optimization vs roleplaying predicament [Archive] - Wizards Community

optimization vs roleplaying predicament [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
togashikk
10-27-06, 03:57 PM I'm creating a character loosely based on Hitsugaya Toshirou from the anime series Bleach. My DM's decided to start us at 2nd level in the normal D&D campaign world. I rolled 16, 15, 7, 13, 13, 16 and I've decided to start as a favored soul (Bahamut) 1/fighter 1. My name is Higan Thyrion and I'm 15 years old at 5'6, 135 lbs with an extensive backstory. I have Str 16, Dex 15, Con 8, Int 11, Wis 13, and Cha 16. I decided to be our combat/healing oriented dual-wielding heavy picks. In previous campaigns, I've had characters weak in combat, choosing character vision over optimization, and frankly I'm sick of that. My problems are that my vision for the my character is being very wise but he's not and I'm not willing to sacrifice my Str, Dex or Cha score for combat and the extra spells, and obviously sacrificing Con or Int doesn't help b/c I actually need more hit points if I'm going to be in combat and I would like to have skills ranks (in Knowledge (arcana), Sense Motive, and Spellcraft) to be somewhat useful outside of combat . My predicament is finding a balance between optimization and capturing some of my character vision.

Sorry, I feel like I'm trying to go too many directions at once to be well-rounded and not useless. Please be patient with me this is only my 4th campaign playing and I'm fairly sure I'm incidentally being a perfectionist. Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

-----

May God bless you and may you bless Him with all the strength of your arms, mind, heart, and spirit.
Reversefigure4
10-27-06, 08:57 PM If you aren't set on the idea of being a Favoured Soul, you could try a Cleric (one that doesn't worry about Undead - not really Bahamut's area anyway, AFAIK). Switch the 8 to Charisma, the 16 to WIS, and the 13 to either INT or CON, whichever you decide is more important.

If you haven't got a race yet, Human will provide you with extra skill points.
Fatalis_902
10-28-06, 09:22 AM WHATEVER YOU DO GET THAT 8 OUT OF YOUR CONSTITUTION!! What are you, suicidal? An 8 in Con... You are probably not aware of this, but CONSTITUTION IS NOT A DUMP STAT!! As for where the 8 should go, and how to get your character's wisdom up, your best bet would be to move a 15 or 16 to it, and make sure you move that 8 out of Contitution. At least if you want to live.
Fithero
10-28-06, 11:10 AM WHATEVER YOU DO GET THAT 8 OUT OF YOUR CONSTITUTION!!

Dude.... switch to decafe'.... seriously:twitch:

As for the 8 in constitution, make sure you role play it... make the character get puffed when they're walking, get a cold from camping out in the wilderness for too long... or just suffer from food poisoning (the bad kind and the good kind... ie:booze:P)

That or you could put that 8 in dex... you wouldnt suffer *that* baddly in melee combat with only a -1 to ac, but that can be glossed over with some heavy armor. If you dont want him to be a fumbling/bumbling butter fingers just make him someone who moves a little slower, takes time and moves with purpose.

Hope this helps some

Peace

ps:Remember Fatalis_902... *Decafe'*
concerro
10-28-06, 12:22 PM Fatalis is right you have got to raise the CON. I would never recommend giving any character lower than a 14.
togashikk
10-29-06, 08:58 AM Thanks, guys. Yeah, I'll make that Con change.
PSchirf
10-29-06, 07:10 PM People need to stop freaking out about "low" ability scores. Since normal human average is only 10.5, 8 isn't really that low. An 8 is below average by the same amount that a 13 is above average, and how many of you consider a 13 to be a "high" con?

Playing characters with normal or slightly lower than normal ability scores in one area or another isn't a major problem. In fact, it can add a lot to the character in terms of roleplaying. Remember, the game is about having fun, not "winning".
togashikk
10-30-06, 12:09 AM I agree the game isn't about "winning". It's about having fun. But, it's not fun dying because you have a poorly made character that is combat/healing with low hit points because of low Con.

Also, I changed the Con to Dex then realized it would make me lose two-weapon fighting, which wasn't an option. But I was able to do some math and balance out the character. Thanks for the help everyone.
pinkbunny
10-30-06, 04:23 AM I'm currently playing a 6 con rogue.

Hard, but doable.
Candide
10-30-06, 01:50 PM I played a Ranger/Rogue/Fighter with a 7 con. Though my AC was really good since I had a high dex, etc. But still, a low con is doable.

My wizard right now has a con of 9. It's not been much of a drawback. Then again the party is ECL 12s or 13s, so there aren't many things that are major drawbacks
Fatalis_902
11-01-06, 07:16 PM Dude.... switch to decafe'.... seriously:twitch:

As for the 8 in constitution, make sure you role play it... make the character get puffed when they're walking, get a cold from camping out in the wilderness for too long... or just suffer from food poisoning (the bad kind and the good kind... ie:booze:P)

That or you could put that 8 in dex... you wouldnt suffer *that* baddly in melee combat with only a -1 to ac, but that can be glossed over with some heavy armor. If you dont want him to be a fumbling/bumbling butter fingers just make him someone who moves a little slower, takes time and moves with purpose.

Hope this helps some

Peace

ps:Remember Fatalis_902... *Decafe'*
FunnythingaboutthatIdon'tactuallydrinkth atmuchcaffeineIjustingestfartoomuchsugar fromallthesodathatIdrink. Okay, silliness aside, I tend to over-react to things, and spazzing is one of my ways of over-reacting. It's fun.:D And I NEVER drink coffee. Or tea. Especially tea. Awful stuff.:pbbbtt:

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
togashikk 10-27-06, 03:57 PM	I'm creating a character loosely based on Hitsugaya Toshirou from the anime series Bleach. My DM's decided to start us at 2nd level in the normal D&D campaign world. I rolled 16, 15, 7, 13, 13, 16 and I've decided to start as a favored soul (Bahamut) 1/fighter 1. My name is Higan Thyrion and I'm 15 years old at 5'6, 135 lbs with an extensive backstory. I have Str 16, Dex 15, Con 8, Int 11, Wis 13, and Cha 16. I decided to be our combat/healing oriented dual-wielding heavy picks. In previous campaigns, I've had characters weak in combat, choosing character vision over optimization, and frankly I'm sick of that. My problems are that my vision for the my character is being very wise but he's not and I'm not willing to sacrifice my Str, Dex or Cha score for combat and the extra spells, and obviously sacrificing Con or Int doesn't help b/c I actually need more hit points if I'm going to be in combat and I would like to have skills ranks (in Knowledge (arcana), Sense Motive, and Spellcraft) to be somewhat useful outside of combat . My predicament is finding a balance between optimization and capturing some of my character vision. Sorry, I feel like I'm trying to go too many directions at once to be well-rounded and not useless. Please be patient with me this is only my 4th campaign playing and I'm fairly sure I'm incidentally being a perfectionist. Thanks for any comments or suggestions. ----- May God bless you and may you bless Him with all the strength of your arms, mind, heart, and spirit.
Reversefigure4 10-27-06, 08:57 PM	If you aren't set on the idea of being a Favoured Soul, you could try a Cleric (one that doesn't worry about Undead - not really Bahamut's area anyway, AFAIK). Switch the 8 to Charisma, the 16 to WIS, and the 13 to either INT or CON, whichever you decide is more important. If you haven't got a race yet, Human will provide you with extra skill points.
Fatalis_902 10-28-06, 09:22 AM	WHATEVER YOU DO GET THAT 8 OUT OF YOUR CONSTITUTION!! What are you, suicidal? An 8 in Con... You are probably not aware of this, but CONSTITUTION IS NOT A DUMP STAT!! As for where the 8 should go, and how to get your character's wisdom up, your best bet would be to move a 15 or 16 to it, and make sure you move that 8 out of Contitution. At least if you want to live.
Fithero 10-28-06, 11:10 AM	WHATEVER YOU DO GET THAT 8 OUT OF YOUR CONSTITUTION!! Dude.... switch to decafe'.... seriously:twitch: As for the 8 in constitution, make sure you role play it... make the character get puffed when they're walking, get a cold from camping out in the wilderness for too long... or just suffer from food poisoning (the bad kind and the good kind... ie:booze:P) That or you could put that 8 in dex... you wouldnt suffer that baddly in melee combat with only a -1 to ac, but that can be glossed over with some heavy armor. If you dont want him to be a fumbling/bumbling butter fingers just make him someone who moves a little slower, takes time and moves with purpose. Hope this helps some Peace ps:Remember Fatalis_902... Decafe'
concerro 10-28-06, 12:22 PM	Fatalis is right you have got to raise the CON. I would never recommend giving any character lower than a 14.
togashikk 10-29-06, 08:58 AM	Thanks, guys. Yeah, I'll make that Con change.
PSchirf 10-29-06, 07:10 PM	People need to stop freaking out about "low" ability scores. Since normal human average is only 10.5, 8 isn't really that low. An 8 is below average by the same amount that a 13 is above average, and how many of you consider a 13 to be a "high" con? Playing characters with normal or slightly lower than normal ability scores in one area or another isn't a major problem. In fact, it can add a lot to the character in terms of roleplaying. Remember, the game is about having fun, not "winning".
togashikk 10-30-06, 12:09 AM	I agree the game isn't about "winning". It's about having fun. But, it's not fun dying because you have a poorly made character that is combat/healing with low hit points because of low Con. Also, I changed the Con to Dex then realized it would make me lose two-weapon fighting, which wasn't an option. But I was able to do some math and balance out the character. Thanks for the help everyone.
pinkbunny 10-30-06, 04:23 AM	I'm currently playing a 6 con rogue. Hard, but doable.
Candide 10-30-06, 01:50 PM	I played a Ranger/Rogue/Fighter with a 7 con. Though my AC was really good since I had a high dex, etc. But still, a low con is doable. My wizard right now has a con of 9. It's not been much of a drawback. Then again the party is ECL 12s or 13s, so there aren't many things that are major drawbacks
Fatalis_902 11-01-06, 07:16 PM	Dude.... switch to decafe'.... seriously:twitch: As for the 8 in constitution, make sure you role play it... make the character get puffed when they're walking, get a cold from camping out in the wilderness for too long... or just suffer from food poisoning (the bad kind and the good kind... ie:booze:P) That or you could put that 8 in dex... you wouldnt suffer that baddly in melee combat with only a -1 to ac, but that can be glossed over with some heavy armor. If you dont want him to be a fumbling/bumbling butter fingers just make him someone who moves a little slower, takes time and moves with purpose. Hope this helps some Peace ps:Remember Fatalis_902... Decafe' FunnythingaboutthatIdon'tactuallydrinkth atmuchcaffeineIjustingestfartoomuchsugar fromallthesodathatIdrink. Okay, silliness aside, I tend to over-react to things, and spazzing is one of my ways of over-reacting. It's fun.:D And I NEVER drink coffee. Or tea. Especially tea. Awful stuff.:pbbbtt: