Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Schitzophrenia_Manifest 06-28-07, 01:14 AM	I've recently been working on an idea for a character that I really like... The campaign setting isn't important. What is, is that the character is the eldest son of the patron of a very wealthy noble family. He was to inherit his father's lands and other assets when he came of age, however, when he was a young child he became friends with a page in his father's household around his own age. The young master and servant would always run around and climb trees in the family's orchards. One day, as the young master (I'll just refer to him from now on as the PC) was climbing a paticularly tall tree, he lost his footing and fell the equivalent of two stories to the ground and landed on his head. His head was split open, and though his family's doctors managed to stitch the wound shut, he still remained unconcious. As he lay on what would have been his deathbed, his mother prayed to Kord (or other appropriate deity of war, the main deity of war being the patron deity of PC's family) that if he were to save her son, she would commit him to military service in his honor. In the end, PC managed to pull through (whether because of Kord's divine intervention or not is indeterminate). He woke up to find that the servant who had been his friend had been blamed for his accident and was cast out from the household. In addition, he didn't survive the ordeal completely intact. As an adult he has mental deficiencies (represented by penalty to his Int ability), and frequently suffers from seizures. Being promised to the military, his father sent him to an officer's school, but his various disadvantages led to him being culled within a month. So, he followed the only course of action left to him that wouldn't disgrace his family: enlist in the military as a common soldier. This, of course, has led to his family disowning him. So when the campaign itself begins, he's the ex-heir to a wealthy household and a simple soldier with unfortunate mental deficiencies. But here's where I'm stuck: the seizures. Now I know I want him to suffer seizures (I just think it'd make for a very interesting threat, especially in combat), but I'm not sure how to represent that in game terms. Any ideas? And does anyone see anything that should be changed in the PC's background itself? All comments will be appreciated.
warwinner 06-28-07, 02:06 AM	His family disowning him is so-so. I'd say his father thinks of him as a disgrace to his aristocratic environs.So his father says that he is not the heir unless he makes something worthy of himself other than being a common soldier. So the pc argues he will come back to his father only after he is "worthy" and that he does not really care about being the heir As to the seizures, what exactly is the type of seizure you want, as there are many http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seizure
Saicotic 06-28-07, 06:59 AM	Roll a d%- have, I dunno, a 10% chance that per round he could have a seizure. Forces him to drop prone, no actions. ...if he's smart, he'll take the prone attack feat....
Schitzophrenia_Manifest 06-28-07, 10:25 PM	Well I was just thinking along the lines of your basic grand mal seizure, with tremors and loss of conciousness. A 10% chance every round would probably too much, I think; he'd be spending 6 seconds of every minute on the ground shaking uncontrollably. I was thinking along the lines of seizures every time certain conditions are met, but making them more potentially dangerous. I remember reading a fantasy novel in which the main character suffered from seizures whenever he over-exerted himself, so perhaps whenever he becomes fatigued he must make a save (would a Fortitude save be more appropriate for controlling shaking?) or fall prone and shake uncontrollably for X rounds. If he later becomes exhausted, he must make another save or fall prone and become unconcious, rendering him helpless for X minutes. Not really going to be incredibly dangerous in combat, but if he ever gets caught in a seizure by an enemy he'll be completely at their mercy.
warwinner 06-28-07, 11:58 PM	Since his head injury is the reason, how about when enemy scores a critical hit [to the head or supposedly the critical hit's physical impact racks his brain], he must make a fortitude save or suffer seizure He falls prone and shakes uncontrollably until someone applies a heal check or till x rounds have passed [makes it so that the party can do something about it]
Orchomenos 06-29-07, 11:34 AM	Play a Barbarian with low constitution. When the Rage end, he would experiment a seizure instead of being only fatigued. Have him roll a Will save each round with his modified CON as DC: on a success, he is simply fatigued (meaning he somewhat overcame the seizure), on a failure, he is Fatigued & Dazed, meaning he can't act normally due to the seizure.