Post/Author/DateTime	Post
alecthemad 01-12-05, 11:28 PM	So I was thinking about taking one level in barbarian (maybe two) and the rest as a wizard (maybe specialized). The schtick would be that I voluntarily keep my illiteracy. I can only read spell books and scrolls. I was thinking the young barbarian taken in by a wizard and given a quick schooling in mage craft but cutting out some of the extraneous points. So the question is what is a good story for this? How can I make my skills and feats both reflect his limitations but without totally hobbling the character (gotta have a good spellcraft to learn new spells)
Token 01-14-05, 02:37 AM	Some advice: DON'T DO THIS!!!!! Wizards are "back row" characters. That whole arcane spell failure thing? Yeah, that means you don't wear armor or you risk loosing spells. You wont get high level spells, and you wont be able to get through spell resistance, because caster level = levels with spellcaster progression, not fighters. Multiclass spellcasters really really suck in d20. You can make a decent fighter/mage in GURPS, but this is DND, not GURPS. As a barbarian, your BAB will suck, and you won't be doing your job as a barbarian: hitting stuff really hard with a lot of aggression. The barbarian is quite stat dependant, as they need str and con, plus dex because they're expected to wear medium armor rather than full-plate. Also, I don't understand why you have that idea about "voluntarily keeping your illeracy." Where do you get that idea? Barbarians aren't dumb, they just grew up in the wild and were never taught to read/write, and never had a reason to read or write. Further more, you can't read, but you can read/write spellbooks and scrolls? That's just dumb. Wizards are litterate. That's like saying "I want to be an illerate rocket scientist." You realize that not all knowledge about casting spells is the spells themselves? You don't really expect the wizard who took this guy in to read every single book outloud to him? No, he'd teach his apprentice to read/write, at least in the language his books were in. If you want flavor about your reading/writing ability, make him only know how to read/write in draconic, or elven. Perhaps an outsider language like celestial or abyssal. But that's still pushing the envelope of rediclus-to-the-point-of-stupidity.
The_Yellow_Dart_Swinger 01-14-05, 11:40 AM	I would suggest making your character a barbarian though roleplaying rather than though mechanics. Mostly because the barbarian and the wizard are like oil and water: they don't mix well. Your character won't have enough staying power to be a front line fighter. Add in the fact that your Bab is going to be extremely low and most importantly, you can't cast spells while raging. However, if your not going to be the party's main caster. You should look into the Rage Mage PrC in the Complete Warrior. You gain a caster level every other level, but you can cast spells while in a rage. Chances are if you take more than a couple levels in the class you'll never get to use 8th or 9th level spells. So as I said in my first sentence, I would roleplay someone who has lived as a barbarian without showing it mechanically. For instance, most wizards wear robes of some sort. Not you though, you wear the pelts off of animals you've slain, fashioning them into a crude set of clothing. Prehaps you keep parts of slain foes because they carry good juju. You eat with your hands instead of using utensils. Just make up a big long list of ways you would act and some questions. How does your character act around technology? Around nobility? etc. Story wise I don't really know. I could offer that the wizard who trains your character isn't an urban wizard, but a hedge wizard and a hermit. Trading with your tribe, the wizard one way or another finds that your character has magical potiental and offers to help you tap into all that potiental. Thus you go and train with said wizard who doesn't live but a few miles away from the tribe. And every so often you go back to your tribe for awhile. Hence staying connected somewhat to your roots.
Dracspero 01-14-05, 11:57 AM	Edit: Oops...I misread the original post. Thought he was going 1 or 2 level dip wizard and the rest barb. NM