A few quick questions, help most appreciated [Archive] - Wizards Community

A few quick questions, help most appreciated [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
rmilsop
08-06-03, 07:19 AM Ok, just a few quick questions in the hope of being a better player.

My DM is about to run a new forgotten realms adventure, and I'm set to either be the dwarf or the elf.

1. Any suggestions on the dwarf? I usually play a mage, as I like the whole mysterious side to them, and I'm very much a "deep" character player. Fighters just seem 2-dimensional to me, so any suggestions on playstyle for a dwarf (I considered cleric, but not wompetty-enough for a dwarf I think) would be most appreciated.

2. As the elf, my DM would want me to play-up the whole "mysterious coolness" that elves are meant to have. Now I'm stuck as to how to do this. I'd probably play the best archer I could, considered a fighter 2/sorc 8/arcane archer 10, or having a look at the order of the bow, or deepwood sniper classes. Regardless, I really need some ideas how to play the mysterious-cool elf-guy. Help please?
BILLYtheGOATofTERROR
08-07-03, 04:15 AM Sounds to me like you need to play an Elven Wizard. You said you liked playing mages and, as I see it, playing up the mysterious elf thing is as simple as being vague, wistful and not saying anything in the appropriate times.
Elves are long lived critters. Having an attitude of patience and disconnectiveness (mrrr?) with the 'lesser races' is a good bit.
I dunno, hope this helps:rolleyes:
rmilsop
08-07-03, 07:44 AM could work. Will have to practice a bit and see if I can pull it off.
Amoun
08-07-03, 10:55 AM Perhaps you can play a dwavern cleric... then a couple levels later make him a war priest so cleric/warpriest... you think the character a bit 2 dimension but believe me, mix in a lot of dwarven character and poof, amazing roleplaying experience... if you are going to play a dwarven cleric (a good aligned one is more preferable) then be sure to stick to the patron diety's beliefs close to the letter... makes for interesting experiences when your beliefs are in conflict with your current objectives... I've played with a dwarf who actually destroyed an artifact we spent 3 sessions trying to get, because it was really against his beliefs... he made his opinion known before hand... we mostly ignored it... we were surprised when he destroyed the artifact (It was a Intelligent greatsword of some kind, made by orcs to use against dwarves)... Our characters were pist as hell, we nearly killed him... to be honest I was kind of pist immediately afterwards... but then I realized he was doing what his character would have done... so later I praised him for it, well played pcs tend to be very memorable
Faraer
08-07-03, 11:13 AM Elves are NOT meant to have 'mysterious coolness'. Mystery, yes; coolness, fanboy drivel. Reading p. 14-19 of Cormanthyr: Empire of Elves will help you play one.

I'd play a shield dwarf fighter or a moon elf fighter/magic user. How interesting a character is has nothing to do with their class, but what kind of person they are.
Herr Doktor
08-07-03, 01:21 PM I think ye'd best be what ye'd like... and since the first two things ye mentioned were mages and dwarves, a dwarven spellcaster might be good thing.

If yer to be a cleric ye should consider and read over the runecaster prestige class from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. It adds dwarvish flavor, that's fer sure.

A druid might be good also, go for a companion of the tunnelin' sort (i.e. badger, dire mole, et cetera).

As fer an arcane caster, I'd recommend a wizard of sorcerer specialist Transmuter. This way he'll be able to use the minor stat boosters (bull's strength, cat's grace) and spells such as [I]stone shape, passwall, transmute rock to mud[I] (and vice versa) to full effect.

The bottom line is... be what ye want!
BILLYtheGOATofTERROR
08-07-03, 02:52 PM Elves are NOT meant to have 'mysterious coolness'. Mystery, yes; coolness, fanboy drivel.
I assume the terms awesome, super rad, and rock-tastic also fall under the above mentioned category. :D

Reading p. 14-19 of Cormanthyr: Empire of Elves will help you play one.
Agreed. I would also check pgs. 123 and 124 in above mentioned book.;)
rmilsop
08-07-03, 06:45 PM hey, I was quoting my DM there. I never found elves to be cool or mysterious, but I reckon I'll stick with a dwarf. Maybe a cleric of the more aggressive sort.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
08-07-03, 06:56 PM Originally posted by Faraer

I'd play a shield dwarf fighter or a moon elf fighter/magic user. How interesting a character is has nothing to do with their class, but what kind of person they are.

I agree! Fighters are not inherently two-dimensional; if they seem that way it is the fault of the player, not the class. How interesting a character turns out to be is totally up to the player.

That said, I personally love clerics, and if you go with the dwarf a fighter/cleric might turn out to be awesome. You could go for an unusual deity as well, like Haela Brightaxe or Dugmergen (sp??) Brightmantle.
Kindjal
08-07-03, 07:25 PM You can try a dwarf Warrior Scald (Races of Faerun p.186)
you can start as Fighter, Bard, Sorcerer or Cleric.
Reefy
08-07-03, 07:26 PM Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
I agree! Fighters are not inherently two-dimensional; if they seem that way it is the fault of the player, not the class. How interesting a character turns out to be is totally up to the player.

That said, I personally love clerics, and if you go with the dwarf a fighter/cleric might turn out to be awesome. You could go for an unusual deity as well, like Haela Brightaxe or Dugmergen (sp??) Brightmantle.

I like clerics too, I played a dwarf cleric of Sharindlar before and that made for a nice change of pace from the usual dwarven fare.
israck
08-07-03, 09:52 PM trust me, dwarven clerics can be tanks!! try being a cleric of clangeddin(dwarven god of war). my last major adventure, i used that character, he became the main tank, little bit of healing at the end of battles, but wasn't my focus. plenty of buff spells for clerics, and take the strength domain, power+bull strength=woopass!!!:smirk: .

and if you don't like that idea, try a dwarven sorcerer. since 3e gave dwarves the ability to wield arcane magic, milk it. stubby, tough, strong, grumpy sorcerer. if your DM is a big fan of elfs(most seem to be), the powerful, usefull dwarf will annoy the $!% out of him:D :D
rmilsop
08-08-03, 10:25 AM Dwarven cleric it is, domains will be earth and war (If any of their gods have both of those...otherwise protection and earth from moradin). Probably multiclass to fighter later on. Or fighter multi to cleric. We'll see.
Sekhemid
08-08-03, 07:39 PM When I play dwarves or DM,I like to focus on their stonecunning ability as my "roleplay-friend"...if you lived all your life underground,you are distrustful of being on open terrain,saying things like "we can be seen ten miles away here!",and when you visit other races cities,pay some attention the stoneworks you can find there.You might also find useful to help your roleplay adding some ranks in craft ( weaponsmith ) in order to be actually right when you say "I can do better" about that elven sword.
rmilsop
08-09-03, 06:01 AM CHeers for the help. Decided on a Shield Dwarf fighter/cleric of Haela Brightaxe

Thargorn Aleskull was abandoned to the temple of Moradin in Ironspur when just a baby, his parents unknown and presumed dead. He was raised by the clerics as best they could, and his dedication to the church is unprecedented. No dwarves from the area are known to be missing, so it is further assumed that his parents had travelled some way, possibly fleeing something.

Thargorn’s youth was uneventful, but he was known to show sudden moments of rebelliousness. A perfect example of this is when he challenged the dwarven warchief to a drinking contest – and only lost by one drink, earning himself both the name “Aleskull”, and the respect of the community.

To better his training, and to provide a measure of comfort for him in the community, the head Cleric of the church, Kerda, took him in. Kerda treated Thargorn like her own son, and raised him no differently. So it was that when Thargorn developed a relationship with her daughter Kiira, many were given a sharp reminder of his unknown parentage.

Kiira and Thargorn both followed Kerda to become priests of the church of Moradin, and continued to serve in Ironspur. In 1306, the Year of Thunder, they celebrated the birth of their twin sons, Margrimm and Keldar.

The twins were raised as their parents had been – to follow the church. Keldar took to the lessons naturally, however Margrimm (who was said by many to be an image of his father) showed only a passing interest in it. Whilst he was still trained in the ways of the faith, he spent all of his free time playing, wrestling with other children, or when older, watching the barracks soldiers train. This was often a point of contention between the two siblings, but even moreso between Margrimm and his parents, who disapproved of his lack of discipline.

It was not until after the rise of Zhengyi the Witch-King that Margrimm finally was given the chance to, as he saw it, escape the clutches of his parents. The call to arms was put out, and Margrimm joined the armies of Damara. For years he was away, serving as a page, runner or squire in the army, as it was needed. In the Year of the Turret, 1360DR, Margrimm returned to Ironspur. Whilst his parents greeted him wholeheartedly, Margrimm knew he could not return to the church of Moradin, as they desired. Instead he chose to follow the path of Haela Brightaxe, god of dwarven warriors. Now, after living in Ironspur for some time, he again begins to chafe under the remonstrative eyes of his parents. He seeks an opportunity to leave and seek adventure and a life of his own.

Name: Margrimm Aleskull
Race: Shield Dwarf
Gender: Male
Age: Born 1306, age at current shieldmeet 66
Height: 3’9”
Weight: 212lb (97kg)
Hair: Fiery red, it is long and (though he would vehemently deny the word) frizzy.
Beard: Almost 12” long in its own right, it is braided into three prongs for the last 4”
Eyes: Green

Margrimm is at the shorter end of the dwarven scale, though he is as broad as any fighter, and most of it muscle. He is joyous in battle, swinging his flail with wild abandon. He is incredibly hardy (as many of the tavern regulars will testify) and seems to shrug off wounds that would cripple many others. He is gruff, and possesses a dislike for elves and their “cowardly” style of fighting. Whilst loud and boisterous, Margrimm is also a kindly fellow who dotes on weak creatures, such as small children or kittens. Despite this, he is still possessed of the innate dwarven lust for gold and jewels, and his greed has been known to override his better judgement sometimes.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
rmilsop 08-06-03, 07:19 AM	Ok, just a few quick questions in the hope of being a better player. My DM is about to run a new forgotten realms adventure, and I'm set to either be the dwarf or the elf. 1. Any suggestions on the dwarf? I usually play a mage, as I like the whole mysterious side to them, and I'm very much a "deep" character player. Fighters just seem 2-dimensional to me, so any suggestions on playstyle for a dwarf (I considered cleric, but not wompetty-enough for a dwarf I think) would be most appreciated. 2. As the elf, my DM would want me to play-up the whole "mysterious coolness" that elves are meant to have. Now I'm stuck as to how to do this. I'd probably play the best archer I could, considered a fighter 2/sorc 8/arcane archer 10, or having a look at the order of the bow, or deepwood sniper classes. Regardless, I really need some ideas how to play the mysterious-cool elf-guy. Help please?
BILLYtheGOATofTERROR 08-07-03, 04:15 AM	Sounds to me like you need to play an Elven Wizard. You said you liked playing mages and, as I see it, playing up the mysterious elf thing is as simple as being vague, wistful and not saying anything in the appropriate times. Elves are long lived critters. Having an attitude of patience and disconnectiveness (mrrr?) with the 'lesser races' is a good bit. I dunno, hope this helps:rolleyes:
rmilsop 08-07-03, 07:44 AM	could work. Will have to practice a bit and see if I can pull it off.
Amoun 08-07-03, 10:55 AM	Perhaps you can play a dwavern cleric... then a couple levels later make him a war priest so cleric/warpriest... you think the character a bit 2 dimension but believe me, mix in a lot of dwarven character and poof, amazing roleplaying experience... if you are going to play a dwarven cleric (a good aligned one is more preferable) then be sure to stick to the patron diety's beliefs close to the letter... makes for interesting experiences when your beliefs are in conflict with your current objectives... I've played with a dwarf who actually destroyed an artifact we spent 3 sessions trying to get, because it was really against his beliefs... he made his opinion known before hand... we mostly ignored it... we were surprised when he destroyed the artifact (It was a Intelligent greatsword of some kind, made by orcs to use against dwarves)... Our characters were pist as hell, we nearly killed him... to be honest I was kind of pist immediately afterwards... but then I realized he was doing what his character would have done... so later I praised him for it, well played pcs tend to be very memorable
Faraer 08-07-03, 11:13 AM	Elves are NOT meant to have 'mysterious coolness'. Mystery, yes; coolness, fanboy drivel. Reading p. 14-19 of Cormanthyr: Empire of Elves will help you play one. I'd play a shield dwarf fighter or a moon elf fighter/magic user. How interesting a character is has nothing to do with their class, but what kind of person they are.
Herr Doktor 08-07-03, 01:21 PM	I think ye'd best be what ye'd like... and since the first two things ye mentioned were mages and dwarves, a dwarven spellcaster might be good thing. If yer to be a cleric ye should consider and read over the runecaster prestige class from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. It adds dwarvish flavor, that's fer sure. A druid might be good also, go for a companion of the tunnelin' sort (i.e. badger, dire mole, et cetera). As fer an arcane caster, I'd recommend a wizard of sorcerer specialist Transmuter. This way he'll be able to use the minor stat boosters (bull's strength, cat's grace) and spells such as [I]stone shape, passwall, transmute rock to mud[I] (and vice versa) to full effect. The bottom line is... be what ye want!
BILLYtheGOATofTERROR 08-07-03, 02:52 PM	Elves are NOT meant to have 'mysterious coolness'. Mystery, yes; coolness, fanboy drivel. I assume the terms awesome, super rad, and rock-tastic also fall under the above mentioned category. :D Reading p. 14-19 of Cormanthyr: Empire of Elves will help you play one. Agreed. I would also check pgs. 123 and 124 in above mentioned book.;)
rmilsop 08-07-03, 06:45 PM	hey, I was quoting my DM there. I never found elves to be cool or mysterious, but I reckon I'll stick with a dwarf. Maybe a cleric of the more aggressive sort.
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin 08-07-03, 06:56 PM	Originally posted by Faraer I'd play a shield dwarf fighter or a moon elf fighter/magic user. How interesting a character is has nothing to do with their class, but what kind of person they are. I agree! Fighters are not inherently two-dimensional; if they seem that way it is the fault of the player, not the class. How interesting a character turns out to be is totally up to the player. That said, I personally love clerics, and if you go with the dwarf a fighter/cleric might turn out to be awesome. You could go for an unusual deity as well, like Haela Brightaxe or Dugmergen (sp??) Brightmantle.
Kindjal 08-07-03, 07:25 PM	You can try a dwarf Warrior Scald (Races of Faerun p.186) you can start as Fighter, Bard, Sorcerer or Cleric.
Reefy 08-07-03, 07:26 PM	Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin I agree! Fighters are not inherently two-dimensional; if they seem that way it is the fault of the player, not the class. How interesting a character turns out to be is totally up to the player. That said, I personally love clerics, and if you go with the dwarf a fighter/cleric might turn out to be awesome. You could go for an unusual deity as well, like Haela Brightaxe or Dugmergen (sp??) Brightmantle. I like clerics too, I played a dwarf cleric of Sharindlar before and that made for a nice change of pace from the usual dwarven fare.
israck 08-07-03, 09:52 PM	trust me, dwarven clerics can be tanks!! try being a cleric of clangeddin(dwarven god of war). my last major adventure, i used that character, he became the main tank, little bit of healing at the end of battles, but wasn't my focus. plenty of buff spells for clerics, and take the strength domain, power+bull strength=woopass!!!:smirk: . and if you don't like that idea, try a dwarven sorcerer. since 3e gave dwarves the ability to wield arcane magic, milk it. stubby, tough, strong, grumpy sorcerer. if your DM is a big fan of elfs(most seem to be), the powerful, usefull dwarf will annoy the $!% out of him:D :D
rmilsop 08-08-03, 10:25 AM	Dwarven cleric it is, domains will be earth and war (If any of their gods have both of those...otherwise protection and earth from moradin). Probably multiclass to fighter later on. Or fighter multi to cleric. We'll see.
Sekhemid 08-08-03, 07:39 PM	When I play dwarves or DM,I like to focus on their stonecunning ability as my "roleplay-friend"...if you lived all your life underground,you are distrustful of being on open terrain,saying things like "we can be seen ten miles away here!",and when you visit other races cities,pay some attention the stoneworks you can find there.You might also find useful to help your roleplay adding some ranks in craft ( weaponsmith ) in order to be actually right when you say "I can do better" about that elven sword.
rmilsop 08-09-03, 06:01 AM	CHeers for the help. Decided on a Shield Dwarf fighter/cleric of Haela Brightaxe Thargorn Aleskull was abandoned to the temple of Moradin in Ironspur when just a baby, his parents unknown and presumed dead. He was raised by the clerics as best they could, and his dedication to the church is unprecedented. No dwarves from the area are known to be missing, so it is further assumed that his parents had travelled some way, possibly fleeing something. Thargorn’s youth was uneventful, but he was known to show sudden moments of rebelliousness. A perfect example of this is when he challenged the dwarven warchief to a drinking contest – and only lost by one drink, earning himself both the name “Aleskull”, and the respect of the community. To better his training, and to provide a measure of comfort for him in the community, the head Cleric of the church, Kerda, took him in. Kerda treated Thargorn like her own son, and raised him no differently. So it was that when Thargorn developed a relationship with her daughter Kiira, many were given a sharp reminder of his unknown parentage. Kiira and Thargorn both followed Kerda to become priests of the church of Moradin, and continued to serve in Ironspur. In 1306, the Year of Thunder, they celebrated the birth of their twin sons, Margrimm and Keldar. The twins were raised as their parents had been – to follow the church. Keldar took to the lessons naturally, however Margrimm (who was said by many to be an image of his father) showed only a passing interest in it. Whilst he was still trained in the ways of the faith, he spent all of his free time playing, wrestling with other children, or when older, watching the barracks soldiers train. This was often a point of contention between the two siblings, but even moreso between Margrimm and his parents, who disapproved of his lack of discipline. It was not until after the rise of Zhengyi the Witch-King that Margrimm finally was given the chance to, as he saw it, escape the clutches of his parents. The call to arms was put out, and Margrimm joined the armies of Damara. For years he was away, serving as a page, runner or squire in the army, as it was needed. In the Year of the Turret, 1360DR, Margrimm returned to Ironspur. Whilst his parents greeted him wholeheartedly, Margrimm knew he could not return to the church of Moradin, as they desired. Instead he chose to follow the path of Haela Brightaxe, god of dwarven warriors. Now, after living in Ironspur for some time, he again begins to chafe under the remonstrative eyes of his parents. He seeks an opportunity to leave and seek adventure and a life of his own. Name: Margrimm Aleskull Race: Shield Dwarf Gender: Male Age: Born 1306, age at current shieldmeet 66 Height: 3’9” Weight: 212lb (97kg) Hair: Fiery red, it is long and (though he would vehemently deny the word) frizzy. Beard: Almost 12” long in its own right, it is braided into three prongs for the last 4” Eyes: Green Margrimm is at the shorter end of the dwarven scale, though he is as broad as any fighter, and most of it muscle. He is joyous in battle, swinging his flail with wild abandon. He is incredibly hardy (as many of the tavern regulars will testify) and seems to shrug off wounds that would cripple many others. He is gruff, and possesses a dislike for elves and their “cowardly” style of fighting. Whilst loud and boisterous, Margrimm is also a kindly fellow who dotes on weak creatures, such as small children or kittens. Despite this, he is still possessed of the innate dwarven lust for gold and jewels, and his greed has been known to override his better judgement sometimes.