City of Towers character stats??? [Archive] - Wizards Community

City of Towers character stats??? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Bubba333
02-17-05, 04:39 AM I guess this would be for Keith as it concerns his novel (which I'm loving so far!).

Anyhoo, might we get some stats for the characters? I'd love to see who's what and all.
Edymnion
02-17-05, 10:02 AM Basic idea is that the characters are going to follow suit with the rest of the setting. No stat blocks.

Really, think about it. An official build is going to restrict what the author can do with the character. Might need character A to do X, but he doesn't have feat X accourding to the stat block.

Anyway, if we don't have solid stat blocks for Vol and the Lord of Blades, I don't think we're going to get them for novel characters either. Its up to the DM and the Players to work out exact stats for them. Thats part of the fun! :D
Lara Flynn
02-17-05, 10:51 AM Agreed. While it's always the first thing which comes to my mind when reading such novels (which thing Lara? Well the thing about what stats this or this char might have...), I'd like not to have any stats for those characters. I write novels myself and know how difficult things can become if char X isn't supposed to be able to do Y...
And it allows us to use part of our imagination. Eberron is a wonderful setting for not telling us everything but instead telling us that it's up to every single DM out there.
Urko
02-17-05, 12:03 PM I agree with the above two points that having set stats is potentially restrictive to the author and that making the novels a direct translation of game rules would be poor writing.

On the other hand, speculation among the rest of us sounds pretty fun to me. Here's a bit of (very shaky) deduction I came up with. There aren't many clues to go by, but at one point, Lei uses what appears to be a spell storing item to make something with what I take to be a locate object spell in it. She says that it will last a few minutes and that it will have a radius of no more than 1000 feet. Hmmm--according to the SRD locate object has a duration of 1 min/caster level (no help there) and a range of 400 feet plus 40 per caster level. So (1000-400)/40 = 15th level. This seems a bit high. (And indeed it is - Keith has mentioned elsewhere that the characters are probably around 8th level).

So is my point that Keith screwed up a rules interpretation? Of course not. I just want to point out that as much fun as we can have trying to plug the rules into the novel and vice versa (and I did get a peculiar - or is that pathetic? - sense of enjoyment out of the above calculation), we have to remember that they are two separate creative forms. Related, yes, but neither should be restricted by the other.

But I sure would love to know what it is that Keith has hinted that Lei has that lets her use spell storing item infusions all day long without expending EXP!
Bubba333
02-17-05, 06:25 PM I wholeheartedly disagree. The funny thing I wouldn't normally do so save the Star Wars RPG. I like seeing how the stories are interpreted and vice versa. I find it helpful to see the mechanics of how who did what. Does it pigeonhole or restrict DMs and/or players? Only if you let it. However, I'd like to see how the creator of the setting, as well as it's first published author, view "how things work". Will I cry if I never see Lei's stats? No, it'd just be a neat thing to have.
WilliamPall
02-17-05, 06:45 PM Anyway, if we don't have solid stat blocks for Vol and the Lord of Blades . . . .

But the Lord of Blades has been statted out. Dungeon 111 I beleive.

Not thatt hat refutes anything else that you've said . . .
Alac Luin
02-17-05, 06:49 PM But the Lord of Blades has been statted out. Dungeon 111 I beleive.

Not thatt hat refutes anything else that you've said . . .

but was that it's real stats?
I believe the LoB was stated someplace also, but differently.
There is even the idea that the real LoB has 4 arms.

Will the real LoB please stand up.
Edymnion
02-17-05, 06:54 PM Yes, and there are also several stat blocks for Vol.
Thats why I said solid stat blocks. Every time one gets written up, they have differant stats. It just reinforces that these characters are whatever the DM needs them to be.

And personally, I love that approach. Give us details about the characters, tell us what they're like, leave exact stats up to the individual DM so metagaming is impossible.
Alac Luin
02-17-05, 06:55 PM ...Will I cry if I never see Lei's stats? No, it'd just be a neat thing to have.

And to properly discuss this...

http://worldsofdnd.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=585&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15

No full stats blocks, but somethings have been said.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Bubba333 02-17-05, 04:39 AM	I guess this would be for Keith as it concerns his novel (which I'm loving so far!). Anyhoo, might we get some stats for the characters? I'd love to see who's what and all.
Edymnion 02-17-05, 10:02 AM	Basic idea is that the characters are going to follow suit with the rest of the setting. No stat blocks. Really, think about it. An official build is going to restrict what the author can do with the character. Might need character A to do X, but he doesn't have feat X accourding to the stat block. Anyway, if we don't have solid stat blocks for Vol and the Lord of Blades, I don't think we're going to get them for novel characters either. Its up to the DM and the Players to work out exact stats for them. Thats part of the fun! :D
Lara Flynn 02-17-05, 10:51 AM	Agreed. While it's always the first thing which comes to my mind when reading such novels (which thing Lara? Well the thing about what stats this or this char might have...), I'd like not to have any stats for those characters. I write novels myself and know how difficult things can become if char X isn't supposed to be able to do Y... And it allows us to use part of our imagination. Eberron is a wonderful setting for not telling us everything but instead telling us that it's up to every single DM out there.
Urko 02-17-05, 12:03 PM	I agree with the above two points that having set stats is potentially restrictive to the author and that making the novels a direct translation of game rules would be poor writing. On the other hand, speculation among the rest of us sounds pretty fun to me. Here's a bit of (very shaky) deduction I came up with. There aren't many clues to go by, but at one point, Lei uses what appears to be a spell storing item to make something with what I take to be a locate object spell in it. She says that it will last a few minutes and that it will have a radius of no more than 1000 feet. Hmmm--according to the SRD locate object has a duration of 1 min/caster level (no help there) and a range of 400 feet plus 40 per caster level. So (1000-400)/40 = 15th level. This seems a bit high. (And indeed it is - Keith has mentioned elsewhere that the characters are probably around 8th level). So is my point that Keith screwed up a rules interpretation? Of course not. I just want to point out that as much fun as we can have trying to plug the rules into the novel and vice versa (and I did get a peculiar - or is that pathetic? - sense of enjoyment out of the above calculation), we have to remember that they are two separate creative forms. Related, yes, but neither should be restricted by the other. But I sure would love to know what it is that Keith has hinted that Lei has that lets her use spell storing item infusions all day long without expending EXP!
Bubba333 02-17-05, 06:25 PM	I wholeheartedly disagree. The funny thing I wouldn't normally do so save the Star Wars RPG. I like seeing how the stories are interpreted and vice versa. I find it helpful to see the mechanics of how who did what. Does it pigeonhole or restrict DMs and/or players? Only if you let it. However, I'd like to see how the creator of the setting, as well as it's first published author, view "how things work". Will I cry if I never see Lei's stats? No, it'd just be a neat thing to have.
WilliamPall 02-17-05, 06:45 PM	Anyway, if we don't have solid stat blocks for Vol and the Lord of Blades . . . . But the Lord of Blades has been statted out. Dungeon 111 I beleive. Not thatt hat refutes anything else that you've said . . .
Alac Luin 02-17-05, 06:49 PM	But the Lord of Blades has been statted out. Dungeon 111 I beleive. Not thatt hat refutes anything else that you've said . . . but was that it's real stats? I believe the LoB was stated someplace also, but differently. There is even the idea that the real LoB has 4 arms. Will the real LoB please stand up.
Edymnion 02-17-05, 06:54 PM	Yes, and there are also several stat blocks for Vol. Thats why I said solid stat blocks. Every time one gets written up, they have differant stats. It just reinforces that these characters are whatever the DM needs them to be. And personally, I love that approach. Give us details about the characters, tell us what they're like, leave exact stats up to the individual DM so metagaming is impossible.
Alac Luin 02-17-05, 06:55 PM	...Will I cry if I never see Lei's stats? No, it'd just be a neat thing to have. And to properly discuss this... http://worldsofdnd.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=585&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15 No full stats blocks, but somethings have been said.