Malconvoker [Archive] - Wizards Community

Malconvoker [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Ariath Ska'Vhor
04-04-07, 04:21 AM I just now finally got Complete Scoundrel, and this PrC really caught my interest. Does anyone have opinions/experiences with this particular class?
Ebonyte
04-04-07, 04:18 PM I've played good-aligned demon-summoners for some time. I remember trying to get TimeSpike to let me play it in one of his games. He couldn't conceive it. Then, he picks up Complete Scoundrel and, not for the first time, asked me what I was doing to get them to go my way all the time.

That being said, he still frowns on it.

Personally, I love the idea of turning one's foes against eac other. This is a dark character, to be sure, in the style of any number of anti-heroes who use the powers of darkness for good, like vampires, demons, and necromancers (etc other characters typically portrayed as villains), or Angel from Buffy (shudder), Hellboy from Hellboy, and Byron Orpheus from Venture Bros, respectively.

The book does a pretty good job spelling things out, in terms of play-style. You'll be lying to your pet demons all the time, and you'll need a party who doesn't mind. This almost always excludes Paladin company (possible to work something out, but unlikely at best). Work on your Bluff, and play up the irony and possibly righteous humor. You are a general who has soldiers you WANT to die, eventually. They are utterly expendable. You'll likely understand where someone like a Mindbender is coming from, but chances are you'll be at odds with them ("My minions are better!" "Nu-uh!").

Style-wise, there are a LOT of cool things you can do with this...

Redeemer - Your minions are not just expendable troops and cannon fodder; they are misled, or simply in need of a taste of good and a chance to experience nobility. You might slowly expose them to positive experiences and subversively good deeds, convincing them iut is a part of their nature. This can lead to demons you care for, who, if this is allowed by your cosmology, can make for tragic characters, fantastic stories, and unique role-playing experiences.

Alignment Neutral-Practical - "Waste not, want not," is your motto. All those demons, you think... why fight them all when they can fight each other? Every demon you turn against another demon makes two demons NOT harming an innocent. You'll likely get along with Animator Necromancers who think "Bone just rot unless we put them to good use, right?" Together, you'll make for the Super-Villain-Flavored generals of good. Remember, whyputan angel at risk when a demon who dies under your command is two birds with one stone?

Infiltratator - If you've got a Fighter or Paladin who can bluff to go with a party who likes subversive tactics, this is the one for you. The Fighter masquerades as a Blackguard, the Wizard as a Diabolist or some such, and you're the "evil Cleric". You'll penetrate deep behind enemy lines, sabotaging things from within and doing more damage than the righteous, short-sighted fools who wage open war against an infinite army. Lie, cheat and steal... for all the right reasons. The party Rogue will think you rock.

Rising Soul - This kind of character initially fell down the path of corruption, learning the ways of demonology in their persuit of forbidden knowledge. Perhaps they were caught before they could do any damage. Perhaps they've already sold ther soul. Maybe they had a short career as a villain. Whatever the past, they hve a dark past, and decided to turn away from their lifestyle. This is a character looking to redeem not the demons he commands, but himself, using the only powers he has. And if he has to go down to the Hells, he'll make sure the population is a little smaller before he makes the journey.

The Academic - Knowledge is pure, by your reckoning. Good and evil are concepts of individual reckoning, not elemental in nature. So why not persue knowledge no one else does? Why not use demons instead of angels to fight? You persue your path as much to protect yourself with fiendish minions as to ask things of them in your relentless persuit of knowledge.

There are, of course, other avenues, but those are the first that come to mind. It's a ton of fun to play. Just remember: some people will initially percieve you as a villain. You've got to be ready to prove them wrong, and be ready to repeat to a lot of poeple, "Yes, I'm Chaotic Good, yes, these are really demons, no, I don't think it's wrong, yes, I came to save the orphans, too. Just don't let my Dretches hear."
EytanBernstein
04-05-07, 01:38 PM Wow Ebonyte! Those are some awesome ideas for a malconvoker. I may just have to steal some for a current character I'm planning to play.
Timespike
05-22-07, 02:27 PM I've played good-aligned demon-summoners for some time. I remember trying to get TimeSpike to let me play it in one of his games. He couldn't conceive it. Then, he picks up Complete Scoundrel and, not for the first time, asked me what I was doing to get them to go my way all the time.

That being said, he still frowns on it.

This is the primary reason that, while I love hanging out with Ebonyte, and we remain good friends, we no longer game together. We have vastly different ideas about what a hero should be. I scared him pretty good a couple of times with my somewhat ruthless paladin in his Ravenloft game, and he's done the same to me in character creation. ;) We both liked Complete Scoundrel, it's just that he wants to be a Malconvoker, and I'd rather be a Gray Guard. I'm the Abolisher to his Freshcrafter, etc. If I could just play alongside him with a GM that could tolerate my steely-eyed, iron-fisted avenger types and his dark, angst-ridden ones, we'd probably have a blast. It's just that if we're on opposite sides of the GM's screen we wind up negotiating more than playing, and it's unfair to everybody else. But make no mistake, the guy's brilliant; he has cool ideas to spare, and I've consulted him a number of times on villain design, etc.
Ebonyte
05-22-07, 11:27 PM Awww, my ego pad just grew, like, an inch. ;)
farrenj
05-23-07, 08:27 PM I threw a malconvoker at a party once. I twisted the class a bit so that it was an evil summoner summoning celestials. It was enjoyable.
Archangel62
05-23-07, 08:42 PM As a side note, while Clerics are the obvious ones I actually think that it fits better with the Archivist. The Dark Knowledge stuff helps too and I've been wanting to play a character who is a student of forbidden knowledge he seeks to learn all that he can. He goes to many lengths and he sees the malconvokers art he views it as a great example of magic, binding evil to do good.
Ebonyte
05-23-07, 11:23 PM Actually, I tried the "Dark Celestial" Malconvoker once, too. It was pretty neat as a villain. The characters (undead) ironically chose to save the celestial slaves of the vile Malconvoker, establishing a sort of rapport with them afterward. It was pretty cool, and gave the Malconvoker a truly sinister edge. After all, what's really more evil? The mal who binds evil to do good, or the mal who forces good to do evil?

Check out the Celestial Lion bound to serve a hag in Expedition to Castle Ravenloft for a bit of flavor on the subject.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ariath Ska'Vhor 04-04-07, 04:21 AM	I just now finally got Complete Scoundrel, and this PrC really caught my interest. Does anyone have opinions/experiences with this particular class?
Ebonyte 04-04-07, 04:18 PM	I've played good-aligned demon-summoners for some time. I remember trying to get TimeSpike to let me play it in one of his games. He couldn't conceive it. Then, he picks up Complete Scoundrel and, not for the first time, asked me what I was doing to get them to go my way all the time. That being said, he still frowns on it. Personally, I love the idea of turning one's foes against eac other. This is a dark character, to be sure, in the style of any number of anti-heroes who use the powers of darkness for good, like vampires, demons, and necromancers (etc other characters typically portrayed as villains), or Angel from Buffy (shudder), Hellboy from Hellboy, and Byron Orpheus from Venture Bros, respectively. The book does a pretty good job spelling things out, in terms of play-style. You'll be lying to your pet demons all the time, and you'll need a party who doesn't mind. This almost always excludes Paladin company (possible to work something out, but unlikely at best). Work on your Bluff, and play up the irony and possibly righteous humor. You are a general who has soldiers you WANT to die, eventually. They are utterly expendable. You'll likely understand where someone like a Mindbender is coming from, but chances are you'll be at odds with them ("My minions are better!" "Nu-uh!"). Style-wise, there are a LOT of cool things you can do with this... Redeemer - Your minions are not just expendable troops and cannon fodder; they are misled, or simply in need of a taste of good and a chance to experience nobility. You might slowly expose them to positive experiences and subversively good deeds, convincing them iut is a part of their nature. This can lead to demons you care for, who, if this is allowed by your cosmology, can make for tragic characters, fantastic stories, and unique role-playing experiences. Alignment Neutral-Practical - "Waste not, want not," is your motto. All those demons, you think... why fight them all when they can fight each other? Every demon you turn against another demon makes two demons NOT harming an innocent. You'll likely get along with Animator Necromancers who think "Bone just rot unless we put them to good use, right?" Together, you'll make for the Super-Villain-Flavored generals of good. Remember, whyputan angel at risk when a demon who dies under your command is two birds with one stone? Infiltratator - If you've got a Fighter or Paladin who can bluff to go with a party who likes subversive tactics, this is the one for you. The Fighter masquerades as a Blackguard, the Wizard as a Diabolist or some such, and you're the "evil Cleric". You'll penetrate deep behind enemy lines, sabotaging things from within and doing more damage than the righteous, short-sighted fools who wage open war against an infinite army. Lie, cheat and steal... for all the right reasons. The party Rogue will think you rock. Rising Soul - This kind of character initially fell down the path of corruption, learning the ways of demonology in their persuit of forbidden knowledge. Perhaps they were caught before they could do any damage. Perhaps they've already sold ther soul. Maybe they had a short career as a villain. Whatever the past, they hve a dark past, and decided to turn away from their lifestyle. This is a character looking to redeem not the demons he commands, but himself, using the only powers he has. And if he has to go down to the Hells, he'll make sure the population is a little smaller before he makes the journey. The Academic - Knowledge is pure, by your reckoning. Good and evil are concepts of individual reckoning, not elemental in nature. So why not persue knowledge no one else does? Why not use demons instead of angels to fight? You persue your path as much to protect yourself with fiendish minions as to ask things of them in your relentless persuit of knowledge. There are, of course, other avenues, but those are the first that come to mind. It's a ton of fun to play. Just remember: some people will initially percieve you as a villain. You've got to be ready to prove them wrong, and be ready to repeat to a lot of poeple, "Yes, I'm Chaotic Good, yes, these are really demons, no, I don't think it's wrong, yes, I came to save the orphans, too. Just don't let my Dretches hear."
EytanBernstein 04-05-07, 01:38 PM	Wow Ebonyte! Those are some awesome ideas for a malconvoker. I may just have to steal some for a current character I'm planning to play.
Timespike 05-22-07, 02:27 PM	I've played good-aligned demon-summoners for some time. I remember trying to get TimeSpike to let me play it in one of his games. He couldn't conceive it. Then, he picks up Complete Scoundrel and, not for the first time, asked me what I was doing to get them to go my way all the time. That being said, he still frowns on it. This is the primary reason that, while I love hanging out with Ebonyte, and we remain good friends, we no longer game together. We have vastly different ideas about what a hero should be. I scared him pretty good a couple of times with my somewhat ruthless paladin in his Ravenloft game, and he's done the same to me in character creation. ;) We both liked Complete Scoundrel, it's just that he wants to be a Malconvoker, and I'd rather be a Gray Guard. I'm the Abolisher to his Freshcrafter, etc. If I could just play alongside him with a GM that could tolerate my steely-eyed, iron-fisted avenger types and his dark, angst-ridden ones, we'd probably have a blast. It's just that if we're on opposite sides of the GM's screen we wind up negotiating more than playing, and it's unfair to everybody else. But make no mistake, the guy's brilliant; he has cool ideas to spare, and I've consulted him a number of times on villain design, etc.
Ebonyte 05-22-07, 11:27 PM	Awww, my ego pad just grew, like, an inch. ;)
farrenj 05-23-07, 08:27 PM	I threw a malconvoker at a party once. I twisted the class a bit so that it was an evil summoner summoning celestials. It was enjoyable.
Archangel62 05-23-07, 08:42 PM	As a side note, while Clerics are the obvious ones I actually think that it fits better with the Archivist. The Dark Knowledge stuff helps too and I've been wanting to play a character who is a student of forbidden knowledge he seeks to learn all that he can. He goes to many lengths and he sees the malconvokers art he views it as a great example of magic, binding evil to do good.
Ebonyte 05-23-07, 11:23 PM	Actually, I tried the "Dark Celestial" Malconvoker once, too. It was pretty neat as a villain. The characters (undead) ironically chose to save the celestial slaves of the vile Malconvoker, establishing a sort of rapport with them afterward. It was pretty cool, and gave the Malconvoker a truly sinister edge. After all, what's really more evil? The mal who binds evil to do good, or the mal who forces good to do evil? Check out the Celestial Lion bound to serve a hag in Expedition to Castle Ravenloft for a bit of flavor on the subject.