Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ericSHINRA 11-20-06, 11:06 PM	Ok. I know I'll never be able to get across my problem so I'll go into more detail here. I've always had a love for characters like Kid Link(Legend of Zelda) or Yahiko Myojin(Rurouni Kenshin) because despite their youth and inexperience they grow up to be 'great' men. What I'd like to play in my next campaign is a young man who is at that point in his life when he's starting to mature and become a adult. That being said, I'm having trouble deciding how to go about this task or even what kind of character in terms of class he should be(which normally isn't hard for me to decide). I know I'll be good-aligned, that much is certain(Most likely CG with slight CN traits) but aside from that I'm having trouble coming up with any decent ideas. My DM tends to run standard D&D games but he's fairly accepting of books other then CORE and the COMPLETES. If anyone has any ideas that might help me or has played a similiar kind of character in the past I'd love to have some insight on how to create and eventually play such a character. In terms of classes, I'd like to try something different then a fighter(having played one in my last game) opposed to any classes other then the Cleric, Wizard or Druid. -ericShinra
mato_hibiki 11-20-06, 11:22 PM	I can suggest how to go about making a yahiko style character. Scout, power attack, leap attack, and a two handed weapon. With that out of the way, I'd say it's best to play the character as a little naive, and optimistic to a fault. Don't forget a little reckless, playing a teen, that'll come up a few times. If possible, find a party member or NPC to 'hero worship' maybe even imitate a little.
ericSHINRA 11-20-06, 11:27 PM	I can suggest how to go about making a yahiko style character. Scout, power attack, leap attack, and a two handed weapon. With that out of the way, I'd say it's best to play the character as a little naive, and optimistic to a fault. Don't forget a little reckless, playing a teen, that'll come up a few times. If possible, find a party member or NPC to 'hero worship' maybe even imitate a little. I've been wanting to play a Scout... That'd actually work nicely. Regardless of optimization via feats, weapons and character class I think ther 'hero worship' is a must for a character like Yahiko. Depending on the setting, he'd more then likely refer to himself as something other then his character class such as a Knight, Samurai or the like. I'm wondering however, how to explain being the same 'level' as an older/more experienced party member when he's only 10-15 years of age. -ericShinra
TheAnthroDM 11-21-06, 12:01 AM	Link He come to town Come to save the Princess: Zelda Gannon Took her away Now the children don'' play But they will when link save the day Hallejeah! Sorry couldn't resist, I suggest Rogue honestly, it seem the best for this type of thing.
mato_hibiki 11-21-06, 02:05 PM	Hey, how do you NOT get as good as the guy you follow around constantly, copying his moves, imitating his training routine... Rp-wise, you have the (possibly? Maybe, I dunno) advantage the other party members didn't have, a mentor to teach you the ropes. Also, you could just be an incredibly fast learner. Kenshin was a government assassin, the BEST assassin, before he was fifteen. I'm not saying go you and get paid to kill NPCs, but if you watch somebody's every move, you pick up stuff fast. Seriously, if you're asking that, I don't think you've read all of the RK manga yet. Yahiko becomes a beast.
ericSHINRA 11-22-06, 03:48 PM	Seriously, if you're asking that, I don't think you've read all of the RK manga yet. Yahiko becomes a beast. Actually I have. However, I don't remember pondering whether or not Yahiko is skilled a skilled swordsman. Yahiko was awesome when he fought Kujiranami and Genbu in the Jinchu Arc. My point is that(and maybe I wasn't too clear) more then likely my DM will take issue with the fact that a 'child' will never be equal to other PC's in terms of skill from the getgo(first session) and thus would have to be lower level and/or at take the penalties listed in D20 Modern.
SageBahamut 11-26-06, 02:54 PM	If you're basing him off of anime, and your DM is sympathetic to that, you can cite many an example of "extraordinary" or "precocious" young characters. The entire cast of Gundam Wing comes to mind (including Marie-Maya Khushrenada, whose name I can never remember how to spell). Then there's Gohan who had the dual benefits of good breeding and elite (if somewhat forced) training. Or all of those many characters trained from birth to fulfill a role. In which case you should play him as incredibly stunted in other areas - while a higher-than-apparent CHA might mean he's pretty, he should be socially awkward and/or tactless, especially if he was trained from birth for a rogue or fighter role. Or, if his role be social (that is, he's a Bard, Sorc, or CHA-heavy rogue) then he ought to be cowardly or horribly inept in some other way. Edit: In fact, your name gave me another idea - Cloud Strife, who joined the military young. Maybe your character lied about his age to join a militia and thus received basic training and/or saw action during a recent war. Even though he's only (insert believably young age here, 15? 17?) he's completed his mandatory 2 years of service and, though he has some skills, he's still bright-eyed enough to count as naive about the world, especially society and other non-military people.
Ciradin 11-26-06, 03:03 PM	I would suggest making your character have a lower wisdom score, and play niave. Rogue is a good class but, make sure NOT to act like a hard-bitten assassin/theif. Innocence is also key in a character like this.
SageBahamut 11-26-06, 03:07 PM	I would suggest making your character have a lower wisdom score, and play niave. Rogue is a good class but, make sure NOT to act like a hard-bitten assassin/theif. Innocence is also key in a character like this. Yeah, if you're going the rogue route, make him act more like Aladdin than Artemis Entreri. Streetrat, not thug.
Senopa 11-26-06, 08:28 PM	just yesterday, I made a character thats represtnts link from legend of zelda ocorina of time
Kirjiron 12-02-06, 03:54 PM	I was thinking along the same lines awhile ago, about a young enthusiastic fighter type who just fought harder than anyone else he encountered. Consequently he never really got to be very skilled, so think things like Power Attack, Cleave, and open-ended methods for brut-forcing combat encounters; to start with. For character growth this would sort of require DM cooperation, the young fighter needs to encounter an oldered seasoned and very skilled veteran who then thumps the young protege; with a combination of brains, skill, brawn and treachery. Presumably your character is smart enough to realize he is out of his league, leading him to re-evaluate his approach to combat. That's when you start to see feats like Dodge, Mobility, that take a more refined approach to combat appear on the character sheet. These represent your fighter maturing into a truly dangerous fighter. This idea came to me from two different sources, one was the old animated movie Fire & Ice while the other was my own experience as a martial artist. The progression seems to be common to me, it was something I went through and saw repeated several times. I have also seen it in professional sports. I hope this is of some help.
FolcoTook 12-06-06, 09:53 AM	As far as explaining the level vs. age problem... classes like Rogue and Scout seem perfect for this to me. For rogue, you grew up in the back alleys of Waterdeep and had to learn quickly to survive. For scout, your father died when you were young and you had to help your brother feed the family by hunting and living off the land. Something like that. Hopefully your group is more interested in interesting characters than worrying about age vs. level. FT