Traveling the Great Wheel as a 'Guide' [Archive] - Wizards Community

Traveling the Great Wheel as a 'Guide' [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Lusden Veharo
05-03-07, 06:01 PM This is less asking for help designing a background, and more character information that I'm not used to thinking about because I don't play the skill monkey--I'm usually the meat shield. Here, I'm both.

Level 10 Gestalt game; I'm a Bard 2/Fighter 2/Bard +1/Chameleon 5//Crusader 10. This is a semi-Planescape, semi-normal Great Wheel game, and I'm the hired guide to bring the group through the various planes alive. It's also a humor game, albeit serious humor, so I want to make sure I provoke laughs.

In that vein, I don't want to be a competant guide. I want to meet the bare minimum requirements to keep the party alive, but nothing more. So, since this board is more used to thinking about these sort of things:

What skills, character knoweldge, and items would I need to fulfill this role best?
Prom
05-10-07, 03:07 AM Hi Lusden Veharo,

I really think this would get more responses from the Character Optimization Forum or What's a player to do? Forum. Most of the people looking though this section are looking at story not what skills or items you should have.

What ever you do take some ranks in Survival if you want to track or be a guide. Knowledge of planes and nature will also be very important.

Prom
CrimsonDeath
05-10-07, 05:05 PM Other Knowledges may also be helpful-- History, Religion, Nobility & Royalty, Local. Normally it's better to focus your ranks in one or two skills, but spreading them around will enable you to be barely competent in a variety of fields.
Deacon Liadon
05-10-07, 10:02 PM Ah, Planescape. Wonderful setting.

To add to the skills already mentioned, I will add a couple that are far more important for dealing with the planes. First of all, Knowledge (Guilds and Factions) to let you know the chant on many people and places out there. Secondly, and this one is essential if you're guiding people round the Great Wheel, the skill Control(Wis). A skill that allows you to manipulate some of the more morpic planes such as the astral, ethereal, and everyone's favourite (unless you're a modron) limbo. For spells, Planar Atunement can be quite literally a matter of life and death sometimes, especially if you find yourself standing on the rocky slopes of one of the four furnaces with the magma boiling up from below and toxic fumes flling the air.

As a guide, you'll probably be based in either Sigil or Tradegate. Two major planar towns that see frequent visitors. It's possible tht you belong to the Guild of Planewalkers, who have their headquarters on one of the landings of the Infinite Staircase.

A good thing to consider would be how your character got this knowledge. Chaos shaping isn't a skill that many can do easily. Some can't do it at all. It's possible that, if you're playing pre-faction war, that your character is a member of one of the fifteen factions, and would in all possibility have an agenda that goes with that faction as well.

A little bit of knowledge tends t go much farther in the planes than other places, so it would probably be a good idea to know a bit about all the examplar races (Eladrin, Guardianals, Archons, Modrons, Baatzuu, Yugoloths, Tanari, and Slaadi), and why you should try to avoid every one of them.

For an extra bit of flavour to the character, I suggest having a look at the cant dictionary here (http://mimir.net/cant/cant2.html) to get a bit of extra zest into your conversations. Try and see how many you can fit into your conversations with other characters. It'll also help add to the humor value of the game.

Hope this helps a bit.
CrimsonDeath
05-11-07, 02:20 AM Secondly, and this one is essential if you're guiding people round the Great Wheel, the skill Control(Wis). A skill that allows you to manipulate some of the more morpic planes such as the astral, ethereal, and everyone's favourite (unless you're a modron) limbo.
Who gets that as a class skill? (Aside from Factotums and Exemplars, of course...)
Deacon Liadon
05-11-07, 06:35 AM Bard, Cleric, Druid, Monk, Psion, Ranger, Sorcerer, Wizard.

The skill itself is detailed in chapter four (http://planewalker.com/downloads/products/files/chapter4.pdf) of the planescape campaign setting over on planewalker.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lusden Veharo 05-03-07, 06:01 PM	This is less asking for help designing a background, and more character information that I'm not used to thinking about because I don't play the skill monkey--I'm usually the meat shield. Here, I'm both. Level 10 Gestalt game; I'm a Bard 2/Fighter 2/Bard +1/Chameleon 5//Crusader 10. This is a semi-Planescape, semi-normal Great Wheel game, and I'm the hired guide to bring the group through the various planes alive. It's also a humor game, albeit serious humor, so I want to make sure I provoke laughs. In that vein, I don't want to be a competant guide. I want to meet the bare minimum requirements to keep the party alive, but nothing more. So, since this board is more used to thinking about these sort of things: What skills, character knoweldge, and items would I need to fulfill this role best?
Prom 05-10-07, 03:07 AM	Hi Lusden Veharo, I really think this would get more responses from the Character Optimization Forum or What's a player to do? Forum. Most of the people looking though this section are looking at story not what skills or items you should have. What ever you do take some ranks in Survival if you want to track or be a guide. Knowledge of planes and nature will also be very important. Prom
CrimsonDeath 05-10-07, 05:05 PM	Other Knowledges may also be helpful-- History, Religion, Nobility & Royalty, Local. Normally it's better to focus your ranks in one or two skills, but spreading them around will enable you to be barely competent in a variety of fields.
Deacon Liadon 05-10-07, 10:02 PM	Ah, Planescape. Wonderful setting. To add to the skills already mentioned, I will add a couple that are far more important for dealing with the planes. First of all, Knowledge (Guilds and Factions) to let you know the chant on many people and places out there. Secondly, and this one is essential if you're guiding people round the Great Wheel, the skill Control(Wis). A skill that allows you to manipulate some of the more morpic planes such as the astral, ethereal, and everyone's favourite (unless you're a modron) limbo. For spells, Planar Atunement can be quite literally a matter of life and death sometimes, especially if you find yourself standing on the rocky slopes of one of the four furnaces with the magma boiling up from below and toxic fumes flling the air. As a guide, you'll probably be based in either Sigil or Tradegate. Two major planar towns that see frequent visitors. It's possible tht you belong to the Guild of Planewalkers, who have their headquarters on one of the landings of the Infinite Staircase. A good thing to consider would be how your character got this knowledge. Chaos shaping isn't a skill that many can do easily. Some can't do it at all. It's possible that, if you're playing pre-faction war, that your character is a member of one of the fifteen factions, and would in all possibility have an agenda that goes with that faction as well. A little bit of knowledge tends t go much farther in the planes than other places, so it would probably be a good idea to know a bit about all the examplar races (Eladrin, Guardianals, Archons, Modrons, Baatzuu, Yugoloths, Tanari, and Slaadi), and why you should try to avoid every one of them. For an extra bit of flavour to the character, I suggest having a look at the cant dictionary here (http://mimir.net/cant/cant2.html) to get a bit of extra zest into your conversations. Try and see how many you can fit into your conversations with other characters. It'll also help add to the humor value of the game. Hope this helps a bit.
CrimsonDeath 05-11-07, 02:20 AM	Secondly, and this one is essential if you're guiding people round the Great Wheel, the skill Control(Wis). A skill that allows you to manipulate some of the more morpic planes such as the astral, ethereal, and everyone's favourite (unless you're a modron) limbo. Who gets that as a class skill? (Aside from Factotums and Exemplars, of course...)
Deacon Liadon 05-11-07, 06:35 AM	Bard, Cleric, Druid, Monk, Psion, Ranger, Sorcerer, Wizard. The skill itself is detailed in chapter four (http://planewalker.com/downloads/products/files/chapter4.pdf) of the planescape campaign setting over on planewalker.