Post/Author/DateTime	Post
fatty mcgee 06-20-03, 02:52 AM	i have been pondering notions about this one for quite a while and thought i might see if any interesting thoughts or help might come from sharing it. i really want to play a high level sorcerer that has been magically muted by some undispellable means, and is forced to follow a weakened fighters path until the problem can be solved. i picture a very quiet man with a quarterstaff. able to cast the handful of spells that dont require a verbal component or those silenced by the silent spell feat. of coarse character development and plotline are of chief concern here, so far im thinking something along the lines of a recurring villian that used a magic item or more powerful than usual magic to effectivly mute the character and rob him of his primary strength, and finding a way to fix that, along with getting revenge on the villain plug well into most plots. also, as a possible reason for the effort, i thought the spellcasting prodigy feat from the forgotten realms book might make a more concrete reason for the villains action. so, questions, comments, and concerns please ladies and gentlemen, and thanks in advance.
PyroMancyr 06-20-03, 11:08 PM	interesting idea......im thinkin on the fly, so bear with me.... now if yer gona use the recurring villain....start designing the artifact.....and it would be nothing short of an artifact to permamently silence the character....
fatty mcgee 06-21-03, 04:31 AM	good point, it doesnt necissarily have to be an artifact though...
PyroMancyr 06-21-03, 04:22 PM	the reason I say artifact, and a powerful one at that.....is that anything less runs the possibility of being dispelled......at least, dispelled by someone more powerful than the item level....before you face down the main villain.... unless, that is what you want....in that case, make it a high enough level that it may take him a while to find a way to do it.....
fatty mcgee 06-22-03, 01:57 AM	ah, i get your meaning now, good point. by the way, is there a list somewhere of spells with no verbal components? any tips on roleplaying difficulties, any of you others that have played a mute caractor have any for example?
PyroMancyr 06-22-03, 03:51 AM	unfortunately, not that i can think of.. youll have to go through yer phb..and any other accessory with spells in it...the hard way..... but in this case, id say maybe start creatin some silent spells.....that is after you exhaust the D&D materials
fatty mcgee 06-27-03, 03:19 AM	ok, so ive done some more fleshing and i want the char to be really good with a quarterstaff as he goes on without magic, i like the aeg "war" sourcebook's prestige class "wandering squire" for those of you unfamiliar with it, here are the requirements: base attack +5 dodge, two weapon fighting, weapon focus: quaterstaff the prc basically makes a char really good witha quarterstaff. the dilemma: i want the character to be a high enough level spellcaster for him to really feel the loss, but not high enough that he is totally worthless without spells, but on the other hand, i want him to be capable as a fighter, so he has usefulness, but not so much that i throw away the entire idea of the character. finally, i want a balance between the two that doesnt make the level too high, but high enough that i can find a good mix. so basically, any advice would be of fantastic use to me, please feel free to dispence it
Winston Featherfall 06-30-03, 06:58 AM	Perhaps taking a level or two of fighter might be in order. It would symbolise your characters increased experience and reliance on combat. If multiclassing isnt something you want to do, then.....hmmm. I got nothin right now :confused: Winston
Varlis 06-30-03, 03:41 PM	Talk to your DM and see if he'll grant you a couple of levels over your party as you're not as effective without your voice. He would be fun to roleplay, very shy and quiet or, even better, rambunctious and crazy, just without a voice. I would say that somehow his voice has been magically 'stolen' or something to that affect and placed in a phylactery-type container. The BBEG could have it for some reason, or even a god, for one day it is deemed that the sorceror would speak the Unkown Words to destroy the god. But the god could not kill him outright, for he was also the only one who could destroy the god's greatest rival. Or something to that extent. Good luck with this, have fun with this character!
fatty mcgee 07-01-03, 02:56 AM	thats some really good advice guys, thank you, i certainly dont mind multiclassing, actually, i dont think ive ever played a straight full class anything, ive actually used the rules for multiclassing at first level! and varlis, thanks very much, thats some really great stuff, particularly ths "stolen voice" thing, very excellent idea, i am not 100% i want to go the god route, but it is a fantastic idea nonetheless, and it definately fits the big destiny and rahter powerful ability stuff i had in mind, my only real problem is ive kinda already done the "_________god as a personal enemy" thing with a character that sought to dethrone nerull because of his unfair "evil perspective of death" other than that, i really like the idea, thanks guys, and keep up the good work please!
Talmariel 07-02-03, 09:29 PM	I'd borrow some ideas from the Book of Vile Darkness and use a variant curse instead of normal magic. Curses can be far more powerful than typical magic because they aren't subject to dispels (only remove curse). I know there is a variant rule called the Dying Curse, which, if placed by a high enough creature of evil, is impossible to remove outside of divine intervention. That would give your character an interesting double-goal. The enemy would have to be overcome (unless it was a Dying Curse), and your character would be seeking the favor of a deity. Another fun tid-bit would be to use the Dying Curse, and then have your villain return anyway as an undead. Lich is the obvious route, but others exist (try the templates in the Monster's Manual II, I especially like the Death Knight). As for being decent with your quarterstaff, there are two ways you could go. The multiclassing will work fine, and is a great representation of changing your character's direction. Also, there are a few prestige classes that have fighting casters (War Wizards of Cormyr, from Magic of Faerun, since you mentioned Forgotten Realms; if you're DM will go for it, being an ex-Zhentarim Sky Mage would be fun, found in the Lords of Darkness FR book). Here's another way that would let you try out a straight Sorcorer without multiclassing. After your muting, have your character take two feats: Silent Spell (duh), and Craft Staff. Make your quarterstaff a magical weapon suited to your needs, that could cast spells like greater magic weapon, haste, or if you're high enough level for 6th level spells: Tenser's transformation. That spell alone will do everything you need. Put it on the staff with either a very low charge cost or a times per day (even at will, if you can spare the gold and experience). "Speak softly, and carry a big stick" - Teddy Roosavelt.
fatty mcgee 07-03-03, 02:50 AM	thats a really good idea too, thank you all for the help, and feel free to keep more coming, i really like everything so far, and hunger for more, thank you very much
fatty mcgee 07-18-03, 02:34 AM	bump
Trydan 07-22-03, 09:10 AM	I have a serachable list of spells, based on the SRD, and a quick check for non-verbal component spells was scary. It only came up with four! gaseous form hypnotic pattern mislead rainbow pattern Note that there are not components listed for etherealness and vanish, so you'll need to check these manually in the PHB. We don't play with any supplements, so I can't help you there. Oh, technically there was also invisibility to animals but that is a druid-only one. For working out equivalent level, look at what level your character would need to be, in order to cast the same number of stilled spells as a character with a voice. The four spells listed above would then be bonuses over and above this, but I feel that this would neatly cancel out with the lost abilities of things like "Diplomacy", "Intimidate", etc. (well, for most situations; there would still be a few where these skills would still apply.
Lord of the Ninth 07-23-03, 11:13 PM	my first question is "what do you know about psionics?" After all they have no verbal components (or components of any sort for that matter), so you wouldn't be limiting your self by being mute (well you would be, but less so), plus you eventually learn how to comunicate telepathically (but it'll cost you power points). Of course this is assuming your DM uses psionics... But anyway, I believe savage species has a list of spells that don't have somatic components, they also have some other good stuff for compensating such a loss (also good things for blindness).
fatty mcgee 07-25-03, 02:38 AM	well, lord of the ninth, the thing is, i WANT to play a character with such an obvious handicap, it would definately be a change of pace, and the story ideas are plentiful, not to mention the role play, but if role-play was all i wanted, id go fighter or something, sorcerer stands out because of their reliance on charisma (a very verbal ability) and reliance on verbal components. taking a character so dependant on speech and removing thier ability to speak really appeals to me, and playing through the difficult time of finding a solution, and getting by without the obvious strengths usually available to a sorcerer, and lets not forget down the road, when a triumphant return blows everbody away at the sudden change of power! if i played a psion, i think id want them to be quadraplegic, and forced to float themself around everwhere! anybody else have any interesting stories, advice, or thoughts on or around the subject, a fighter with no hands and stump knives, maybe?
fatty mcgee 08-01-03, 03:10 AM	bump
technodemon 08-01-03, 10:15 AM	I thought about doing the Same thing myself. For our campagin alot not many healing spells is in the worl, I am the only healer in partym Druid. I thought taking the Mind Weaver spellcaster core class from Path of Magic (Fantasy Flight Games) whch it is 20level class and they can cast with no verbal component. Or do the Mindbinder prestige class from Tome and Blood. These are my ideas for my alternate class. I do have a question though. How does the Silent Spell fgeat work exactly? Is it one feat per spell or one feat for you known spells?
fatty mcgee 08-01-03, 04:41 PM	as a sorcerer, you cast any spell you know as a silent for taking the feat once, it just uses up a higher slot than usual. and i believe it takes longer to cast. a wizard must prepare the spell as a silent spell, at the higher level slot.
fatty mcgee 08-19-03, 02:13 AM	bump
ron4555 08-19-03, 09:59 AM	Well, if you're playing 3.5 I think the concept would play perfectly into the Eldritch Knight. The class has no flavor, but I think it would for your very interresting concept. After he is muted, he is somewhat depressed as his ability seems lost. He begins focusing on the quarterstaff (taking a level of fighter) so he can defend himself and continue his goals. He then learns how to cast his spells silently (only uses one level higher slot, so not too terrible really) and decides to work on both his martial abilities and his spell casting. That's where he begins his life as an EK. He will keep getting better at combat (a feat and good BAB) while also learning spell casting. Combining the effects of keeping his spells silenced and the multiclassing will only cost you in effect 4 levels of casting, so still very playable. Also, it might be cool to play him as someone who has become more cautious, focusing more on divination spells and spells that hinder opponents ability to fight. That gives a cool playing direction (the quiet man who seems always able to avoid trouble, but knows how to handle himself when it won't go away) and gives you a collection of spells that won't be too hurt by the increased casting time and lack of movement. Just some thoughts. Have fun playing this character.