Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Master_Vega 08-11-07, 05:03 PM	I've been kicking a character concept around with my friends for awhile, after having a rather silly discussion about a character who wielded his enemies as weapons. Somehow the character concept evolved into a two character concept, as we realized soft bodies weren't the most effective weapons. One character, my friend's, would be a giant (or something else that would work better [I don't remember if there are ill feelings between dwarves and giants]). My character would be a spellcaster dwarf clad in extra-spiky armor, with a great investment in concentration. I already know this dwarf is going to be a wild sort of character, not exactly one to think about his own safety -he's a mace for goodness sake!-... but I'm not sure what drove him to become such a person. How exactly did his giant companion gain enough trust for the dwarf to allow him to wield him as a mace? Was the dwarf a friend of his family? Was it just a random occurrence? We've already figured out a house-ruled mechanic for the dwarven mace. My GM said he'll allow the characters if we can play them right (Read: interesting and believable.) I'd appreciate any ideas on how to make this work. Note: For those who read my other threads on this board, I have two gaming groups, and one likes to run many campaigns at once. Thanks in advance!
Malruhn 08-12-07, 12:24 AM	Sorry - it won't work. If you beat a person in armor against a hard object, sure the object may break - but the person in armor will break first... And the giant will be sitting there with a bloody boot with a stump of leg sticking out of it, and the body of his old friend will be stuck to the dragon by all those spikes... I'd have to say that you would take 50% of the damage you caused from impact alone. Not good for a spell caster...
Master_Vega 08-12-07, 11:33 AM	I could make him a psion, use Vigor and possibly overcharge/talented... Suddenly, I have an abundance of fake HP that will take a few hits to go away. When it's gone, I manifest again. Even with the 1d4 health, it wouldn't matter, especially at later levels. :P Edit: Yeah, I think dwarven psion would be the way to go, with powers like Biofeedback (DR 2[+1 per 3 extra power points]/-- for 1 min/level) and Vigor (5 temp HP per power point for 1 min/level) at early levels... and then, if the GM rules that the impact damage is caused by the target, as opposed to the giant, Empathic Feedback would be a very useful power. The last option is not likely, but it's a thought. I'm sure I can think of something else. Edit 2: Or he could be a psychic warrior, get decent HP (though far less power points) and the powers a few levels earlier. But enough optimization... I was wondering about what sort of character he'd be (not a dead character). lol!
Free1983 08-13-07, 10:24 AM	This highly unusual strategy has only one way to come into existance in my opinion: coïncidence. You should think of a story where the giant is suddenly rendered without a weapon. Enters the dwarf who is used as an improvised weapon and as a result the enemy is miraculously killed. Things you need to figure out: An ordinary background story of how dwarf & giant got together. The encouter in which the dwarf & the giant decide to use stumpy as a mace. Reasons why the giant lost his weapon (sundered, broken, ineffective against specific creature), a convincing critter that get's killed this way (I was thinking of some kind of ooze because they are kind of soft, but then again, the ooze might be not mechanically fit to get killed by a dwarfmace). Perhaps an encounter in which they suffered a set back. Perhaps they ran in with an iron golem and suddenly the dwarf&giant strategy wasn't paying off anymore. So the two friends looked for ways to improve their strategy (enter your homebrew mechanics). Hope this helps, Cheers
HobbitGuy1420 08-13-07, 11:51 AM	What variety of giant is your friend? If I recall correctly, Dwarves and Giants have a bit of a racial hatred thing going, so that makes it that much harder to work out. If nothing else, I imagine both of these characters would be somewhat abnormal, possibly outcasts. The Dwarf sounds almost Chaotic, strange in a dwarven community, and depending on the tone of the campaign you've got a Giant working to protect (rather than eat) society. Perhaps they were both exiled, met up with each other in the bleak and inhospitable reaches of the mountains/jungles/city, and had to team up to protect one another from the surrounding dangers. I have to wonder which of the two originally came up with the idea of using the dwarf as a weapon, though - if the dwarf suggested it it's got a different tone than if the giant came up with the idea.
Master_Vega 08-13-07, 12:45 PM	This highly unusual strategy has only one way to come into existance in my opinion: coïncidence. You should think of a story where the giant is suddenly rendered without a weapon. Enters the dwarf who is used as an improvised weapon and as a result the enemy is miraculously killed. lol! This is a fun idea. I'll talk to my friends about it. Things you need to figure out: An ordinary background story of how dwarf & giant got together. The encouter in which the dwarf & the giant decide to use stumpy as a mace. Reasons why the giant lost his weapon (sundered, broken, ineffective against specific creature), a convincing critter that get's killed this way (I was thinking of some kind of ooze because they are kind of soft, but then again, the ooze might be not mechanically fit to get killed by a dwarfmace). Convincing as in a creature more likely to be killed, or a powerful creature to convince them to use the tactic again? Perhaps an encounter in which they suffered a set back. Perhaps they ran in with an iron golem and suddenly the dwarf&giant strategy wasn't paying off anymore. So the two friends looked for ways to improve their strategy (enter your homebrew mechanics). That's excellent! It also gives me a reason to have the dwarf buy adamantine spike armor. :P Party member: Why is your nose so messed up? Dwarf: Well there was this one time when -giant- and I fought an iron golem... What variety of giant is your friend? If I recall correctly, Dwarves and Giants have a bit of a racial hatred thing going, so that makes it that much harder to work out. I thought that was the case... That's going to be fun to figure out, though. If nothing else, I imagine both of these characters would be somewhat abnormal, possibly outcasts. The Dwarf sounds almost Chaotic, strange in a dwarven community, and depending on the tone of the campaign you've got a Giant working to protect (rather than eat) society. Perhaps they were both exiled, met up with each other in the bleak and inhospitable reaches of the mountains/jungles/city, and had to team up to protect one another from the surrounding dangers. I have to wonder which of the two originally came up with the idea of using the dwarf as a weapon, though - if the dwarf suggested it it's got a different tone than if the giant came up with the idea. Here are the two ways I can see the dwarf-mace coincidence happening (given the scenario you made.) 1: Giant loses his weapon and, out of instinct grabs his dwarf friend and charges the enemy. :P 2. There's an enemy in one of the nearby trees. The dwarf gets the idea of getting a "boost" from the giant. Unfortunately for the dwarf, the enemy in the tree jumps down at the same time his giant friend is lifting him up (intending to throw him up to the branch where the enemy was.) They collide and the -at the time steel plate-wearing- dwarf acts as a surprisingly effective weapon. The dwarf will be angry in both situations, but then they did kill the attacker(s), so he'll see the validity in the method. It would then grow from a tertiary strategy to a secondary, and primarily to a primary as they get better at it. Thanks for the help! I'll try and work with my friends on a background that fits the setting. :P
Free1983 08-14-07, 03:18 AM	Convincing as in a creature more likely to be killed, or a powerful creature to convince them to use the tactic again? Yes and yes. But, I just looked in my monstermanual and although I thought they had some kind of damage reduction vs. bludgeoning weapons, I can't seem to find it here, so never mind. The ooze is a great critter to be killed by a dwarfmace. As is the Iron golem. All I want to say is, that you can choose the creatures you fought with. Happy gaming