Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Zheon 07-06-06, 12:28 AM	okay. heres the deal: im making a new character. i intend him to be an orphan, possibly fleeing from the same people who murdered his parents. (anyone played baldurs gate? kinda like the main character fleeing from sarevok.) he takes to the streets for a while, before being found by a minor assassins guild. this guild is for anyone looking for a safe haven, and a place to murder for money. my character is not evil, he is chaotic neutral, and thats fine with them. he is still a dark and mysterious figure, and maybe more dangerous than someone who is evil. problem is, i dont rightly know how to represent this in a character class or build. now, i know this is the character development board, and i shouldnt be asking for builds or something, but i want to know what you guys think. i was thinking either a rouge or a sorcerer, but im not sure. i want to know what you guys think, and why you think that. see if i can be convinced one way or the other. one last point, i only have access to the DMG, PHB and MM1. as well, if im a rouge ill be able to get an assassin PrC, even if im not evil. houserules. :P EDIT: im bringing this guy in at low level. maybe 2 or 3. ill accept future classes that you think i should take too. thanks.
LuckyLeprechaun 07-06-06, 12:50 AM	Their are much better choices out their, but unfortunately, as you only have the PHB, you're restricted to 11 classes: Barbarian- He lives in the street, not the wild. Bard- Too overt Cleric- Could be an interesting possibility... Druid- Lives away from nature Fighter- Could be a sort of street thug, might work. Monk- You're chaotic, they have to be lawful Paladin- Right out Ranger- See druid Rogue- The cliche possibily, always a good choice Sorcerer- A less cliche class that could still have a dark, street raised background. Wizard- Book-learning's not your thing Going through the list the I saw the cleric could work, but then I realized there's only one chaotic neutral god in the PHB and it didn't fit for you, so it's out. Fighter could be good, as it's pretty open to all backgrounds, but you'd be restricted to street-thug style fighting. The rogue would be the obvious cliche path, so that's always open. The sorcerer is the one I would choose, if just because it's more unexpected than the rogue, less cliche, more originality. If you could get your hands on the Complete Arcane, I would highly recommend Warlock, but if you can't... Go with the sorcerer. Sorcerer Hope it helps Lucky P.S. Rouge is red, ROGUES are the D&D class. ;)
Zheon 07-06-06, 01:00 AM	thanks for that.. it did help a little. i am looking for something a little more key to assassination, so i dont know if fighter would suit me. at two skills per level, and hide/move silently as cross class skills, i dont know. i see an assassin as someone who needs to get in and out safely, because they cant take on a dozen foes alone. besides, where would he get his fighter training? i like the cleric idea, and if it were any other campaign i'd make him a cleric with spontanious inflict. BUUUT we already have a cleric and a druid, so that is out. im thinking maybe if im a rogue i can get the assassin PrC which would suit his present and recent past very well. although a sorcerer could be the best type of assassin. magic is powerful. im still looking for opinions. ill take a look at the warlock-- i use limewire. shhh, WOTC isnt supposed to know that :P. i still dont perfer to use the books outside the core one two and three. but ill take a look, and if i REALLY like it, ill use it. thanks, and keep it coming! throw some story with it too, i dont mind. im always looking for a more complete background. EDIT: thanks for the spelling. :P
LuckyLeprechaun 07-06-06, 01:16 AM	Sorcerers can be very good assassins, they may not fit the assassin PrC, but with their magic they can be very powerful, wizards can make better assassins, as assassinations usually have lots of prep involved, and pretty well everytime you prep for a situation, the wizard comes out on top. BUT, thats not to say the sorcerer ISN'T a good assassin, with more spells per day, and the ability to improvise, the sorcerer works well, especially in tandem with a steathy rogue. The kid could of been on the run, and runs into a street gang. The street gang could then of move in to do harm/robery/whatever and in fear his emotions went wild and something magical happened, something small like an effect of the prestidigitation spell. The gang instead decides to "adopt" the small child. He grows up with the gang, his magical prowess growing ever steadily. One day during a routine crime of the gang, he draws attention from a dark organization... A member of this... "community" approaches him and offers to allow him to join the community. He willingly accepts as he is looking to move into bigger things than street crime. With his magical skills, he stages his death and moves into the darkest realm of the city.... So, thats my version of his story if you choose sorcerer. I might write up something for a rogue, but its 1 o'clock in the morning and I'll need motivation. Hope it helps! Lucky
Zheon 07-06-06, 01:27 AM	thanks for all the input. yeah its almost 3 am here.. im just antsy about this character. okay. i was thinking that he lived fine until just about 12 or 13. his parents were then murdered, and he fled his house in fear (with good reason, they were after him, just found his parents first.) he made his own poor living on the streets for a few years (maybe till 16? i could make my character that young.. no penalties.) and then was found by this organization after he accidentally murdered someone (well.. not accidentally, but in a panic. maybe he was stealing for survival one night, and was caught. in a panic he silently murdered the person, and after the adrenaline calmed down, fled. he was taken in by the Dark Organization.). he now takes small, easy contracts for small amounts of money to live. (ever played elder scrolls four: oblivion? im basing the organization around the Dark Brotherhood. my character, although a vampire, is not evil, but kills for the money and benefits.) soo, i think it would make a lot of sense for him to be a rouge. this way he could have learned to pick locks on his own, as well as stealth and hide. after he joined the organization, he could have picked up sneak attack, as well as some other skills. (UMD, anyone?) hm. play with that, will you? i wanna see someone elses point of view. i wish someone else would say something.. lol.
LuckyLeprechaun 07-06-06, 01:51 AM	Well of course rogue is always a good possibility, good skills, is just as I said in the first post, so good at it that it has become the obvious choice. Now, their is nothing wrong with the obvious choice, just some time it is fun to shake it up. Anyways, on to the rogue... If he is a rogue, it might be better to have him spend more time with his family, as opposed to the sorc, who should discover his powers early. So, 12-13 sounds good, might have it a bit younger, but whatever, it IS your character. Rogue= John for simplicity John lived a happy, normal life until one terrible day. He came home one day after playing with his friends... to find his parents dead on the floor, a dark figure standing over their bodies. The figure turned around just in time to see the foot of John as John bolted out the door. John decided he could never return to this small town that he once called his home and ran to the city, a place where he knew he could make a living... a little bit less than honest. I personally like the idea of him running into a gang and learning the ropes, it would help to turn him from a lets say neutral good boy into the chaotic neutral young man he will one day become. Also, a gang would help learn to use weapons better. But, its your character. Anyway, so whether he is alone or with a gang, one day John decides he wants to be able to live for a few weeks on one heist, so he looks up, literally. He heads into a dark alleyway and begins to climb the wall; into the window. He hops inside the building and begins looting the place, but then he hears a person coming up the stairs, the windows too far away so he hides in a closet. After some searching the man naturally finds him in the closet and grabs John, with intention to turn him in. John has 2 choices, go to jail, or kill the man. John reaches for the dagger hidden in his sleeve and stabs the man in the stomach... 4 times. Looking at his brutal handywork John is struck with fear at what he did... for about 10 seconds. John realizes the rush that killing gave him and he goes out looking for more. Luckily for him, the assassins have a long view and quickly recruit him. End story... enter game. Yeah, so their it is, fairly similar to yours, so you can't complain too much. :P :rolleyes: Thats what I got. Lucky
Zheon 07-06-06, 02:10 AM	..what can i say. i love it. ill set it about.. maybe two years into the future, where he has gained more weapon proficiency (he is level 3.) and he is ready to venture outside the guild. only thing is, im not quite biting the gang idea. im thinking maybe this rogue is an independant thief. it fits my idea of him being alone for about a year before he hits the guild. other than that.. thanks! a sorcerer could have been good, but theres a reason that rogues are the typical assassins. 8 skills plus int modifyer? thats what i want. sorcs get, what, two? bah. anyways.. it sounds good. as a matter of fact, there is an assassins guild near the main city, so.. fits in perfectly. thanks for all your help. im still open to anyone else's interpretations or ideas. ill check back tomorrow sometime.. its about 4 am here. hah. anyways, im going to crash! later all!
LuckyLeprechaun 07-06-06, 02:14 AM	im thinking maybe this rogue is an independant thief. but theres a reason that rogues are the typical assassins. Caught the subtle hint? :P Glad I could help... Sleeps a nice idea... Ciao!
Ariannos 07-06-06, 04:01 PM	I dont' know which level are you gonna achive with that characte how erver a great combo is this : 5 Rouge-2 sorcerer- 5assasin- 1shadowdancer You can even imbue spells on your weapons. I also think it fits on the background of your charcter. He is an orphan who runs away from his family and strats steeling for living and then how discovers his power and abilities for sneaking are overwelming and are'nt human: ara arcane...he starts combining both to reach into the guild as a very particular assasin. what do you think?
Zheon 07-06-06, 04:24 PM	hmm. well, as of now the main problem is that i want him to start out as a rogue. i'd like to take a few levels in assassin, and maybe sorcerer later on, to augment his assassination abilities, but now this poses a question: can a character take levels of sorcerer after he has started the game? or does it have to be his first class? it doesnt say anything about this in the PHB. anyone want to give some input? im thinking maybe he could be both-- he will probably be a Tiefling (again, houserules on the LA adjustment) and that could add to why his family was assassinated. in this case it would also make sense for him to have innate magical abilities as well. i really want to start him as a rogue, maybe get to rog 5/assassin 1 or 2 and then take a few levels in sorcerer. with this, being tiefling, my rogue levels are favored, and PrCs dont count, so no XP penalty. umm.. thoughts?
LuckyLeprechaun 07-06-06, 04:26 PM	Hmmm, it's a decent combo, but I would say their is really no reason for 2 levels of sorcerer, between 1 level and 2 levels, sorcerers really don't gain anything worthy of adding that 1 level as opposed to using on something, if you go for 4 levels to get another spell level, I can see that. It might be better for that combo if he drops the sorcerer levels for a couple levels of fighter, he can get 2 important feats towards his build, plus it will help boost his BAB by 1, which can come in very handy. Finally, it gives a small boost to fortitude saves, which is always nice. Also, if your going rogue, head for the TWF tree, sneak attack damage twice over... :D 5 Rouge-2 sorcerer- 5assasin- 1shadowdancer *cough* Rogue...
arjomanes 07-06-06, 04:57 PM	I like the rogue/sorceror/assassin/shadowdancer concept Johnny was always a strange kid, even though he grew up in a good home. His father was a caravan guard who sent home good money--enough to live on, even enough for a maid and a tutor for their boys. But Johnny was kind of weird and always a loner, wandering off on his own, dissecting dead animals, playing with bones in the barn. And he was kind of creepy; he could get scary when confronted or backed in the corner. He had this edge to him, kind of like a wild animal, so the older boys never picked on him. And sometimes strange things would happen around him; weird lights and sounds or a strange sickening smell, or light flashing in his eyes. He never told anyone, but he'd have blackouts, usually at night, where he didn't remember what happened. Sometimes he'd wake up in a field in the middle of the night miles from home. The night his world changed he had one of those blackouts. When he got back home, the house and barn was engulfed in fire. His neighbors couldn't stop the fires until they burnt down in the morning. No one in the town believed it was a coincidence he was the only one who escaped and he got sent out of town on the first spring caravan, when his father should have left for work. He never showed up to work at his uncle's warehouses in the city, and rather scratched out a living lying and stealing on the streets. As time went by he invented a story to his family's death: an evil gang of cutthroats had to have killed them, created from the stories he heard on the streets and in the alleys. Soon he believed his own story and forgot that night when he awoke, how his clothes had smelled like smoke and blisters ran across his palms. As time passed, he grew older and more confident in his powers and thieving skills. He was colder and more daring, skilled at violence and intimidation. His blackouts became more and more infrequent and finally faded away, but his paranoia that he is being hunted grows more and more intense. His cold anger for his family's killers never faded and he dedicates himself to finding and killing them. When he kills, he knows he is one step closer in finding and killing his enemies.
Zheon 07-09-06, 10:54 PM	i just.. dont get it. shadowdancer? what relevance has that got? although they are good at not being seen when they dont want to be, in thier downtime they are performers.. thats almost 100% against the character concept. thief, because he picked it up on the street and it became a way of life. sorcerer because hes slightly demonic at heart. assassin because he lives in an assassins guild.. but shadowdancer? someone wanna explain this to me?