Freestyle RP character to D&D [Archive] - Wizards Community

Freestyle RP character to D&D [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Master_Vega
06-02-07, 02:05 AM I'm hoping this is the right board for this thread... Anyhow, here goes:

My friends and I run a few freestyle RPs on a private forum. Fortunately, the stories work out just fine most of the time as the majority of us are mature enough to let our characters have an Achilles heel or at least take hits often enough.

Anyhow, I have a character in one of the freestyle games that I wouldn't mind playing in D&D. He was a very fun concept and, sadly, the RP he was involved in has ground to a halt because hardly any of my friends can be online at the same time anymore.
I was hoping I could get some help on a simple build, let's say thirty point-buy (though my RPG group usually rolls for stats, this will get me a good idea of where to put them) and third level. The main trouble I'm having is with trying to place his stats, what classes to put him in, and his magic (possibly psionic) dependency.

Now for his traits:

Name: Argyle Blayne (No, the name has nothing to do with the pattern; I picked it for it's Celtic meaning... which I forgot and sadly cannot find.)

Age: 20

Gender: Male

Race: Half-Elf

Class: He was a mage in the RP, but the D&D spellcasting system doesn't seem to work for his abilities. He specializes in creating temporary weapons, which he changes throughout the battle so that his opponents have a hard time catching onto his combat style. So far, it looks like Shaper Psion is the way to go, but I wanted to be sure there was no other class that fit him better.
He is also only able to cast a few normal offensive spells in the RP, so him being a Shaper might make sense.
In addition to all this, he's no stranger to sneaking and picking locks (especially with his arcane ability). Rogue was what I had in mind for this part of him, but if you could find something you think works better, that'd be awesome as well.

Alignment: Chaotic Good.

Appearance: Argyle's skin is tan, and his hair is dark brown and hangs raggedly down to the base of his neck. His eyes are green. His arms are muscular and lined with various ancient designs. His legs are just as fit as his arms. He usually wears a dark brown cloak over a navy blue shirt and black pants. At 5' 8", he is exceedingly short for his race (elves and half-elves are tall in the RP. I suppose in D&D this height would be about average for his kind.)

Personality: Argyle is outgoing most of the time, but hates the prejudice that so often gets him in trouble. He does not hate humans, though, because his blood is half theirs. Hate, in his mind, would also be too easy. He is not too keen about elves either, as the only elf he ever met was his mother. As outgoing as he might be, it takes a long time for him to trust anyone.

Magic Dependency: Because of the strict regimen of "instance magic" (what the temporary weapon magic was called) training his mother put him through, Argyle is now addicted to arcane energy. The tattoo that runs along his arms and all the way around his upper back keeps his addiction from growing any larger and killing him. As a result of the dependency, he has a very difficult time functioning in areas without magic and whenever he expends too much of his own arcane reserves.

Yes, his mother is a sociopath and therefore chaotic evil. She meant to bind Argyle to her with the the magical tattoo on his back and arms, but his older sister discovered her plan and gave him the markings without the binding seals. Unfortunately, the older sister was murdered by her mother only minutes after completing the tattoo. Argyle, who had been on death's doorstep before, was able to walk in and see his sister's charred carcass, and that the murder was his mother's doing.
To cut a long story short, the rest of his family arrived home from a journey to the nearest city and Argyle's mother got to them first, and convinced them that he had murdered her daughter.
Having tailed her since he fled from the woman, Argyle caught the last part of the discussion and ran for his life.

He has been running ever since.

Not sure how cliché that story is, so sorry if I made someone gag. :P I usually write more elegantly than I did up there, but I was trying to keep it brief.

Any ideas on who to represent this character statistically? Is there any mechanical way for his addiction to work, or should that just be role-played?

Thanks!
Terjon of the Blue Rose
06-02-07, 03:06 AM I'd look at soul knife. Sneak and hides I think. Creates weapons from psionic power. might have to cross class a little for locks and the like. Char Op boards will be able to make better suggestions.
BloodyChariot
06-02-07, 07:23 AM I second soulknife. There are feats that will allow him to change the form of his weapon, too.

Starting as a rogue will net you a lot of good skill points that you can put into skills related to being a sneaky fella and allow you to find traps (so I guess rogue/soul knife).

A soulknife has Hide, Move Silently, Listen and Spot as class skills, so it stacks decently with your rogue class. Add smatterings of rogue to supplement his lock picking ability if you ever find it lacking.

If you don't mind using psionics for his lockpicking ability, Psychic Rogue (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723b)a much better alternative.
Need_A_Life
06-02-07, 08:49 AM Soulknife with Hidden Talent (grants a single psionic power, allowing for direct offense).

A few ranks in Open Lock, Hide and Move Silently.

Talk to the DM about a trait called: Psionic Dependant (homebrew)

Psionic Dependant
You are physically dependant upon magic.
Benefit: You gain +1 on Psicraft and Use Psionic Device; you still cannot use these skills untrained.
Drawback: Whenever exposed to an antipsionic field, you are fatigued until you rest uninterrupted for at least 8 hours (each interruption adds ½ hour to the total amount of rest needed).

I don't know if it's balanced, but if the DM remembers you have it, it might be balanced.
Master_Vega
06-02-07, 12:14 PM Terjon of the Blue Rose: I suppose I'll post this in the Character Optimization board if this doesn't work out. So far, though, I'm liking the tips. Thanks for the feedback.

BloodyChariot: Thanks for the link to the psionic rogue! I read over the class and I think it works very well. :P I'll have to browse through my GM's collection of D&D books to find all the psionic feats I need for Argyle's weapon-switching.

Need_A_Life: Which book is Hidden Talent in? I couldn't find it in the SRD.
Also, thanks for the trait. I'll see what my GM thinks about it.
BloodyChariot
06-02-07, 02:49 PM You can shape your mind blade into a longsword, bastard sword, or two short swords at 5th level soulknife.
Feats for weapon-switching are in Complete Psionic. They allow you to shape your mind blade into a few exotic weapons.

AFAIK Hidden Talent is an optional replacement for the soulknife's Wild Talent class ability. It's on the WotC website, so it's pretty much official.

Link here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070214a
fiendish_platypus
06-02-07, 05:12 PM Hidden Talent is in a sidebar on some god-forsaken page of the Expanded Psionics Handbook, it's pretty much the exact same as Wild Talent, except you gain a 1st level power too.
It's on some page about high-psionics campaigns or something.
Hope that helped.
BloodyChariot
06-02-07, 11:59 PM Right, page 67.
InkBlot
06-03-07, 02:26 AM NOT soulknife. A soulknife has to jump through hoops to ever shape his weapon into something other than a shortsword, longsword, or bastard sword.

Just take a psionic class, maybe wilder, and the power call weaponry. Call weaponry can give you a new kind of weapon each time you use it, with no restrictions. Call weaponry is on page 82 of the Expanded Psionics Handbook. If you take a class that doesn't get it on their power list, just use the Expanded Knowledge feat to get it.

If you have access to Complete Psionic, look at the Psymbiot feat. It sounds like a good way to represent a dependancy on mystic energy. However, you don't need to represent the dependancy with mechanics. It's just a flavor thing, so just roleplay it.

Also in Complete Psionic is the feat Practiced Manifester. It's a must-have if you're going to be taking a lot of non-manifesting levels.

Speaking of non-manifesting classes, get your hands on The Tome Of Battle: The Book Of Nine Swords by any means possible. Your character needs it. Once you have it, take levels in either Swordsage or Warblade, and take the feat Adaptive Style. This will let you have realy cool moves in battle, and constantly change those realy cool moves so that your enemies can't figure out your combat style.

You might want to look into the psionic tattoos in the Expanded Psionics Handbook. They don't do what your characters tattoo does (they just store powers), but you seem to have an interest in tattoos.
Master_Vega
06-03-07, 04:59 PM Wow, that's a lot of suggestions. :P

Thankfully my GM has all those books so next time I visit his house I can probably borrow the books I need and check everything out.

Thanks once again for the advice!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Master_Vega 06-02-07, 02:05 AM	I'm hoping this is the right board for this thread... Anyhow, here goes: My friends and I run a few freestyle RPs on a private forum. Fortunately, the stories work out just fine most of the time as the majority of us are mature enough to let our characters have an Achilles heel or at least take hits often enough. Anyhow, I have a character in one of the freestyle games that I wouldn't mind playing in D&D. He was a very fun concept and, sadly, the RP he was involved in has ground to a halt because hardly any of my friends can be online at the same time anymore. I was hoping I could get some help on a simple build, let's say thirty point-buy (though my RPG group usually rolls for stats, this will get me a good idea of where to put them) and third level. The main trouble I'm having is with trying to place his stats, what classes to put him in, and his magic (possibly psionic) dependency. Now for his traits: Name: Argyle Blayne (No, the name has nothing to do with the pattern; I picked it for it's Celtic meaning... which I forgot and sadly cannot find.) Age: 20 Gender: Male Race: Half-Elf Class: He was a mage in the RP, but the D&D spellcasting system doesn't seem to work for his abilities. He specializes in creating temporary weapons, which he changes throughout the battle so that his opponents have a hard time catching onto his combat style. So far, it looks like Shaper Psion is the way to go, but I wanted to be sure there was no other class that fit him better. He is also only able to cast a few normal offensive spells in the RP, so him being a Shaper might make sense. In addition to all this, he's no stranger to sneaking and picking locks (especially with his arcane ability). Rogue was what I had in mind for this part of him, but if you could find something you think works better, that'd be awesome as well. Alignment: Chaotic Good. Appearance: Argyle's skin is tan, and his hair is dark brown and hangs raggedly down to the base of his neck. His eyes are green. His arms are muscular and lined with various ancient designs. His legs are just as fit as his arms. He usually wears a dark brown cloak over a navy blue shirt and black pants. At 5' 8", he is exceedingly short for his race (elves and half-elves are tall in the RP. I suppose in D&D this height would be about average for his kind.) Personality: Argyle is outgoing most of the time, but hates the prejudice that so often gets him in trouble. He does not hate humans, though, because his blood is half theirs. Hate, in his mind, would also be too easy. He is not too keen about elves either, as the only elf he ever met was his mother. As outgoing as he might be, it takes a long time for him to trust anyone. Magic Dependency: Because of the strict regimen of "instance magic" (what the temporary weapon magic was called) training his mother put him through, Argyle is now addicted to arcane energy. The tattoo that runs along his arms and all the way around his upper back keeps his addiction from growing any larger and killing him. As a result of the dependency, he has a very difficult time functioning in areas without magic and whenever he expends too much of his own arcane reserves. Yes, his mother is a sociopath and therefore chaotic evil. She meant to bind Argyle to her with the the magical tattoo on his back and arms, but his older sister discovered her plan and gave him the markings without the binding seals. Unfortunately, the older sister was murdered by her mother only minutes after completing the tattoo. Argyle, who had been on death's doorstep before, was able to walk in and see his sister's charred carcass, and that the murder was his mother's doing. To cut a long story short, the rest of his family arrived home from a journey to the nearest city and Argyle's mother got to them first, and convinced them that he had murdered her daughter. Having tailed her since he fled from the woman, Argyle caught the last part of the discussion and ran for his life. He has been running ever since. Not sure how cliché that story is, so sorry if I made someone gag. :P I usually write more elegantly than I did up there, but I was trying to keep it brief. Any ideas on who to represent this character statistically? Is there any mechanical way for his addiction to work, or should that just be role-played? Thanks!
Terjon of the Blue Rose 06-02-07, 03:06 AM	I'd look at soul knife. Sneak and hides I think. Creates weapons from psionic power. might have to cross class a little for locks and the like. Char Op boards will be able to make better suggestions.
BloodyChariot 06-02-07, 07:23 AM	I second soulknife. There are feats that will allow him to change the form of his weapon, too. Starting as a rogue will net you a lot of good skill points that you can put into skills related to being a sneaky fella and allow you to find traps (so I guess rogue/soul knife). A soulknife has Hide, Move Silently, Listen and Spot as class skills, so it stacks decently with your rogue class. Add smatterings of rogue to supplement his lock picking ability if you ever find it lacking. If you don't mind using psionics for his lockpicking ability, Psychic Rogue (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723b)a much better alternative.
Need_A_Life 06-02-07, 08:49 AM	Soulknife with Hidden Talent (grants a single psionic power, allowing for direct offense). A few ranks in Open Lock, Hide and Move Silently. Talk to the DM about a trait called: Psionic Dependant (homebrew) Psionic Dependant You are physically dependant upon magic. Benefit: You gain +1 on Psicraft and Use Psionic Device; you still cannot use these skills untrained. Drawback: Whenever exposed to an antipsionic field, you are fatigued until you rest uninterrupted for at least 8 hours (each interruption adds ½ hour to the total amount of rest needed). I don't know if it's balanced, but if the DM remembers you have it, it might be balanced.
Master_Vega 06-02-07, 12:14 PM	Terjon of the Blue Rose: I suppose I'll post this in the Character Optimization board if this doesn't work out. So far, though, I'm liking the tips. Thanks for the feedback. BloodyChariot: Thanks for the link to the psionic rogue! I read over the class and I think it works very well. :P I'll have to browse through my GM's collection of D&D books to find all the psionic feats I need for Argyle's weapon-switching. Need_A_Life: Which book is Hidden Talent in? I couldn't find it in the SRD. Also, thanks for the trait. I'll see what my GM thinks about it.
BloodyChariot 06-02-07, 02:49 PM	You can shape your mind blade into a longsword, bastard sword, or two short swords at 5th level soulknife. Feats for weapon-switching are in Complete Psionic. They allow you to shape your mind blade into a few exotic weapons. AFAIK Hidden Talent is an optional replacement for the soulknife's Wild Talent class ability. It's on the WotC website, so it's pretty much official. Link here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070214a
fiendish_platypus 06-02-07, 05:12 PM	Hidden Talent is in a sidebar on some god-forsaken page of the Expanded Psionics Handbook, it's pretty much the exact same as Wild Talent, except you gain a 1st level power too. It's on some page about high-psionics campaigns or something. Hope that helped.
BloodyChariot 06-02-07, 11:59 PM	Right, page 67.
InkBlot 06-03-07, 02:26 AM	NOT soulknife. A soulknife has to jump through hoops to ever shape his weapon into something other than a shortsword, longsword, or bastard sword. Just take a psionic class, maybe wilder, and the power call weaponry. Call weaponry can give you a new kind of weapon each time you use it, with no restrictions. Call weaponry is on page 82 of the Expanded Psionics Handbook. If you take a class that doesn't get it on their power list, just use the Expanded Knowledge feat to get it. If you have access to Complete Psionic, look at the Psymbiot feat. It sounds like a good way to represent a dependancy on mystic energy. However, you don't need to represent the dependancy with mechanics. It's just a flavor thing, so just roleplay it. Also in Complete Psionic is the feat Practiced Manifester. It's a must-have if you're going to be taking a lot of non-manifesting levels. Speaking of non-manifesting classes, get your hands on The Tome Of Battle: The Book Of Nine Swords by any means possible. Your character needs it. Once you have it, take levels in either Swordsage or Warblade, and take the feat Adaptive Style. This will let you have realy cool moves in battle, and constantly change those realy cool moves so that your enemies can't figure out your combat style. You might want to look into the psionic tattoos in the Expanded Psionics Handbook. They don't do what your characters tattoo does (they just store powers), but you seem to have an interest in tattoos.
Master_Vega 06-03-07, 04:59 PM	Wow, that's a lot of suggestions. :P Thankfully my GM has all those books so next time I visit his house I can probably borrow the books I need and check everything out. Thanks once again for the advice!