Help with a shifter scout [Archive] - Wizards Community

Help with a shifter scout [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
the shaderaven
09-11-04, 02:46 PM Well for my first adventure in Eberron in plan on playing on playing shifter character, but since I am new to Eberron I would like some help with his final details.
So there it goes...sry if it's too long.

Name: Netyar the Stalker
Race/ Gender/ Age: Shifter/ Male/ 23
Alignment: TN
Religion: Respects the Undying Court and often pays homage to the Fury and the Traveler, but worships no deity.
Defining Role: Scout and Trapfinder
Misc. Role: Secondary Fighter
Class Arrangement: Rogue 3/Ranger 3/Exotic Weapon Master 2/Weretouched Master 5/Horizon Walker 7
Greatest Strength: Well being a roaring mass of fangs, claws and blades is not bad of a strength by itself, but putting that aside Netyar greatest strength lies in his ability to carefully plan with an elf-like patience and follow his plans with the adaptability of a human.
Greatest Weakness: When he is not after a mark, Netyar can be quite hot-headed and quick to anger. This combined with the wide-spread prejudices against his race (especially among the followers of the Silver Flame) can and have lead him to a lot of troubles.
Traits and Mannerisms: Both beast and man share Netyar’s body and mind. He combines bestial cunning with analytical thinking making him, a nightmare come true for his marks, while in his daily life he quickly goes from clod sarcasm to red-hot passion. Most of the time though, he struggles to keep the magnitude of his character at bay.
Modus Operandi: Against overconfident fighters he usually starts by firing a few purposely inaccurate arrows (with just enough “lucky” strikes to soften them a little and fuel their anger) from nearby concealed position followed by simulated cowardly retreat and finishes by a deadly charge at the enemy running to catch him. If his opponent doesn’t seem overconfident, but foolish enough… well then he just finds small-sized arrows first. Few things give more satisfaction than the sight of a highway-man who has just discovered that the running halfling he is after is actually a 7 feet tall cat-o’-war with Valenar steel in his hands sharp enough to slice his final scream, running in the exactly opposite direction…
While Netyar doest feel so at home when fighting wizards if he can get them into his net range while still unseen he can end this unsavory encounters quite fast and go to something more pleasant like cleaning his hunting net from the bloody pulp stuck on it and latter collecting the bounty on the said spellcaster head. All and all though Netyar feels quite distressful when casters are involved.

Quote: (to rather zealous follower of the Silver Flame): Any other day I would be glad to slowly tear you apart limb by limb, but today I am in quite a hurrRRRrry… *Shapeshifting animation*

Signature Combat Maneuvers: As a whole Netyar tries to minimize combat to minimum. He often goes to extremes just to make sure his mark is alone and vulnerable even if neither he, nor his companions pose much of a treat to him. Once the right moment comes he tries to end all in one overwhelming pounce upon his victim, killing or subduing it and if this doesn’t work he just vanishes away to try his luck latter.

The Campaign is starting at level 6th or in other words:
Netyar the Stalker: Male Shifter Ranger 2/Rogue 3/Weretouched Master 1; CR 6;
Medium humanoid (Shapechanger);
HD 3d8+6 plus 3d6+6; hp 39
Init +3; Spd 30 ft.; AC 19, touch 13, flat footed 16;
Base Atk +4; [/b]Grp[/b] +7;
Atk +9 melee (1d6+5/18-20, +1 Valenar double scimitar) or +8 ranged (1d8+3/x3, masterwork composite +3 longbow) or +4 ranged touch (masterwork net);
Full Atk +7 melee (1d6+4/18-20, +1 Valenar double scimitar) and +7 melee (1d6+2/18-20, +1 Valenar double scimitar);
SA favored enemy humans +2; shifting (longtooth) 1/day, sneak attack +2d6, weretouched I (tiger);
SQ evasion, low-light vision, trapfinding, trap sense +1, wild empathy +2;
AL TN; SV Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +1;
Str 16 Dex 17 Con 14 Int 14 Wis 12 Cha 8
Skills: Balance +6, Climb +4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) +5, Disable Device +6, Hide +14, Jump +6, Knowledge (Nature) +7, Listen +4, Move Silently +9, Search +10, Spot +1, Survival +11, Tumble +7;
Feats: cosmopolitan (disable device), healing factor, track, two-weapon fighting, w. focus (Valenar double scimitar)
Possessions: +1/+1 Valenar double scimitar, +1 darkleaf breastplate of shadow, potion of cure light wounds, potion of bull’s strength, potion of spider climb, potion of blur, masterwork composite +3 longbow, masterwork net, dagger, 20 arrows, 2 gp.

I need some general advices on roleplaying this character and some nice quirks that would make him more alive and interesting. I also need some help with its story, because Im not very familiar with Eberron yet. I imagine him being born on the border of Valenar and some Human-dominated Kingdom. He spent most of her youth like a feral animal rinning from the human hunters and avoiding their traps. As he grow older the roles changed and Netyar become the hunter himself. Soon though the rumors about him reached to some eager followers of the Silver flame and they sent a party to capture or kill him. Severally wounded he escaped deeper in the Valenar where some half-elves help him recover. He joined the Valenar militarry as a scout and spend more the two years there honing his skills and now he is making a career as a bounty hunter all across Khorvaire.
Solwynn
09-11-04, 05:24 PM Sounds like you have him pretty well fleshed out already, shaderaven. To distinguish him when you are playing him you can always fall back on his litheness and catlike movements inherant to his race. Maybe he would rather crouch on the arms of a chair than sit. Maybe since he grew up in the wild he has a liking for raw meat rather than the cooked variety. He could track by scent maybe (not sure of this last one, I know monsters can do this, not sure about PCs).

Also keep in mind what he aspires to be. His past is cool but what does he want to become? Maybe he longs for peace since he has lived in the wild most of his life and has always been the hunter or the hunted. He would rather finish off an ememy than leave them at his back for example. Maybe he longs to join that one house that has all kinds of bounty hunters in it (forgive me here - I do not have my Ebberon book in front of me). What other affiliations does he have? Is he wanted by local authorities or has he aided them in the past. Does he seek to rid the world of the Silver Flame for the good of his kind?

Maybe he feels the need to assert himself in any group encounter - an alpha male wolf-pack sort of response. He needs to find his place in any group and he always strives to be on top and assert his position. This antagonistic approach is what could account for his low charisma score and would fit his background.

Here's a cool tactic you could try: Give him that cliffclimbing shifter trait to give hime a 20 climb. Use his rogue skills to get up into a defensible, hidden position and have him do ranged sneak-attacks against his enemies in point-blank range to weaken/taunt them. He could have learned this technique in the wild for self-preservation. After all there are many things in the wild that move faster and have more HP than him. He probablly used his intelligence to survive.

He's pretty cool so far. I hope this has helped insome way. Have fun playing him! :ayyyy!:
Zagumus
09-11-04, 05:54 PM First I wan to clarify something, the church of the silver flame doesn't have a problem with shifter, because they can't infect other and can for the most part control them selve unlike the were creatures they wiped out so it is unlikely they would come after you in the woods because you are a shifter, they on the other hand would definitly try to stop the crazed humaniod in the woods that attacked hunters.

I think the charater sounds great I have a few suggestion to go with him taking a liking to civilization but not losing his wild side, and they all have to do with equipment.
I would suggest a dire flail instead of a double scimitar.
I think that he should have a host of Kits. Climbers, thieves tools etc. so he has a lot of tools and gadgets.

Quirk wise.
Refuse to wear shoes
only sleep outside
give nicknames based on physical description, never use real names
Solwynn
09-11-04, 09:05 PM Actually some sects of the Church of the Silver flame DO go after shifters. See the entry for Wyrmwatch in the Q'Barra region. It's an inquisition sort of thing that only extreme factions have done. It is generally not done by the entirety of the church but all it would take is one puritanical priest in his area to cause trouble. Or ANYONE with a hatred or predjudice for the shifter race could be affiliated with any number of factions throughout Khorvaire and would make a good villian for your character to vie against. :)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
the shaderaven 09-11-04, 02:46 PM	Well for my first adventure in Eberron in plan on playing on playing shifter character, but since I am new to Eberron I would like some help with his final details. So there it goes...sry if it's too long. Name: Netyar the Stalker Race/ Gender/ Age: Shifter/ Male/ 23 Alignment: TN Religion: Respects the Undying Court and often pays homage to the Fury and the Traveler, but worships no deity. Defining Role: Scout and Trapfinder Misc. Role: Secondary Fighter Class Arrangement: Rogue 3/Ranger 3/Exotic Weapon Master 2/Weretouched Master 5/Horizon Walker 7 Greatest Strength: Well being a roaring mass of fangs, claws and blades is not bad of a strength by itself, but putting that aside Netyar greatest strength lies in his ability to carefully plan with an elf-like patience and follow his plans with the adaptability of a human. Greatest Weakness: When he is not after a mark, Netyar can be quite hot-headed and quick to anger. This combined with the wide-spread prejudices against his race (especially among the followers of the Silver Flame) can and have lead him to a lot of troubles. Traits and Mannerisms: Both beast and man share Netyar’s body and mind. He combines bestial cunning with analytical thinking making him, a nightmare come true for his marks, while in his daily life he quickly goes from clod sarcasm to red-hot passion. Most of the time though, he struggles to keep the magnitude of his character at bay. Modus Operandi: Against overconfident fighters he usually starts by firing a few purposely inaccurate arrows (with just enough “lucky” strikes to soften them a little and fuel their anger) from nearby concealed position followed by simulated cowardly retreat and finishes by a deadly charge at the enemy running to catch him. If his opponent doesn’t seem overconfident, but foolish enough… well then he just finds small-sized arrows first. Few things give more satisfaction than the sight of a highway-man who has just discovered that the running halfling he is after is actually a 7 feet tall cat-o’-war with Valenar steel in his hands sharp enough to slice his final scream, running in the exactly opposite direction… While Netyar doest feel so at home when fighting wizards if he can get them into his net range while still unseen he can end this unsavory encounters quite fast and go to something more pleasant like cleaning his hunting net from the bloody pulp stuck on it and latter collecting the bounty on the said spellcaster head. All and all though Netyar feels quite distressful when casters are involved. Quote: (to rather zealous follower of the Silver Flame): Any other day I would be glad to slowly tear you apart limb by limb, but today I am in quite a hurrRRRrry… Shapeshifting animation Signature Combat Maneuvers: As a whole Netyar tries to minimize combat to minimum. He often goes to extremes just to make sure his mark is alone and vulnerable even if neither he, nor his companions pose much of a treat to him. Once the right moment comes he tries to end all in one overwhelming pounce upon his victim, killing or subduing it and if this doesn’t work he just vanishes away to try his luck latter. The Campaign is starting at level 6th or in other words: Netyar the Stalker: Male Shifter Ranger 2/Rogue 3/Weretouched Master 1; CR 6; Medium humanoid (Shapechanger); HD 3d8+6 plus 3d6+6; hp 39 Init +3; Spd 30 ft.; AC 19, touch 13, flat footed 16; Base Atk +4; [/b]Grp[/b] +7; Atk +9 melee (1d6+5/18-20, +1 Valenar double scimitar) or +8 ranged (1d8+3/x3, masterwork composite +3 longbow) or +4 ranged touch (masterwork net); Full Atk +7 melee (1d6+4/18-20, +1 Valenar double scimitar) and +7 melee (1d6+2/18-20, +1 Valenar double scimitar); SA favored enemy humans +2; shifting (longtooth) 1/day, sneak attack +2d6, weretouched I (tiger); SQ evasion, low-light vision, trapfinding, trap sense +1, wild empathy +2; AL TN; SV Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +1; Str 16 Dex 17 Con 14 Int 14 Wis 12 Cha 8 Skills: Balance +6, Climb +4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) +5, Disable Device +6, Hide +14, Jump +6, Knowledge (Nature) +7, Listen +4, Move Silently +9, Search +10, Spot +1, Survival +11, Tumble +7; Feats: cosmopolitan (disable device), healing factor, track, two-weapon fighting, w. focus (Valenar double scimitar) Possessions: +1/+1 Valenar double scimitar, +1 darkleaf breastplate of shadow, potion of cure light wounds, potion of bull’s strength, potion of spider climb, potion of blur, masterwork composite +3 longbow, masterwork net, dagger, 20 arrows, 2 gp. I need some general advices on roleplaying this character and some nice quirks that would make him more alive and interesting. I also need some help with its story, because Im not very familiar with Eberron yet. I imagine him being born on the border of Valenar and some Human-dominated Kingdom. He spent most of her youth like a feral animal rinning from the human hunters and avoiding their traps. As he grow older the roles changed and Netyar become the hunter himself. Soon though the rumors about him reached to some eager followers of the Silver flame and they sent a party to capture or kill him. Severally wounded he escaped deeper in the Valenar where some half-elves help him recover. He joined the Valenar militarry as a scout and spend more the two years there honing his skills and now he is making a career as a bounty hunter all across Khorvaire.
Solwynn 09-11-04, 05:24 PM	Sounds like you have him pretty well fleshed out already, shaderaven. To distinguish him when you are playing him you can always fall back on his litheness and catlike movements inherant to his race. Maybe he would rather crouch on the arms of a chair than sit. Maybe since he grew up in the wild he has a liking for raw meat rather than the cooked variety. He could track by scent maybe (not sure of this last one, I know monsters can do this, not sure about PCs). Also keep in mind what he aspires to be. His past is cool but what does he want to become? Maybe he longs for peace since he has lived in the wild most of his life and has always been the hunter or the hunted. He would rather finish off an ememy than leave them at his back for example. Maybe he longs to join that one house that has all kinds of bounty hunters in it (forgive me here - I do not have my Ebberon book in front of me). What other affiliations does he have? Is he wanted by local authorities or has he aided them in the past. Does he seek to rid the world of the Silver Flame for the good of his kind? Maybe he feels the need to assert himself in any group encounter - an alpha male wolf-pack sort of response. He needs to find his place in any group and he always strives to be on top and assert his position. This antagonistic approach is what could account for his low charisma score and would fit his background. Here's a cool tactic you could try: Give him that cliffclimbing shifter trait to give hime a 20 climb. Use his rogue skills to get up into a defensible, hidden position and have him do ranged sneak-attacks against his enemies in point-blank range to weaken/taunt them. He could have learned this technique in the wild for self-preservation. After all there are many things in the wild that move faster and have more HP than him. He probablly used his intelligence to survive. He's pretty cool so far. I hope this has helped insome way. Have fun playing him! :ayyyy!:
Zagumus 09-11-04, 05:54 PM	First I wan to clarify something, the church of the silver flame doesn't have a problem with shifter, because they can't infect other and can for the most part control them selve unlike the were creatures they wiped out so it is unlikely they would come after you in the woods because you are a shifter, they on the other hand would definitly try to stop the crazed humaniod in the woods that attacked hunters. I think the charater sounds great I have a few suggestion to go with him taking a liking to civilization but not losing his wild side, and they all have to do with equipment. I would suggest a dire flail instead of a double scimitar. I think that he should have a host of Kits. Climbers, thieves tools etc. so he has a lot of tools and gadgets. Quirk wise. Refuse to wear shoes only sleep outside give nicknames based on physical description, never use real names
Solwynn 09-11-04, 09:05 PM	Actually some sects of the Church of the Silver flame DO go after shifters. See the entry for Wyrmwatch in the Q'Barra region. It's an inquisition sort of thing that only extreme factions have done. It is generally not done by the entirety of the church but all it would take is one puritanical priest in his area to cause trouble. Or ANYONE with a hatred or predjudice for the shifter race could be affiliated with any number of factions throughout Khorvaire and would make a good villian for your character to vie against. :)