How do Ghaele act when they are young? [Archive] - Wizards Community

How do Ghaele act when they are young? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Lia Nightdemon
06-08-07, 07:26 PM I am playing a Ghaele in a campaign. I am using the class progression in savage species. The game starts at level 1.

Would my Ghaele still be a young young child? How are they born or created? How do they learn thier racial abilities (aside from gaining xp) and get better at the ones they already have? Anyone know the child cycle (if any) of Celestials?
Gingerbread Guy
06-09-07, 01:06 AM I briefly played a Ghaele in a low level game, and it was great fun while it lasted (our DM got busy and disappeared off the face of the earth). I had the same dilema with her origins, as I didn't know anything about the celestial lifecycle. I searched a number of books and found nothing useful. The Manual of the Planes was particularly disapointing, as it said little other than "these things exist here and they do stuff."

I ended up sitting down with my DM and discussing some possible origins of celestials, and we quickly decided that ghaeles are the collectively reincarnated spirits of elves, which made at least a modicum of sense given that eladrins come from Arborea, which is a very exciting place where some elves go to meet their final rewards in the afterlife (at least the MotP wasn't entirely useless).

I played my character as being good-hearted but filled with immense impatience in her youth, a trait her elders decided was unbecoming of a future eladrin knight. She wasn't hyperactive or annoying, she just didn't understand the limits of her own mortality, and did not see the value in strategy or teamwork - when it came to the battle of good vs. evil, in her mind there was no time to waste!

She begged and pleaded her elders for the chance to join the battle, though she was still incredibly young and inexperienced. In their wisdom, her elders eventually conceded and gave her an assignment: to assist a group of budding mortal heroes on the prime material plane. Acting as a guide, a conscience, and a companion in arms, she would "earn her wings" so to speak, and hopefully learn the value of teamwork.

In terms of personality she was immaculately polite and pleasant, but a little brash and (at least to start with) highly overconfident in her abilities, particularly on the material plane (which she considered to be the "minor leagues" as compared to the over-arching struggle of good vs. evil). She was quite intelligent, however, and would quickly learn her lesson (didn't get to finish that aspect of her personality). She quickly grew attatched to her mortal companions, treating them as equals and doing her best to find the good in each of them.

She started off resembling a quasi-pubescent elf (ignoring the pure-white eyes and the hair the colour of rusted copper). As she gained XP, the plan was to have her grow and develop at an unusual rate - ie, at whatever rate she gained XP - explaining that Celestials have a skewed sense of time and don't age like mortals. For her, experiencing and learning were far more important to her growth that simply the passage of time. (She would point out that mortals really just grow because they eat, and then apologise if that sounded like an insult.)

As another roleplaying feature, I tried to play her as a bit of a tourist. She enjoyed speaking strange new mortal languages with her tongues ability (for plot reasons I was granted this ability early), likening the experience to trying new foods. As for actual food, she only ate for the fun of it, and got quite addicted to sweets, such as preserves and dried fruits. These are all things I figured a young but intelligent child might do.

Hope some of that was a help! I wish I had something more concrete. I'd really like to play a ghaele again sometime. I like the way they stacked the hit dice in Savage Species so that you don't actually miss a hit die until 6th level. You need all the hitpoints you can get since you can't wear armor (masterwork studded leather and mithrhil chain shirts are your friends) and don't have the luxury of dipping into some other class to get the proficiencies.

~Ginger
Lia Nightdemon
06-09-07, 01:23 AM Thank you thats actually alot of help

Though what should I do about 2 of the other party members

1 is a human/teifling type (it's a race called Diablos) and then the other PC is a demon who is the familair of the human
Terjon of the Blue Rose
06-09-07, 03:57 AM Gingerbread Guy -- Very nice.

As for your companions... going with Ginger's background I'd consider them a sort of backwards attempt by the elder's to teach you a lesson. If they are good guys consider them a lesson on grey lines if not they are a constant shackle holding you back from going full bore since you dare not be corrupted by them.
Taeldrin Laesrash
06-09-07, 09:28 AM In some of the old Planescape products (Or it may be very good fan-made material), Eladrin either form directly from the fabric of the plane, Arborean petitioners (souls of the dead) mixing with the inherant good and chaos in the plane.

Alternatively, they can give birth to a new Eladrin (This is unique to the celestials, others simply are made by the plane, I believe).

I'd suggest going with the former. The new Eladrin is still developing the link with their plane, gaining more abilities over time as it matures, and is experiencing new things for the first time (Which the race as a whole relishes).
Gingerbread Guy
06-10-07, 02:39 PM Wow, crazy companions. I get the feeilng that this is going to go one way or the other: either its going to be a horrible trial finding reasons to hang around with evil quasi-fiends, or its going to be an excellent roleplaying experience if they're not strictly evil.

You get cleric spells by your class level, which is one of your major strengths, so prepare detect evil on the first day. Perhaps its a bit of metagaming, but I think its the good kind. A timely detect evil will settle the score for her.

If they're evil, you have a real chore ahead of you. If you do go with the idea of being assigned to the task of being their companion, your character may just have to put up with it and trust that your assignment was given to you for a purpose. Try to steer them away from evil and resist their attempts (deliberate or not) to corrupt you, as Terjon suggested.

If they're non-evil but seem to be not-quite-good either (neutral) then monitor their ethics closely. You're chaotic good, not lawful good, so its not really your duty or your place to tell them what to do or lord your higher morals over them. I think leading by example is best, and interfering directly with their actions only when they would lead them down a path of evil.

If they're good, you have the awesome opportunity of being their cheering squad, encouragement, and strongest ally. Where they might normally encounter persecution for their appearances and heritage, its your duty to step in and defend them. Who better to vouge for their purity than a freaking celestial? ^_^ Since the human character has a fiendish familiar, though, we can almost certainly rule this out. Only if there is DM intervention in the rules would a good human be able to call a fiendish familiar.

At least you have one thing going for you: it won't be a mixed bag. If the fiend is a true familiar, his alignment will match his master's.

I hope your DM has a plan or at least some ideas as to how this might work as well. My best tip is that managing party conflict is a group responsibility and it should never be handled independently. If/when there is a problem, get everyone involved in finding a solution. Obviously some conflict is fun and even desireable, but constant arguments, player-vs-player combat and so on are over the line in most cases.

Good luck!

~Ginger
EpicEvokerElf
06-10-07, 10:15 PM You don't sound like you need help. I think you've got it nailed.
Lia Nightdemon
06-10-07, 11:07 PM no no the wizard familiar is a PC who is playing a demon (apparently they wrote a really nice background to get that to work)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lia Nightdemon 06-08-07, 07:26 PM	I am playing a Ghaele in a campaign. I am using the class progression in savage species. The game starts at level 1. Would my Ghaele still be a young young child? How are they born or created? How do they learn thier racial abilities (aside from gaining xp) and get better at the ones they already have? Anyone know the child cycle (if any) of Celestials?
Gingerbread Guy 06-09-07, 01:06 AM	I briefly played a Ghaele in a low level game, and it was great fun while it lasted (our DM got busy and disappeared off the face of the earth). I had the same dilema with her origins, as I didn't know anything about the celestial lifecycle. I searched a number of books and found nothing useful. The Manual of the Planes was particularly disapointing, as it said little other than "these things exist here and they do stuff." I ended up sitting down with my DM and discussing some possible origins of celestials, and we quickly decided that ghaeles are the collectively reincarnated spirits of elves, which made at least a modicum of sense given that eladrins come from Arborea, which is a very exciting place where some elves go to meet their final rewards in the afterlife (at least the MotP wasn't entirely useless). I played my character as being good-hearted but filled with immense impatience in her youth, a trait her elders decided was unbecoming of a future eladrin knight. She wasn't hyperactive or annoying, she just didn't understand the limits of her own mortality, and did not see the value in strategy or teamwork - when it came to the battle of good vs. evil, in her mind there was no time to waste! She begged and pleaded her elders for the chance to join the battle, though she was still incredibly young and inexperienced. In their wisdom, her elders eventually conceded and gave her an assignment: to assist a group of budding mortal heroes on the prime material plane. Acting as a guide, a conscience, and a companion in arms, she would "earn her wings" so to speak, and hopefully learn the value of teamwork. In terms of personality she was immaculately polite and pleasant, but a little brash and (at least to start with) highly overconfident in her abilities, particularly on the material plane (which she considered to be the "minor leagues" as compared to the over-arching struggle of good vs. evil). She was quite intelligent, however, and would quickly learn her lesson (didn't get to finish that aspect of her personality). She quickly grew attatched to her mortal companions, treating them as equals and doing her best to find the good in each of them. She started off resembling a quasi-pubescent elf (ignoring the pure-white eyes and the hair the colour of rusted copper). As she gained XP, the plan was to have her grow and develop at an unusual rate - ie, at whatever rate she gained XP - explaining that Celestials have a skewed sense of time and don't age like mortals. For her, experiencing and learning were far more important to her growth that simply the passage of time. (She would point out that mortals really just grow because they eat, and then apologise if that sounded like an insult.) As another roleplaying feature, I tried to play her as a bit of a tourist. She enjoyed speaking strange new mortal languages with her tongues ability (for plot reasons I was granted this ability early), likening the experience to trying new foods. As for actual food, she only ate for the fun of it, and got quite addicted to sweets, such as preserves and dried fruits. These are all things I figured a young but intelligent child might do. Hope some of that was a help! I wish I had something more concrete. I'd really like to play a ghaele again sometime. I like the way they stacked the hit dice in Savage Species so that you don't actually miss a hit die until 6th level. You need all the hitpoints you can get since you can't wear armor (masterwork studded leather and mithrhil chain shirts are your friends) and don't have the luxury of dipping into some other class to get the proficiencies. ~Ginger
Lia Nightdemon 06-09-07, 01:23 AM	Thank you thats actually alot of help Though what should I do about 2 of the other party members 1 is a human/teifling type (it's a race called Diablos) and then the other PC is a demon who is the familair of the human
Terjon of the Blue Rose 06-09-07, 03:57 AM	Gingerbread Guy -- Very nice. As for your companions... going with Ginger's background I'd consider them a sort of backwards attempt by the elder's to teach you a lesson. If they are good guys consider them a lesson on grey lines if not they are a constant shackle holding you back from going full bore since you dare not be corrupted by them.
Taeldrin Laesrash 06-09-07, 09:28 AM	In some of the old Planescape products (Or it may be very good fan-made material), Eladrin either form directly from the fabric of the plane, Arborean petitioners (souls of the dead) mixing with the inherant good and chaos in the plane. Alternatively, they can give birth to a new Eladrin (This is unique to the celestials, others simply are made by the plane, I believe). I'd suggest going with the former. The new Eladrin is still developing the link with their plane, gaining more abilities over time as it matures, and is experiencing new things for the first time (Which the race as a whole relishes).
Gingerbread Guy 06-10-07, 02:39 PM	Wow, crazy companions. I get the feeilng that this is going to go one way or the other: either its going to be a horrible trial finding reasons to hang around with evil quasi-fiends, or its going to be an excellent roleplaying experience if they're not strictly evil. You get cleric spells by your class level, which is one of your major strengths, so prepare detect evil on the first day. Perhaps its a bit of metagaming, but I think its the good kind. A timely detect evil will settle the score for her. If they're evil, you have a real chore ahead of you. If you do go with the idea of being assigned to the task of being their companion, your character may just have to put up with it and trust that your assignment was given to you for a purpose. Try to steer them away from evil and resist their attempts (deliberate or not) to corrupt you, as Terjon suggested. If they're non-evil but seem to be not-quite-good either (neutral) then monitor their ethics closely. You're chaotic good, not lawful good, so its not really your duty or your place to tell them what to do or lord your higher morals over them. I think leading by example is best, and interfering directly with their actions only when they would lead them down a path of evil. If they're good, you have the awesome opportunity of being their cheering squad, encouragement, and strongest ally. Where they might normally encounter persecution for their appearances and heritage, its your duty to step in and defend them. Who better to vouge for their purity than a freaking celestial? ^_^ Since the human character has a fiendish familiar, though, we can almost certainly rule this out. Only if there is DM intervention in the rules would a good human be able to call a fiendish familiar. At least you have one thing going for you: it won't be a mixed bag. If the fiend is a true familiar, his alignment will match his master's. I hope your DM has a plan or at least some ideas as to how this might work as well. My best tip is that managing party conflict is a group responsibility and it should never be handled independently. If/when there is a problem, get everyone involved in finding a solution. Obviously some conflict is fun and even desireable, but constant arguments, player-vs-player combat and so on are over the line in most cases. Good luck! ~Ginger
EpicEvokerElf 06-10-07, 10:15 PM	You don't sound like you need help. I think you've got it nailed.
Lia Nightdemon 06-10-07, 11:07 PM	no no the wizard familiar is a PC who is playing a demon (apparently they wrote a really nice background to get that to work)