Sortof cynical guy. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Sortof cynical guy. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Silver_Fox
12-21-05, 03:37 PM So, I was thinkong of a character concept for my next character, and I'm having some trouble deciding which class/-es to take. The setting is FR

My concept is: Character(henceforth reffered to as: C) grew up in a war torn region (northern Dalelands, perhaps?). His family started off as farmers, but were "driven out of buisness" from pillaging enemy soldiers, and friendly soldiers in need of food. His family became very poor, forced to live in the street at one time. Growing evermore frustrated with the situation, C decided to make something of himself, and get away from having to steal/rob/fight/entertain/beg (alot of options for different classes) for money, but unwilling to leave his family behind, he tried to make enough money for them to move someplace else.
However, he soon realised that sort of money could not be made in a war-ridden poor town such as [hometown], and set out to make money.
His journey took him far and wide. and every now and then he writes home and sends money if possible.

My problems with this character is first: I can't figure out what class(-es) I want to be, I'm sorta leaning towards Fighter(type).
And secondly, I can't choose an alignment. He is good because he cares alot about his family, but he is evil(at least un-good) for not caring very much 'bout anyone else, and beeing(at least for the moment) completley motivated by money.
As for the lawful/chaotic thing. He has a moral code, and dislikces injustice, he is, however, perfectly fine with braking some laws if it means more money.

So can any help? any feedback is appriciated, and if you have any ideas or alternations to his backgroud, they are very welcome.
Jon of the North
12-21-05, 08:55 PM What are the other players?

Assuming there's no key role need filling, Rogue and Bard are out, unless you want to play a reformed thief. On second thought, a Rogue who doesn't focus on stealing stuff could work. Barbarian doesn't really fit, nor does Wizard. Socerer if you want to be charismatic (sic?) Cleric if you find (a) god, but not really. Paladin no, monk no. So I'd go Fighter or a more urban than average Ranger. Started out all woodsy back at the farm, but then had to survive the urban jungle. Wait, do you have access to any of the books with extra classes like scout or hex blade?

As for Alignment, I say NG, maybe CG. He sounds a little bitter, but not bad. And just because you have a code doesn't mean you're lawful.
JulesCARV
12-21-05, 09:41 PM As for alignment, on the moral axis, I think he's neutral. It says in the SRD, "Neutral people are committed to others by personal relationships." In other words, it isn't only good people who care about their families: neutrals do as well, and probably many evils as well. What distinguishes good people is that they care about those with whom they have no relationship, selflessly. IMHO, probably 50% of people should be neutral, 25% evil, and 25% good, so setting a standard as basic as "cares about family (if not anyone else)" for goodness would probably make too high a proportion of people good. I would say neutral (not Druidic neutral, just mix-of-everything neutral).

As for class, if you want to play one of the full-BAB classes (fighter, ranger, barbarian, paladin), I think fighter or ranger make the most sense. Barbarian and paladin don't seem to fit well here.
Silver_Fox
12-22-05, 04:24 AM @JulesCarv: Neutral it is!

@Jon of the North: I have access to all the completes, all races of, and all FR.
Were you thinking of Scout perhaps? I does fit the pircture, and after your post, I was thinking along the lines if rougish-figter-type-thing(maybe rouge/ranger?)

Thanks!
Morka
12-22-05, 04:36 PM With all the gods in FR, you might check to be a Cleric. Selune, Mielikki, Lurue, Valkur (if you come from a coastal town) could be good. Or if you want something more happy but with your own interpretation (cynical), you could go with Sharess, Lliira or Milil.
Fox Lee
12-22-05, 06:28 PM Neutral would be my choice for alignment too. He's not bad enough to be evil, but not moral enough to be good, and he abides by the laws only until they get in his way. He probably has good leanings - he's been forced into what he does by necessity, after all - which could emerge later on, depending on the influence of the story and other PCs.

For class, I think Fighter/Rogue is a solid choice. Fighter is a sensible choice for somebody without much background training, after all; he's a self-taught combatant. I like the Rogue half because it would emphasise this; Sneak Attack represents a opportunistic streak, that he had to learn to fight dirty to survive. And the wide array of skills show that he had to learn a bit of everything, rather than being able to rely on others. I think it's the perfect Class combo ^^

Speaking of not relying on others, I'd pass on giving him a deity. I know that if I had a history like that, I wouldn't be particularly inclined to put my faith in anything but myself! I'd make him atheistic - not denying the existence of the gods, since that's a bit hard in D&D, but not willing to trust any of them. If it works story-wise, you could have him pick up a during play, depending on how things go in action.
Silver_Fox
12-29-05, 07:10 AM Thanks for all the input guys!

I'm gonna make him a Dagger-weilding Fighter-Rogue atheist, later going in to Invisible blade.

I thought I'd give him daggers, since they are easily concealable weapons, (handy when you're a criminal). Start of with some Rogue lvls, to represent his theifness, and then topping off a Fighter lvl or two, as he becomes more agressive.
A friend of mine recomended Invisible Blade since combines Fighter-ism(High BAB) and Sneak attacking, and provides a lot of dirty-fighting possibilities(feinting and such), which is right up his alley.

And after reading Fox's post, I talked to a friend who is going to play a Cleric of Lathander(Probably), who has agreed to take it upon himself to try to point my character in a better direction, and my character will eventually become a real goody-goody nice guy.

After the Invisible Blade I thought I'd fill out with some more Fighter or Rogue(or possibly Swashbuckler) until about 15th lvl.
I need something to represent his newfound ways at the later lvls, I thought about stuff like Holy Liberator(If the DM will allow it. He has decreed a 1 PrC limit), but it does'nt synergize well at all with his stats. Any Ideas?
Or should I continue with the Fighter-Rogue(-Swashbuckler) thing with just a Gooder(that's not a word, is it?) alignment?
Fithero
12-29-05, 08:33 AM It may seem like a stretch, but what about if he becomes a paladin? He takes on a quest for the atonment spell and then becomes a holy knight. He doesnt have to be a lawfull good paladin, any of the good ones are fitting.

Or if that is a bit too full on, perhaps he becomes exalted, taking on various feats and what not.

Hope this helps.

Later

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Silver_Fox 12-21-05, 03:37 PM	So, I was thinkong of a character concept for my next character, and I'm having some trouble deciding which class/-es to take. The setting is FR My concept is: Character(henceforth reffered to as: C) grew up in a war torn region (northern Dalelands, perhaps?). His family started off as farmers, but were "driven out of buisness" from pillaging enemy soldiers, and friendly soldiers in need of food. His family became very poor, forced to live in the street at one time. Growing evermore frustrated with the situation, C decided to make something of himself, and get away from having to steal/rob/fight/entertain/beg (alot of options for different classes) for money, but unwilling to leave his family behind, he tried to make enough money for them to move someplace else. However, he soon realised that sort of money could not be made in a war-ridden poor town such as [hometown], and set out to make money. His journey took him far and wide. and every now and then he writes home and sends money if possible. My problems with this character is first: I can't figure out what class(-es) I want to be, I'm sorta leaning towards Fighter(type). And secondly, I can't choose an alignment. He is good because he cares alot about his family, but he is evil(at least un-good) for not caring very much 'bout anyone else, and beeing(at least for the moment) completley motivated by money. As for the lawful/chaotic thing. He has a moral code, and dislikces injustice, he is, however, perfectly fine with braking some laws if it means more money. So can any help? any feedback is appriciated, and if you have any ideas or alternations to his backgroud, they are very welcome.
Jon of the North 12-21-05, 08:55 PM	What are the other players? Assuming there's no key role need filling, Rogue and Bard are out, unless you want to play a reformed thief. On second thought, a Rogue who doesn't focus on stealing stuff could work. Barbarian doesn't really fit, nor does Wizard. Socerer if you want to be charismatic (sic?) Cleric if you find (a) god, but not really. Paladin no, monk no. So I'd go Fighter or a more urban than average Ranger. Started out all woodsy back at the farm, but then had to survive the urban jungle. Wait, do you have access to any of the books with extra classes like scout or hex blade? As for Alignment, I say NG, maybe CG. He sounds a little bitter, but not bad. And just because you have a code doesn't mean you're lawful.
JulesCARV 12-21-05, 09:41 PM	As for alignment, on the moral axis, I think he's neutral. It says in the SRD, "Neutral people are committed to others by personal relationships." In other words, it isn't only good people who care about their families: neutrals do as well, and probably many evils as well. What distinguishes good people is that they care about those with whom they have no relationship, selflessly. IMHO, probably 50% of people should be neutral, 25% evil, and 25% good, so setting a standard as basic as "cares about family (if not anyone else)" for goodness would probably make too high a proportion of people good. I would say neutral (not Druidic neutral, just mix-of-everything neutral). As for class, if you want to play one of the full-BAB classes (fighter, ranger, barbarian, paladin), I think fighter or ranger make the most sense. Barbarian and paladin don't seem to fit well here.
Silver_Fox 12-22-05, 04:24 AM	@JulesCarv: Neutral it is! @Jon of the North: I have access to all the completes, all races of, and all FR. Were you thinking of Scout perhaps? I does fit the pircture, and after your post, I was thinking along the lines if rougish-figter-type-thing(maybe rouge/ranger?) Thanks!
Morka 12-22-05, 04:36 PM	With all the gods in FR, you might check to be a Cleric. Selune, Mielikki, Lurue, Valkur (if you come from a coastal town) could be good. Or if you want something more happy but with your own interpretation (cynical), you could go with Sharess, Lliira or Milil.
Fox Lee 12-22-05, 06:28 PM	Neutral would be my choice for alignment too. He's not bad enough to be evil, but not moral enough to be good, and he abides by the laws only until they get in his way. He probably has good leanings - he's been forced into what he does by necessity, after all - which could emerge later on, depending on the influence of the story and other PCs. For class, I think Fighter/Rogue is a solid choice. Fighter is a sensible choice for somebody without much background training, after all; he's a self-taught combatant. I like the Rogue half because it would emphasise this; Sneak Attack represents a opportunistic streak, that he had to learn to fight dirty to survive. And the wide array of skills show that he had to learn a bit of everything, rather than being able to rely on others. I think it's the perfect Class combo ^^ Speaking of not relying on others, I'd pass on giving him a deity. I know that if I had a history like that, I wouldn't be particularly inclined to put my faith in anything but myself! I'd make him atheistic - not denying the existence of the gods, since that's a bit hard in D&D, but not willing to trust any of them. If it works story-wise, you could have him pick up a during play, depending on how things go in action.
Silver_Fox 12-29-05, 07:10 AM	Thanks for all the input guys! I'm gonna make him a Dagger-weilding Fighter-Rogue atheist, later going in to Invisible blade. I thought I'd give him daggers, since they are easily concealable weapons, (handy when you're a criminal). Start of with some Rogue lvls, to represent his theifness, and then topping off a Fighter lvl or two, as he becomes more agressive. A friend of mine recomended Invisible Blade since combines Fighter-ism(High BAB) and Sneak attacking, and provides a lot of dirty-fighting possibilities(feinting and such), which is right up his alley. And after reading Fox's post, I talked to a friend who is going to play a Cleric of Lathander(Probably), who has agreed to take it upon himself to try to point my character in a better direction, and my character will eventually become a real goody-goody nice guy. After the Invisible Blade I thought I'd fill out with some more Fighter or Rogue(or possibly Swashbuckler) until about 15th lvl. I need something to represent his newfound ways at the later lvls, I thought about stuff like Holy Liberator(If the DM will allow it. He has decreed a 1 PrC limit), but it does'nt synergize well at all with his stats. Any Ideas? Or should I continue with the Fighter-Rogue(-Swashbuckler) thing with just a Gooder(that's not a word, is it?) alignment?
Fithero 12-29-05, 08:33 AM	It may seem like a stretch, but what about if he becomes a paladin? He takes on a quest for the atonment spell and then becomes a holy knight. He doesnt have to be a lawfull good paladin, any of the good ones are fitting. Or if that is a bit too full on, perhaps he becomes exalted, taking on various feats and what not. Hope this helps. Later