multiclassing XP penalty is of great annoyance to me, and it's one of the first things I toss out when I DM.
Bladedancer 10-22-05, 11:57 AM	Yeah this dm is pretty cool.He waives the penalty but won't let us dip uinto 17 different classes either and makes us take at least 5 level in a prestige class if we take one. I just joined their campaign a few months ago. It has been running for 15 years or so. Basically almost all the characters are decendants of the characters before them. They brought me in because they had one player move away. I played with the dm in another campaign. When one day he came up to me after the session and asked if I would like to join his "real" gaming group. When he explained to me how long him and his players have been gaming together I felt a little intimidated to say the least. But these guys have been by far the coolest people I have gamed with. They have really welcomed me with open arms. Sorry to get off topic but I wanted to share that