Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Tjuk 11-02-06, 03:52 AM	Point is i'm playing in a evil Waterdeep city campaign, and i've decided to play a human wizard, with alot of crafting feats, we kind of taken over a bar at a low level, and are trying to create our base of opperation there. I've got a full team of rogue's (4 of em) and my back ground story is not known by any party members, though my plan is to be a servant from a level 9 rogue/rest shadowdancer drow. To give myself a bit of a roleplaying habbit on low level, i decided to take the basement of the whole bar for myself, to create my own laboratory, and with all the necessary parts in it, also being quiet obsessive about people that try to get into my basement even my teammates. though after that whole story i've got no idea what to focus on, i've got a idea in my head about creating a weapon creating/smugling business, but i've got no idea how to get that going ,not only to forget how to protect myself against burglers, and how to get myself higher in the ranks of the lords , to be of importance in the city, so i can bring my "master" power within the city walls. Does anyone have a bit of advice what i should do? And give me a reason why i'm so obsessive about the whole basement part. since i think it's a really fun idea, though i've got no keys to bind these story's together. so i'm quiet stuck here:P Cheers, Chuck
Cherubaddon 11-02-06, 05:54 PM	Does evil wizard mean something like necromancy? If so, start creating undead. Lots of them. Just abduct townsfolk on backstreets after dark, one at a time, and animate them in your basement. That's why nobody is allowed to go there: It's your little kitchen of horrors. Try flesh and, if you have HoH, cadaver golems; homonculi (mostly for flavour); bind fiends to do your bidding; then, start animating sentient undead, who can spawn, strike a deal with them (on your terms, of course); Then, when you are ready, play your trump card, whichever way you want: You could blackmail the mayor, just overrun his town, start conquering villages, or wreak random havoc (this, however, is the least satisfying option). That's the way I like to handle things (I've got some routine with the mad wizard thing). If you prefer something more subtle, like the weapon trade you mentioned, try finding some evil/unscrupulous warlord or other military leader; sell him weapons, magic items, and maybe the aforementioned golems, undead and fiends, maybe all at a slight discount; you could helpt him, without anyone noticing, take over the world/kingdom/whatever, then usurp him by turning his weapons against him. Or just become his court magician with almost infinite resources for your experiments. That's pretty much all I have for the moment. I you have some more precise things you'd like to do, I'd be more than glad to offer my advice. Hope it helps.
JulesCARV 11-03-06, 12:19 AM	Maybe being a wizard in your campaign carries certain risks -- and some people are "touched" by the magic and driven insane, especially if they're a bit too ambitious or experimental in trying new spells or tinkering with old ones in ways that previous wizards haven't tried. Your wizard is one such case -- he's been driven crazy by a magical accident. Yet still, deep down, he knows he's screwed up, and wants to find a way of curing himself, but he thinks that the only way of doing so is somehow stealing sanity from others to replace his own lost sanity. (he's sane enough to know that he's insane and that this is a problem, but also insane enough to think that this is the way to go about curing himself) He experiments on them, constantly trying new incantations and rituals, trying to siphon sane people's sanity to himself.
TheAnthroDM 11-03-06, 01:07 AM	Does evil wizard mean something like necromancy? . No... Evil is an alignment, Necromancy is a school of magic that has a bad reputation because many of the best spells in it have the "Evil" descripter for no reasonable explanation whatsoever...
Tjuk 11-03-06, 04:49 AM	Well my wizard is more like a mindcontroller/illusionist, trying to cover up the tracks that the other team members made, and also saving them when they've made some mistakes in their burglering etc. But well the hole idea about the basement and experiementing on people i did like, especially since i tend to play quiet a insane person. and about the finding warlords i'm quiet involved with myrth the moneylender aswell which till now has gave me the oppertunity to get higher up in the foodchain by using my crafting/casting skill to assist people in their adventures and crimes. untill now thanks for the idea's if anyone else has more idea's they will be most welcome, untill now, you've gave me some really neat idea's how to improve my own position, but especially that part with the drow master troubles me. I really don't know how to position that in the story, nor what kind roleplaying twists i can give that. Especially with my teammates not constantly follow me since i'm the one covering their tracks they would stand no where, oh btw the basement i've talked about, we burried the guy which owned the shop there, and he seemed to be some weird priest of something evil, he kept telling us that we were going to die , that his god told him that, and there was only one part in the basement which had a opening in it through soil to bury him, so i might aswell dig him up, and start my experiements right, or do you've got some great idea's about that whole point? anyways Thanks alot! really helped me out a bit till now:D
Tjuk 11-03-06, 05:25 AM	Oh and i don't mind taking risks, keeps the gameplay fun, i've already putten myself in a dozen situations it was either me or my party members and always succeeded by sacrificing myself though saving myself with pure tactics aswell :D keeps a mind sharp :cool: though for most of the time i'm bound in the city walls, due it's a city campaign. i could oftenly sneak out of the city but only with the intention to get back in a short period of time, like within 3 days travels reach.
Cherubaddon 11-05-06, 12:58 PM	No... Evil is an alignment, Necromancy is a school of magic that has a bad reputation because many of the best spells in it have the "Evil" descripter for no reasonable explanation whatsoever... First: I've played enough wizards to know the difference. Second: Most necromancy spells are evil for a very good reason. Third: Most necromancers are nongood anyway, so it doesn't really matter. Fourth: What I meant was whether he wanted to be a necromancer, due to the combination wizard/madness/building creatures (I first thought about undead and flesh golems). Just because I have about thrice as much experience with necromancers as with other wizards. To get back to the topic: City walls? Sounds great. Lots of politics, you mean? In other words, lots of greedy and corrupt noble to manipulate? That must be your paradise! Just mind-control people who old positions of power. It is true that people can Sense Motive to recognize dominated or charmed people. So here is the trick: Use your magic to put the noble in a very embarassing situation. This could be adultery, framing him for a crime, being member of a dark cult, anything that could ruin his reputation. And blackmail him. Presto! If you are powerful enough, you can keep him from taking his vengeance, and soon, you will control half the government. And if someone resists...oh, but that's what Simulacrum is for, isn't it? OK, it isn't foolproof, but still very good. Hope it helps.
Tjuk 11-06-06, 03:51 AM	Well i was going to do some creating golems, though i was more thinking about iron golems, and shield gaurdians or however they are called. since well walking around on the street with a flesh golem... i think i'll get killed by any cleric which detects my alignment, and with a flesh golem that ain't so hard to see is it? :P good idea about trying to blackmail the lords, though waterdeep has like 12 lords or something and only one out of the open. So well that means i'd have to figure out who the others are. Though it's a great idea, it takes quiet long to get anything out of that. there's lots of fun politics to manipulate though. Was thinking about the whole drow master part, i was thinking about a background story like something like this, as a small boy i charged into a cave always looking for adventure, hey as a child who wasn't looking for that in a boring town? he actually got captured by the drow and used to be a servant, since it was in a young age and drow use dark magic on people, he doesn't know anything about his past and in his eyes, a child should be raised like he got raised as a slave, and due time his master has become to like the company of his servant,though it's only in a evil and controlling way, he gave the human a chance to be between his people and put the dark magic he has been taught to the test, and controll the upper lands for him. Though the Drow master doesn't trust the human, he keeps him in near eye sight. the Drow thinks that the human has a big chance of being a important person within the city's gates, and he thinks he will stay under the controll of the drow. And i asked my DM to put that into the campaign, and he responded quiet happy about it. since it gives a whole other dimension to the city of waterdeep, instead of actually going to the same important people over and over again, he can create random people in it, and involve the drow more in my actions, and maybe in the future even for more party members. since we all tend to be quiet crazy
Tjuk 11-06-06, 03:55 AM	The whole point is actually starting to make sence to me now, cheers for all that helped. It's a really fun campaign so far, can advice just about anyone to try a urban city campaign how i like to call it. though ofcourse if you still have advices or something in particular to mention about what i could do i still hope you write it down, i might even be more impressed about your idea's and i always like to keep route's open. btw what did you think about the whole drow master part? good idea? or not? thanks, Chuck
Fithero 11-06-06, 07:43 AM	I like the idea of the drow master part, but the whole "i own you through fear" approach is kinda clique and it is flawed. The second your character can get the upper hand over the person who is 'controlling' him, he's gonna take it and turn the tables. What if the drow, seeing the character as a poor child, gave him whatever he wanted and more. The family was low on food, so the drow snuck up to the boy while he was out one day and gave him a bag of gold or something. Someone in the boys family was killed, the killer was known, but not punished... the drow went and killed him for the boy. The boy wanted to become powerfull, so the drow taught him the basics of arcane magic. This way, the character himself feels indebted to the drow, and will more than likely willingly work for the drow and do favours. The drow still gets what he wants aswell, a front in the city of waterdeep. Hope this helps some. Peace
Tjuk 11-06-06, 08:29 AM	you've got a point but well it's not in a drows nature to be kind to any humans, especially not with their background, i did not say my character got abused when he was younger, he just had to do simple tasks for the drow for the luxury, and well why should my character take the upper hand ofcourse i kept that in mind if all things got out of controll, though well what if a child grows up with the idea, that he is suppose to make his "parents/masters" life easier, especially in solitude, he cannot remember his time before he got enslaved by the Drow,so he has never seen a way that is could be different when growing up, so he thinks it's normal to live this way. He sees the drow as his father or atleast something like that, he has respect for the drow. He doesn't know what else to do, ofcourse now when he's in waterdeep he sees lots of family's and he might respond to it in a positive way, or in a very negative one, which i prefer to be honest
Fithero 11-06-06, 09:21 AM	it's not in a drows nature to be kind to any humans, especially not with their background The drow isnt actually being 'nice' to the character, hes not helping him out of the kindness of his heart, hes doing these things to manipulate the character. Because he knows that if he does these small things for him now, he will recieve great benefits later. Its kinda the whole small pain, great gain deal. Hell, the drow might have hundreds of these humans all over the place. Drow are an evil and manipulative race, its not beyond imagination to think they could play your chracter as so. Anyway, just a thought, use it or dont. Peace
Tjuk 11-06-06, 09:43 AM	Well cheers for the idea anyways, though i think i might go with my own background story about the whole drow idea, the idea is well apreciated though.And if you have more don't hesitate ;) cheers, Chuck
Cherubaddon 11-06-06, 12:40 PM	i think i'll get killed by any cleric which detects my alignment, and with a flesh golem that ain't so hard to see is it? Well, technically, creating flesh golems isn't technically evil. And I really like Fithero's idea about the "nice" drow.
Need_A_Life 11-06-06, 01:51 PM	Crawling Claws would make a great army (OF DOOM?), seeing as how they could be transported in boxes and are not detected by 'detect undead', while remaining so cheap that you can use them even at high levels (granted, against mages of equal levels, they'll just be fodder of fireballs). Just make sure that your GM believes that evil does not equal 'deserves to be killed' in this society and you're nothing but a greedy person with a knack for arcane magic.
Tjuk 11-07-06, 03:01 AM	Well using harmfull damage spells out of the open already puts me on the criminal list, ofcourse you can do it at night, but waterdeep is kind of crawling with guards. And my GM is quiet strict on that, which i must say i find it quiet usefull sometimes since putting these rules to the test saved my friends a couple of times so far, without having to discover my true identity. I might put those crawling claws to the test, since i'm not bound to anything yet, and well it's a good servant tbh. Though a nice drow just ain't my deal :P i actually played a drow a few times, and roleplaying it as a nice guy is quiet hard :D since everyone just wants to beat the hell out of you, if not kill you. And especially since the DM actually plays the drow, and since he was my DM when i played a drow i'm sure he won't agree on making it a goody goody tissues drow , haha :D
Fithero 11-07-06, 08:00 AM	i'm sure he won't agree on making it a goody goody tissues drow , haha :D How many times do i have to say it... the drow isnt "good" at all, he's faking it! And I really like Fithero's idea about the "nice" drow. See? Cherubaddon gets it... Have you seen the movie "The Departed"? The mob boss buys the kid food and looks after him, then kinda says "you owe me" and then the kid works for him. One last time for those who still dont get it. The. Drow. Is. *Pretending*. To. Be. Nice. Sheesh:banghead:
Tjuk 11-07-06, 08:30 AM	Well drow do have a reputation on attacking on sight without asking, i've played in multiple underdark campaigns, and well i hardly have met one drow that actually wanted to talk to me at all, not to forget he first attacked me =p and i do get your point about him trying to manipulate people, but i just don't think that's a good enough reason for someone to ow him such a debt that he follows his commands blindly. And therefore i did not find it a good idea, and knowing my DM he would probably laugh at my face if i told him the background story, i'm not attacking you that i find it a stupid idea, not at all it's just a background story which seems impossible in my point of vieuw especially knowing my DM , i'm trying to put the whole, child raised by wolfs act. though well instead of being raised by wolfs, i got raised by drow, and instead of being raised, more like being enslaved.
Garidas 11-07-06, 01:42 PM	First of all, what is what your trying to accomplish? Cause a mad wizard always has a plan. You are a mind-controller and a illusionist, that is good to make the Watch annoyed and unable to find you. Mad-Wizards, they make chaos and look a little mad on what you wanna do, like: Mad Human Wizard = MHW Elf Fighter = EF Dwarf Rogue = DR DR: Ahh, there are dragons in that cave. MHW: Yeah, and we should kill them or make them our slaves, I need slaves to take over the city. EF: Where did you get a such idea, there are about five dragons there. MHV: It doesn't matter, I need the power of dragons. DR: You are mad... MHW: Okey, okey, lets go. *grabs his spellbook walks into the cave makes a mature spell so city of Waterdeeps feels the spells-power. <After a mature fight in the cave> DR: That is sure gonna make the wizards of Faerūn sense something. EF: Yeah, your right. MHW: What are you whispering each other com'on, we have a city to take over. *Smiles with a wicked and evil smile that scares his companions. So, that was a good version of a mad wizard in Faerūn. Also you could take a look at Halaster Blackcloak, that is a evil mad wizard with to much power.
Tjuk 11-08-06, 04:26 AM	Well plan is just to take controll in the city, maybe not even total controll since then i would get the old lords on my neck , and with some of them you just do not want to mess. Though bringing chaos is my kind of thing, confusing people untill they do not want to continue any further. or for example not knowing what hit them, though they know they lost something (including life's ofcourse) though not knowing what they've lost. Or making people disapear without a trace, and for most of their family forgetting they even excisted. And the mad part is especially about the experiements/weapons he creates, he spends so much time in his labratory that he enjoy's being there above being with other people, Since well materials or Familiar's you can trust, and other people you can't. So you can say he want total controll, he wants to be alone with his own mind, with other people being just mere puppets compared to himself. Technically strafing to be a god. It is also a high charisma character, so i can technically put everyone in my pocket when having a conversation. (that helps me not wasting a spell everytime i get into a conversation :P )
Rautherimnon 11-10-06, 08:08 AM	Hmm.. Have you decided any kind of specific madness he has? Obsession? Psychopathic?
Tjuk 11-10-06, 10:08 AM	obsession.