Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Nicholas the Paladin 12-14-07, 06:46 AM	Hi Guys, I'm playing a 6th level Gnome Beguiler with a twist. I need some extra ideas. I always liked the 'fey' kind of touch that Gnomes have. I added some darker elements by giving him a touch of 'Shadow plane' (he got stranded there in his background). He's neutral, cast spells from the Shadow Weave and is somewhat of a (dark) prankster. I like to think of him as a 'Dark Fey': like the ones you'll find in the fairytale of the Brothers Grimm, Pann's Labyrinth and maybe the fairytales of Hans Christian Anderssen. Maybe a bit like Rumplestilsken (if you know the character) To make it more concrete I've made him: - have a Giant Wasp as his companion and steed (item: 'amber amulet of vermin', MIC) - neutral - wear dark clothing that are between Black and green (wit a wide brimmed hat) - a prankster that wants to help people, but can get somewhat vicious when people get in his way (my interpretation of a Fey from HoH) - wear the "collar of umbral metamorph" (ToM) which give the Dark-creature template Do you have extra ideas? (he has to fit into a adventurer group ofcourse)
Nicholas the Paladin 12-15-07, 02:53 AM	Maybe it sparks your imagination, if I say that we play Forgotten Reams. We're located in Thetyr, in and around the city of Zazesspur.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 12-15-07, 03:21 AM	Really the shadow weave is the only thing about him that gives him a "dark" feel to me. Your character seems like he may well come off as sly or elusive and be mistaken for dark by those who don't understand him. His desire to help people is certainly a lead in that direction. If you want to play dark you need a desire to cause harm with those jokes. You may have some influencing factor choosing your targets and redirecting your efforts into a more positive direction but you should take your pleasure from the demeaning and even wounding of others. You may want to make him evil in alignment but have him not very dedicated to any cause. He can work within a group of adventurers because it gives him a chance to take down bigger, badder, more silf-important foes rather than a belief in their cause. This works best if at least one of them brings you along as a result of knowing how much trouble you will cause if left unsupervised. Sort like Belkar but with a mean sense of humor rather than massive surges of violence.
Nicholas the Paladin 12-15-07, 04:25 AM	Maybe I haven't been clear enough. I don't think 'dark' has to be evil. I also want him to develop into more and more dark. I see hem as havng somewhat of a dual nature: lightheaded nature loving Fey and brooding darkness loving city-dweller. He is spontaneous and impulsive helpfull in his actions, but when people make fun of him (or he feels another 'injustice' has been done), a more nasty side comes to the surface. He's a bit spitefull and like to hurt people in a intelligent trickster kind of way. maybe CN would be more appropriate. Currently ge's CG, turns TN in a level and might gradually turn CN and even CE. There's a internal struggle going on in this once fun-loving trickster: the darkness is taking him slowly and is making him more and more cynical. He loves to be in the forest and give his mind some ease (the simple life), but in the end he's already somewhat corrupted and always returns to the revels en intrigues of the city. I've got a pretty good feeling of what I want, but I want it to be worked out into concrete steps and even mechanical crunchy bits. Basically I want 2 things: - How to enhance the Fey(ish) part to this character? - How to enhance the 'dark' side of this Fey? Really the shadow weave is the only thing about him that gives him a "dark" feel to me. That's why I'm asking ;) Your character seems like he may well come off as sly or elusive and be mistaken for dark by those who don't understand him. His desire to help people is certainly a lead in that direction. like I said, he's got somewhat of adual nature. If you want to play dark you need a desire to cause harm with those jokes. You may have some influencing factor choosing your targets and redirecting your efforts into a more positive direction but you should take your pleasure from the demeaning and even wounding of others. okay, I take that into account. You may want to make him evil in alignment but have him not very dedicated to any cause. He can work within a group of adventurers because it gives him a chance to take down bigger, badder, more silf-important foes rather than a belief in their cause. This works best if at least one of them brings you along as a result of knowing how much trouble you will cause if left unsupervised. Right now, I don't want him to be really mean, but eventually he'll be jsust that. Maybe my description above has given you an idea of kind of development he's going though. I'm looking for a 'dark side' without automatically having to be meanspirited and having a want to hurt. Right now I'm seeing him: - a womewhat melacholic, but sometimes cynical and sometimes spontanious and utter positive (dual nature) And he's growing into: - cinical and bitter and just being really mean to the people thet 'deserve it' (by his logic) Sort like Belkar but with a mean sense of humor rather than massive surges of violence.sorry, I do not know this character.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 12-15-07, 06:56 AM	Maybe I haven't been clear enough. I don't think 'dark' has to be evil. I also want him to develop into more and more dark. Basically I want 2 things: - How to enhance the Fey(ish) part to this character? - How to enhance the 'dark' side of this Fey? Alright. For me what defines fey is their elusiveness. They are creatures which, especially in a fantasy realm, everyone knows exists and which noone knows or has seen. Their rules defy logic and their actions are incomprehensible to simple mortal folk. To enhance a fey aspect within your character you simply take a few basic, common sense rules, and you ignore them. Then you take a couple random, no reason in sight rules, and you follow them stringently. The problem I'm having with this character is that you seem to want a classically dark fey. We may have different takes on these creatures but traditionally speaking the dark fey are universally mean-sprited malicious villians. They steal children in the dead of night and drink the blood of travelers who rest in their forest. They are haunts and poultergeists. They are the sprites who push the elderly down stairs and who steal "lost" objects. For a fey, dark almost always means evil.
DragonsRider 12-21-07, 01:27 AM	I like the sound of your gnome. I have an 8th level gnome fighter who has a distinctive attitude to being thought of...lightly. ex: he entered a human tavern with 3 other characters, as he approached the bar, a human stepped in front of him(making a distasteful sound with a look of distain) and turned his back on the gnome. The gnome, without hesitation, unshoulder his axe and baried the blade between the humans legs...into the bar. Needless to say, it started quite a fight. I'm in agreement with Terjon, know the rules as they apply to others, then simply react...within character that is.
Hekale 01-09-08, 12:54 AM	I know riddles are more of a halfling thing, but they're a very classic trickster element, and they'd add a dark, unpredictable feel if they were just a little on the morbid side, and maybe occasionally had answers that weren't funny or clever but just violent and shocking. That would make them wonder what was simmering beneath the surface. You could also use those racial spells--nothing's more fey-ish than dancing lights, but it can be quite disturbing if, for example, you used the vaguely humanoid shape to give someone the impression that they were being followed at night. You could use ghost sound in a similar way. Swift invisibility would be good for you too--that's a Rumplestilskin flavor trademark, and teleport would work for that too. Investing a few skill points in perform (panpipes) and playing wailing gypsy tunes could work for you. Alchemy could work for both the nature-y helpful side and the dark crazyish side too (if you've got the time, space and cash to do it, but that's something to check with your DM). You could try: Don't smile, and laugh very rarely at slightly inappropriate times. I've seen players try to play "brooding" and when it's all the time it just gets annoying rather than effective--you can be cheerful, you can even make jokes. Just don't smile at them. I have to admit, I'm wondering where the darkness comes from--there has to be a reason or he's just a short emo kid. What happened to him that he has this cynical outlook? And he's a beguiler--what made him take up this class? A desire to mess with people? Maybe he gets along better with his wasp mount, and/or insects in general, than he does with other humanoids. That would provide a reason to be unhappy in the city and more comfortable outside it (and it would add to his creep factor without being evil). He never really had friends and so he took up the class so he could force them to like him, if temporarily, and even though he's generally a good guy he doesn't trust others to like him without charm spells. That's a character who's a little bit sympathetic but still a little scary; he can be kind and helpful but a bit psychotic. Rumplestiltskin filled out.