My friends old D&D character ideas! [Archive] - Wizards Community

My friends old D&D character ideas! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
RoninZero141
03-26-07, 09:32 PM My friends have some old D&D character ideas they'd like to resurrect, and I've been thinking a lot about taking a look at Eberron as a setting. Thing is I don't want to buy a bunch of books just to find out that what they'd like to do is incompatible with the game setting I'd like to try.

So can anyone tell me if the following character styles would (or could) fit into Eberron?

Wood Elf Ranger.
Human (Norse style) Warrior (not sure about fighter or barbarian).
Human Cavalier (variant fighter class).
Human Cleric.
Human Witch (variant spellcaster class).

Thanks.
Lucas_Garczewski
03-26-07, 10:12 PM OK, let's take this apart one idea at a time. Here goes.

Human Cavalier (variant fighter class): This one is easy. Eberron is a world shaped by war, and so there is a lot of room for battle-hardened soldiers and veterans.

Human Cleric: This one is easy, too. There are deities in Eberron and there are clerics and priests. Although the role of clerics (as a character class) is more strictly defined as the militant arm of their respective faiths than in the core books, these guys are still very much like your plain vanilla D&D cleric. Your friend could go for a cleric of the Silver Flame for a Judge Dredd-like feel or do a cleric of the Sovereign Host for a more level-headed character.

Wood Elf Ranger: Just off the top of my head I see two options (there are bound to be tons more) for throwing this concept into Eberron. (1) A member of one of the many druidic sects that exist in the forests of the Eldeen Reaches (implies strong ties to nature) OR (2) a skilled scout that used to serve in one of the five armies during the Last War (less of an eco-freak, more practical approach).

Human Witch (variant spellcaster class): Hm... A girl with a unique magical talent, raised in a secluded village somewhere on the fringes of civilization? Yup, you can find that in Eberron, too. Take your pick. ;)

Human (Norse style) Warrior (not sure about fighter or barbarian): This one was the hardest to work with for me. I believe the connection to the sea and an early sort of piracy that can be attributed to the Vikings might work well for a Lhazaar pirate or even a particularly savage heir of/mercenary working for House Lyrandar, the bearers of the Mark of Strom. Other choices might be there but at 4 AM I can't think of anything else.

Bottom line is: go buy Eberron and have a blast. :)
Dragom
03-26-07, 10:26 PM Wood Elf Ranger.

As either a Valenar Warrior or a Warden of the wood... Mind you the Valenar aren't the same bunny huggers you remember, but the Wardens of the wood are.

Human (Norse style) Warrior (not sure about fighter or barbarian).

The Lazharr Principalities, are riff with piracy and raiding. It really is your best bet that way.

Human Cavalier (variant fighter class).

Any of the 5 nations has a stock pile of these rusting away wondering what to do now that peace has broken out.

Human Cleric.

Clerics as allways do vary a lot depending on religion. Followers of the Silver Flame are familiar in a distressing fashion. If your friends are very old indeed then remember that now non-human races have clerics of there own.

Human Witch (variant spellcaster class).

Theres actually a Witch spell list in the new Dungeon Master's Guide. For moding a wizard into a witch. All you have to say is, "Strong interest in magic and an inability to travel to a proper magical college led to a unique understanding of magic"

Eberron is a step away from the standard mythos, It's different and new if familiar around the edges. Magic is Technology in a partially industrialized world, it's almost kind of shadowruny in places and a little Bladerunnerish in others. But you still get to scuffle with Dire Rats in sewers and foil the evil schemes of eviler cults.
Belabras
03-27-07, 02:08 AM For the Norse style Barbarian, go for Seren. (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20040913a) Odin and Thor become dragons, but the people are fierce savage warriors with a boat culture.
MrFilthyIke
03-27-07, 09:42 AM 1. Wood Elf Ranger.

A Wood Elf is in the MM. +2 Dex and -2 Int. Ranger is favored class. Otherwise as per normal elf. Make him
from the Eldeen Reaches, a member of the Wardens or
whatever that sect is.

2. Human (Norse style) Warrior (not sure about fighter or barbarian).

A barbarian human from Lhazar (sp?), a berserker pirate background.

3. Human Cavalier (variant fighter class).

A human fighter from Thrane, spec'd for mounted combat.

4. Human Cleric.

Um,...a human cleric. :P Just pick a religion. I'd go with
the Flame and make him fom Thrane like the cavalier.

5. Human Witch (variant spellcaster class).

A human sorcerer. :) Maybe from Aundair for that more rural feel.
RoninZero141
03-27-07, 08:52 PM The Cavalier & Witch classes I'm thinking of using are from books put out by GreenRonin.

The Norse style character would have to be without the Rage ability, because the Norse actually didn't trust people who couldn't control themselves.

But I'm definately leaning towards getting Eberron now, could you recommend two books to get first?
Dragom
03-27-07, 11:34 PM Wait... Now I'm genuinly confused. By Norse, aren't you refering to the Vikings, Scourge of Europe, raiders supreme and the culture that birthed the Berzerker?
RoninZero141
03-28-07, 03:33 AM Certainly there were "berserkers" in the Norse culture, but they were looked down on for being without self control, strange but true.

Also you have to remember that the Norse were also explorers, navigators and very concerned with the balance of the Universe.
Kensan_Oni
03-28-07, 12:10 PM Also, if I could just mention, that I think Frostfell would be an excellent place for a Nordic type hero to come from, as there are all these frost giants up there... I just think it would be awesome...
Melvin the Mediocre
03-28-07, 01:52 PM But I'm definately leaning towards getting Eberron now, could you recommend two books to get first?

I would say get the Players Guide to Eberron and take a look at the cultures and groups there just to see if it is going to fit with your style and character plans. Honestly what Eberron does best is break out of the stereotypical fantasy roles. Which is NOT to say that those roles have no place in Eberron. It's just that there are some very cool new directions to take your characters. If you like what you see, then you will need to pick up the Eberron Campaign Setting: You just can't play Eberron with out that.
Kensan_Oni
03-28-07, 01:56 PM Actually, I would say SKIP the Player's Guide to Eberron. I really didn't get anything out of it. What I do recommend is grabbing the Eberron Campaign Setting (If you have not done so already), The Five Nations, and either the Magic of Eberron, or the DragonMarked (Although Dragonmarked is REALLY hard to find around here). These are the books that I find the most useful to my games.
Melvin the Mediocre
03-28-07, 02:42 PM Actually, I would say SKIP the Player's Guide to Eberron. ... What I do recommend is grabbing ...The Five Nations,

To each his own, but I don't think 5N is what this original poster is looking for. It's a great book for the standard Eberron character gene pool, but probably not the best book to give hooks for his character concepts, except for the cavalier. PGtE has a much broader subject matter and will give quick insight to many possible groups, races, and organizations.
RoninZero141
03-31-07, 03:43 AM Can I just ask about the character backgrounds feature?

Do you get the skills/feats listed, or are they just suggestions?
AvonRekaes
03-31-07, 04:38 PM Those are just suggestions for the typical people who've come from those regions. If you want, though, you can give players a little bonus like "You get to pick two skills popular from your region and they become permanent class skills"
Bluebrush
03-31-07, 07:31 PM Just as a note on the wood elf, so far the only elf subrace that's been used in Eberron is the Drow, and they are usually regarded as a seperate race, created by magical/genetic manipulation.

Though that could be different in your campaign, easily.
JulesCARV
03-31-07, 07:57 PM I'm greatly relieved to hear that "witch" doesn't mean the sorcerer with the mediocre spell list on page 175 of the DMG. :)
RoninZero141
03-31-07, 11:39 PM To Bluebrush: Well, they do say in the Campaign Guide that anything that you find in the other D&D core books you can find in Eberron. So somewhere on one of the three land masses where Elves are known to live I guess I'll put a small (maybe) tribe of Wood Elves.

To JulesCARV: The Witch class in Green Ronin's The Witch's Handbook is very detailed. A very good source for those who want a varient spellcaster class.
Belabras
04-01-07, 12:05 AM I forsee a revist to the great sub-race debate.

Short answer - not everyone takes that to extend to sub-races. Myself included.
Bluebrush
04-01-07, 07:10 AM The purpose behind that line is that you can put everything somewhere.
Which is to say, the world's not one huge desert with no ice caps, thus preventing you from using yetis.

Though just because you can doesn't mean you should.

If you do want Wood Elves, stick them in Xen'drik and say they're descended from elves warped by a manifest zone of Lamania (Or however you spell it) which made brought out their more primal nature.
RoninZero141
04-01-07, 08:19 PM I guess I'll have to get "Secrets of Xen'drik" to work out the details of that, but could you tell me something about this "Lamania" thing?
Bluebrush
04-01-07, 08:33 PM Secrets of Xen'drik not required, though it is pretty cool.

Lamannia is one of the planes of Eberron, which represents nature at it's purest and most primal. See page 97 of the Eberron Campaign Setting.

A manifest zone is an area of Eberron where one of the planes bleeds through into the material plane, causing unusual effects in the area.
Sharn, for instance, is built on a manifest zone of Syrania, the plane of endless sky. As a result spells producing effects related to flight and levitation are more powerful there.

Anyway. You could say that while a lot of elves left for Aerenal during the fall of the empires of the giants, some remained behind. One civilisation settled in a maifest zone of Lamannia and through several generations this changed their basic being into that of the Wood Elf subrace.

There's a basic idea, but go with what you like.
Only real problem is that there isn't a canon explanation for the origin of wood elves.
RoninZero141
04-02-07, 08:28 PM If I'm gonna worry about "canon" I might as well put my books up for sale on Ebay and take up sports!

;)

I buy the books, I do what I want.
korcheck
04-03-07, 04:45 PM If I'm gonna worry about "canon" I might as well put my books up for sale on Ebay and take up sports!

;)

I buy the books, I do what I want.

Great answer!

As for the wood elves, just as it was stated before put them in the eldeen reaches there is a sect of druids called the greenspeakers or something like that that revere fairies and stuff they wood fit perfectly with the wood elf concept.
RoninZero141
04-03-07, 08:41 PM Great answer!

As for the wood elves, just as it was stated before put them in the eldeen reaches there is a sect of druids called the greenspeakers or something like that that revere fairies and stuff they wood fit perfectly with the wood elf concept.

I'll look into that possibility, but I like the notion of them being a hidden race from Xen'drik too.

I'll have to have a long think about this.

There's been some talk of making the cleric character a "Batman" or "V" style dark hero. Stalking the night time streets of the city, hunting out the evil and corrupt. I like this idea as clerics usually come across as dull to me, and this adds some much needed spice.
JulesCARV
04-03-07, 09:24 PM If I were to have wood elves in the game, I'd just have them be a type of elf that's found among all elf societies. Wood elves might be the result of a recessive trait that that leads to increased strength but reduced intelligence. One tenth of elves carry the "wood elf" gene. 1/100th of elves are wood elves. There. No need for secret societies in Xen'drik. Same for grey elves, wild elves, etc. If you don't like involving genetics in D&D, I'd just say that some random, small proportion of elves are born as wood elves, 'cuz they just are, since we don't know how D&D genetics works.
Korhal IV
04-04-07, 01:39 AM There's been some talk of making the cleric character a "Batman" or "V" style dark hero. Stalking the night time streets of the city, hunting out the evil and corrupt. I like this idea as clerics usually come across as dull to me, and this adds some much needed spice.

The Silver Flame is probably what you're looking for - it's a much more hardcore religion than the Sovreign Host. Crazed fundamentalists roaming the streets dispensing justice is right up their alley.
RoninZero141
04-04-07, 08:02 PM The Silver Flame is probably what you're looking for - it's a much more hardcore religion than the Sovreign Host. Crazed fundamentalists roaming the streets dispensing justice is right up their alley.

The idea thats been pitched would make the cleric outside the bounds of his own church. He would probably even seek to fight coruption within his own church, if he follows one.
Dragom
04-05-07, 12:03 AM He would probably even seek to fight coruption within his own church, if he follows one.

As a Cleric of the Silver Flame he would have a lot of work in that catagory
Bluebrush
04-05-07, 07:21 AM Corruption within the Church of the Silver Flame is a bit of an undeserved cliche, but it would work well for that character, since the Church is the largest organised religion in Khorvaire.

(Compaired to the Soverign Host, which is more of a common belief system with no overall hierarchy.)
RoninZero141
04-05-07, 09:02 PM The alternative is to make the cleric a follower of a self-created faith, one where justice and vengence are central.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
RoninZero141 03-26-07, 09:32 PM	My friends have some old D&D character ideas they'd like to resurrect, and I've been thinking a lot about taking a look at Eberron as a setting. Thing is I don't want to buy a bunch of books just to find out that what they'd like to do is incompatible with the game setting I'd like to try. So can anyone tell me if the following character styles would (or could) fit into Eberron? Wood Elf Ranger. Human (Norse style) Warrior (not sure about fighter or barbarian). Human Cavalier (variant fighter class). Human Cleric. Human Witch (variant spellcaster class). Thanks.
Lucas_Garczewski 03-26-07, 10:12 PM	OK, let's take this apart one idea at a time. Here goes. Human Cavalier (variant fighter class): This one is easy. Eberron is a world shaped by war, and so there is a lot of room for battle-hardened soldiers and veterans. Human Cleric: This one is easy, too. There are deities in Eberron and there are clerics and priests. Although the role of clerics (as a character class) is more strictly defined as the militant arm of their respective faiths than in the core books, these guys are still very much like your plain vanilla D&D cleric. Your friend could go for a cleric of the Silver Flame for a Judge Dredd-like feel or do a cleric of the Sovereign Host for a more level-headed character. Wood Elf Ranger: Just off the top of my head I see two options (there are bound to be tons more) for throwing this concept into Eberron. (1) A member of one of the many druidic sects that exist in the forests of the Eldeen Reaches (implies strong ties to nature) OR (2) a skilled scout that used to serve in one of the five armies during the Last War (less of an eco-freak, more practical approach). Human Witch (variant spellcaster class): Hm... A girl with a unique magical talent, raised in a secluded village somewhere on the fringes of civilization? Yup, you can find that in Eberron, too. Take your pick. ;) Human (Norse style) Warrior (not sure about fighter or barbarian): This one was the hardest to work with for me. I believe the connection to the sea and an early sort of piracy that can be attributed to the Vikings might work well for a Lhazaar pirate or even a particularly savage heir of/mercenary working for House Lyrandar, the bearers of the Mark of Strom. Other choices might be there but at 4 AM I can't think of anything else. Bottom line is: go buy Eberron and have a blast. :)
Dragom 03-26-07, 10:26 PM	Wood Elf Ranger. As either a Valenar Warrior or a Warden of the wood... Mind you the Valenar aren't the same bunny huggers you remember, but the Wardens of the wood are. Human (Norse style) Warrior (not sure about fighter or barbarian). The Lazharr Principalities, are riff with piracy and raiding. It really is your best bet that way. Human Cavalier (variant fighter class). Any of the 5 nations has a stock pile of these rusting away wondering what to do now that peace has broken out. Human Cleric. Clerics as allways do vary a lot depending on religion. Followers of the Silver Flame are familiar in a distressing fashion. If your friends are very old indeed then remember that now non-human races have clerics of there own. Human Witch (variant spellcaster class). Theres actually a Witch spell list in the new Dungeon Master's Guide. For moding a wizard into a witch. All you have to say is, "Strong interest in magic and an inability to travel to a proper magical college led to a unique understanding of magic" Eberron is a step away from the standard mythos, It's different and new if familiar around the edges. Magic is Technology in a partially industrialized world, it's almost kind of shadowruny in places and a little Bladerunnerish in others. But you still get to scuffle with Dire Rats in sewers and foil the evil schemes of eviler cults.
Belabras 03-27-07, 02:08 AM	For the Norse style Barbarian, go for Seren. (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20040913a) Odin and Thor become dragons, but the people are fierce savage warriors with a boat culture.
MrFilthyIke 03-27-07, 09:42 AM	1. Wood Elf Ranger. A Wood Elf is in the MM. +2 Dex and -2 Int. Ranger is favored class. Otherwise as per normal elf. Make him from the Eldeen Reaches, a member of the Wardens or whatever that sect is. 2. Human (Norse style) Warrior (not sure about fighter or barbarian). A barbarian human from Lhazar (sp?), a berserker pirate background. 3. Human Cavalier (variant fighter class). A human fighter from Thrane, spec'd for mounted combat. 4. Human Cleric. Um,...a human cleric. :P Just pick a religion. I'd go with the Flame and make him fom Thrane like the cavalier. 5. Human Witch (variant spellcaster class). A human sorcerer. :) Maybe from Aundair for that more rural feel.
RoninZero141 03-27-07, 08:52 PM	The Cavalier & Witch classes I'm thinking of using are from books put out by GreenRonin. The Norse style character would have to be without the Rage ability, because the Norse actually didn't trust people who couldn't control themselves. But I'm definately leaning towards getting Eberron now, could you recommend two books to get first?
Dragom 03-27-07, 11:34 PM	Wait... Now I'm genuinly confused. By Norse, aren't you refering to the Vikings, Scourge of Europe, raiders supreme and the culture that birthed the Berzerker?
RoninZero141 03-28-07, 03:33 AM	Certainly there were "berserkers" in the Norse culture, but they were looked down on for being without self control, strange but true. Also you have to remember that the Norse were also explorers, navigators and very concerned with the balance of the Universe.
Kensan_Oni 03-28-07, 12:10 PM	Also, if I could just mention, that I think Frostfell would be an excellent place for a Nordic type hero to come from, as there are all these frost giants up there... I just think it would be awesome...
Melvin the Mediocre 03-28-07, 01:52 PM	But I'm definately leaning towards getting Eberron now, could you recommend two books to get first? I would say get the Players Guide to Eberron and take a look at the cultures and groups there just to see if it is going to fit with your style and character plans. Honestly what Eberron does best is break out of the stereotypical fantasy roles. Which is NOT to say that those roles have no place in Eberron. It's just that there are some very cool new directions to take your characters. If you like what you see, then you will need to pick up the Eberron Campaign Setting: You just can't play Eberron with out that.
Kensan_Oni 03-28-07, 01:56 PM	Actually, I would say SKIP the Player's Guide to Eberron. I really didn't get anything out of it. What I do recommend is grabbing the Eberron Campaign Setting (If you have not done so already), The Five Nations, and either the Magic of Eberron, or the DragonMarked (Although Dragonmarked is REALLY hard to find around here). These are the books that I find the most useful to my games.
Melvin the Mediocre 03-28-07, 02:42 PM	Actually, I would say SKIP the Player's Guide to Eberron. ... What I do recommend is grabbing ...The Five Nations, To each his own, but I don't think 5N is what this original poster is looking for. It's a great book for the standard Eberron character gene pool, but probably not the best book to give hooks for his character concepts, except for the cavalier. PGtE has a much broader subject matter and will give quick insight to many possible groups, races, and organizations.
RoninZero141 03-31-07, 03:43 AM	Can I just ask about the character backgrounds feature? Do you get the skills/feats listed, or are they just suggestions?
AvonRekaes 03-31-07, 04:38 PM	Those are just suggestions for the typical people who've come from those regions. If you want, though, you can give players a little bonus like "You get to pick two skills popular from your region and they become permanent class skills"
Bluebrush 03-31-07, 07:31 PM	Just as a note on the wood elf, so far the only elf subrace that's been used in Eberron is the Drow, and they are usually regarded as a seperate race, created by magical/genetic manipulation. Though that could be different in your campaign, easily.
JulesCARV 03-31-07, 07:57 PM	I'm greatly relieved to hear that "witch" doesn't mean the sorcerer with the mediocre spell list on page 175 of the DMG. :)
RoninZero141 03-31-07, 11:39 PM	To Bluebrush: Well, they do say in the Campaign Guide that anything that you find in the other D&D core books you can find in Eberron. So somewhere on one of the three land masses where Elves are known to live I guess I'll put a small (maybe) tribe of Wood Elves. To JulesCARV: The Witch class in Green Ronin's The Witch's Handbook is very detailed. A very good source for those who want a varient spellcaster class.
Belabras 04-01-07, 12:05 AM	I forsee a revist to the great sub-race debate. Short answer - not everyone takes that to extend to sub-races. Myself included.
Bluebrush 04-01-07, 07:10 AM	The purpose behind that line is that you can put everything somewhere. Which is to say, the world's not one huge desert with no ice caps, thus preventing you from using yetis. Though just because you can doesn't mean you should. If you do want Wood Elves, stick them in Xen'drik and say they're descended from elves warped by a manifest zone of Lamania (Or however you spell it) which made brought out their more primal nature.
RoninZero141 04-01-07, 08:19 PM	I guess I'll have to get "Secrets of Xen'drik" to work out the details of that, but could you tell me something about this "Lamania" thing?
Bluebrush 04-01-07, 08:33 PM	Secrets of Xen'drik not required, though it is pretty cool. Lamannia is one of the planes of Eberron, which represents nature at it's purest and most primal. See page 97 of the Eberron Campaign Setting. A manifest zone is an area of Eberron where one of the planes bleeds through into the material plane, causing unusual effects in the area. Sharn, for instance, is built on a manifest zone of Syrania, the plane of endless sky. As a result spells producing effects related to flight and levitation are more powerful there. Anyway. You could say that while a lot of elves left for Aerenal during the fall of the empires of the giants, some remained behind. One civilisation settled in a maifest zone of Lamannia and through several generations this changed their basic being into that of the Wood Elf subrace. There's a basic idea, but go with what you like. Only real problem is that there isn't a canon explanation for the origin of wood elves.
RoninZero141 04-02-07, 08:28 PM	If I'm gonna worry about "canon" I might as well put my books up for sale on Ebay and take up sports! ;) I buy the books, I do what I want.
korcheck 04-03-07, 04:45 PM	If I'm gonna worry about "canon" I might as well put my books up for sale on Ebay and take up sports! ;) I buy the books, I do what I want. Great answer! As for the wood elves, just as it was stated before put them in the eldeen reaches there is a sect of druids called the greenspeakers or something like that that revere fairies and stuff they wood fit perfectly with the wood elf concept.
RoninZero141 04-03-07, 08:41 PM	Great answer! As for the wood elves, just as it was stated before put them in the eldeen reaches there is a sect of druids called the greenspeakers or something like that that revere fairies and stuff they wood fit perfectly with the wood elf concept. I'll look into that possibility, but I like the notion of them being a hidden race from Xen'drik too. I'll have to have a long think about this. There's been some talk of making the cleric character a "Batman" or "V" style dark hero. Stalking the night time streets of the city, hunting out the evil and corrupt. I like this idea as clerics usually come across as dull to me, and this adds some much needed spice.
JulesCARV 04-03-07, 09:24 PM	If I were to have wood elves in the game, I'd just have them be a type of elf that's found among all elf societies. Wood elves might be the result of a recessive trait that that leads to increased strength but reduced intelligence. One tenth of elves carry the "wood elf" gene. 1/100th of elves are wood elves. There. No need for secret societies in Xen'drik. Same for grey elves, wild elves, etc. If you don't like involving genetics in D&D, I'd just say that some random, small proportion of elves are born as wood elves, 'cuz they just are, since we don't know how D&D genetics works.
Korhal IV 04-04-07, 01:39 AM	There's been some talk of making the cleric character a "Batman" or "V" style dark hero. Stalking the night time streets of the city, hunting out the evil and corrupt. I like this idea as clerics usually come across as dull to me, and this adds some much needed spice. The Silver Flame is probably what you're looking for - it's a much more hardcore religion than the Sovreign Host. Crazed fundamentalists roaming the streets dispensing justice is right up their alley.
RoninZero141 04-04-07, 08:02 PM	The Silver Flame is probably what you're looking for - it's a much more hardcore religion than the Sovreign Host. Crazed fundamentalists roaming the streets dispensing justice is right up their alley. The idea thats been pitched would make the cleric outside the bounds of his own church. He would probably even seek to fight coruption within his own church, if he follows one.
Dragom 04-05-07, 12:03 AM	He would probably even seek to fight coruption within his own church, if he follows one. As a Cleric of the Silver Flame he would have a lot of work in that catagory
Bluebrush 04-05-07, 07:21 AM	Corruption within the Church of the Silver Flame is a bit of an undeserved cliche, but it would work well for that character, since the Church is the largest organised religion in Khorvaire. (Compaired to the Soverign Host, which is more of a common belief system with no overall hierarchy.)
RoninZero141 04-05-07, 09:02 PM	The alternative is to make the cleric a follower of a self-created faith, one where justice and vengence are central.