Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Aladdar 06-17-05, 11:48 PM	I'm attempting to play a swashbuckler/thief type character in an upcoming campaign. So far I've really enjoyed creating the idea for this character but am wondering if I've gone a little overboard with his personality. He strikes me as a brash young man who has been quite successful in what he does and knows it. People follow him because of his belief in himself. Well I'll just post the character and his description. You can tell me if it's stupid or not. Illian Martel (The Raven) Class: Rogue (2) Race: Human Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Deity: Sharess Size: Medium Age: 27 Height: 5’10” Weight: 165 Eyes: Blue Skin: White Languages: Common, Draconic, Elven STR: 10 DEX: 16 +3 CON: 10 INT: 14 +2 WIS: 14 +2 CHA: 14 +2 HP: 9 Speed: 30 feet/20 when encumbered AC: 15 Touch AC: 13 Flat footed AC: 12 Initiative: 3 Fortitude Save: 0 Reflex Save: 6 Will Save: 2 BAB: 1 Grapple: 1 FEATS: Lightning Reflexes: +2 Reflex Saves (P. 97 PHB) Nimble Fingers: +2 Bonus on all Disable Device and Open Lock Checks. (P. 98 PHB) Abilities: Sneak Attack: +1d6, Trapfinding, Evasion Armor: Leather: +2 AC, Max Dex +6, Speed 30ft, 15lb, Armor Check Penalty Weapons: Light Crossbow: 1d8 19-20x2, 80 ft range, piercing Rapier: 1d6 18-20x2, piercing Skills: Balance (DEX) 2 Move Silently (DEX)4 Bluff (CHA) 2 Open Lock (DEX) 5 Diplomacy (CHA) 2 Perform: Voice (CHA)2 Disable Device (INT)5 Perform: String (CHA)2 Escape Artist (DEX)2 Search (INT) 5 Gather Info (CHA) 2 Sense Motive (WIS)5 Hide (DEX) 5 Spot (WIS) 5 Listen (WIS) 2 Tumble (DEX) 5 Possessions: Backpack Hooded Lantern Bedroll 3 pints of oil Metal Flask Lute Thieves Tools Signet Ring (Raven flying over a capital M) Case of Crossbow bolts (10) 14 GP, 7 CP History: Illian Martel is a man of considerable import, at least in his own mind. He was born the son of Ingel and Delnora Martel, two wealthy merchants who traveled the land selling their wares. He never had need for anything and learned a great deal about the country from his considerable travels as a child. His father was a shrewd businessman and his mother an educated lady who made certain that he learned the value of knowledge. At the age of 19, Illian set off on his own to make his fortune. His father and mother wished him well having high hopes that he too would make his fortune as a merchant. Illian had other ideas however, as the life of fast women, long parties, and quick money was his draw. For 6 years Illian led an extravagant lifestyle chasing women, drinking heavily, and making money anywhere he could and in anyway. He adopted the moniker of “The Raven” as he felt he could slip into any fortress as easily as a raven at night. Illian made many friends, greased many a politician’s hand, and had his pick of the women wherever he went. Money was never hard to come by as jobs found their way to him often. He was good at his craft, people trusted him even as he lifted their coin pouch from their bags, or slipped into their houses late at night to find incriminating evidence for a local noble or to plant some of his own making. Life was good until he double crossed the wrong man. Seeing an opportunity to make lots of money very quickly, Illian double crossed a customer who had hired him to return a family painting from a rival family who had stolen it a generation earlier. Illian recognized the value of the painting and attempted to sell it on the open market claiming that it was no longer in the possession of the rival family. Illian’s luck had run out however, as word returned to the Binetti family of his betrayal, and a bounty was placed on Illian’s head. Illian has been on the run ever since slipping from shadow to shadow, city to city in hopes of losing his fame and infamy. Description: Illian is a human male of average height and build capable of both hiding in the shadows and slipping into obscurity, or romancing the mayor himself. He has a flair for the extravagant life but the common sense of when to hide and arrogance beyond belief. People are drawn to him however as his eyes are commanding and his words well thought out and full of belief. His eyes are crystal blue and seem to see into his opponent’s soul, capable of reading their deepest thoughts. His hair is dark brown hanging either loosely around his shoulders when entertaining or pulled back into a tight pony tail with a leather strip when the need for action arrives. He has a long thick mustache that hangs 1” below his clean shaven chin. Illian normally wears his dark brown leather armor when forced into action. His armor also includes a long dark cape which seems to help him meld into the shadows when necessary. When in the city, however, Illian loves to be seen. He wears tight fitting blue pants with golden stitching down the sides, a white shirt with lace at the sleeves and collar, and a blue velvet cape with a bright yellow underside. He is never seen without his rapier at his side and his large brimmed hat on his head when in public. His final quirk is his lute that he carries everywhere. He not only fashions himself as a great thief and diplomat but a wonderful musician. He is constantly playing his lute and singing to either entertain himself or in the hopes of drawing favor.
Roreck 06-18-05, 12:16 AM	wow I think these could express it better :w00t: :w00t: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :dancin: :bow: :bow: great character and awesome story. Me like. Me like a lot. I wish I could create back storys that cool :tiphat: and you deserve a :cookie:
katarl 06-18-05, 05:24 AM	Its a great character history, you should be proud. No one in my group (except for me) even bothers with a history. You can never have too much back story, it makes for a more interesting character, easier roleplay and a healthy and happy DM.
Lacloix 06-18-05, 12:20 PM	I like the signet ring. It's a nice touch and adds personality. I rarely, if ever, see a player consider that for a character anymore. Well done. Have a :cookie:. He sounds like a great character, and with the work you put into his concept, I think you'll have a lot fun playing him. Your feat selection is good from a character standpoint, but not so strong from a tactical one. Many people have mentioned that the feats that boost skills are not as valuable as many other feats. In your situation, this may not be the case so much, as you're taking on a lot of skills. Also, you don't need to worry too much about your reflex saves, so that feat is not as useful as another. I'm not saying you should change your feats, not in the least. I've played characters that have picked horrible feats, just because it was the character. All I'm expressing is feat selection from a tactical standpoint...a little devil's advocate, if you will... I really like the character. My bard would soooooo party with that guy. :D
LCD2YOU 06-18-05, 12:30 PM	My major character started with a 40 page document to the DM outlining his feelings towards his family, religions, the city of his birth, places of interests and even a few detailed NPCs that he interacted with on a regular basis. Needless to say it helped the DM immensly and of the 6 NPCs that I outlined, his brother, mother, father, a female paladin that he was secretly in love with, which smacked of all sorts of strange things as his mom is a retired paladin :eek: , a male paladin friend and finally another male paladin. This paladin was my character's great rival for the female paladin as he is an upright, concerned, decent guy and is absoluted hated by my character. Now, just the female paladin, the rival paladin and his mom are alive but all of the other players know who they all are. All have actually interacted with them and the female paladin is off leading a mission that is happening at the same time as his group is attempting to stop the bad guys, actually a race of bad guys. In short, the more info you give them on who your character is, where they came from with particulars, the major people in their lives up to this point, etc., the better the game should be.
Aladdar 06-19-05, 09:17 AM	I've never played a rogue before, what feats would you suggest? My next feat I was going to pick is the one that allows me to use my dex bonus for attack rolls instead of strength, however I can't pick that until level 3. What would you have suggested for the two first level feats?
Lacloix 06-19-05, 09:41 AM	Feat selection is pretty difficult if you're playing a character who is not uber-combat or uber-spellcasting oriented and you're only using the PHB (which is all our group is using). Many of the feats focus on these two areas. However, as your adventuring character is likely to get into some hairy situations, it can merge in with the concept. In otherwords, you're probably doing more fighting while you're playing the character than the character did during his history. Therefore, combat-based feat selections can reflect the adjustments that your character is making. Weapon Finesse: Taking that at level 3 is not a bad idea at all. I always pick that for my dex-based light fighters. Something like that isn't even a munchkin/powergamer thing, it's just good character development... Combat Expertise: Boosting you're AC is a good thing. As a swashbuckler type, it represents your ability to "parley" with your opponents. If you have a fair amount of combat experience in your history, I would go for it. Dodge/Mobility/Spring Attack: These are usually the staple feats for swashbuckling rogues. It lets you survive a little better against your main opponent, and get around the battlefield much easier (for sneak attacks). Furthermore, they help you build up to this next feat. Whirlwind Attack: This screams of a swashbuckler who knows how to take on more than one opponent at a time. On a mechanical level, it works really well with Weapon Finesse and Combat Expertise (as it lets you keep your AC and AB at a decent level). On a character level, it's the most showoff-y feat a swashbuckler can have. Granted, these are all combat feats, but with rare exception, there's really only 3-types of feats in the PHB: Spellcasting, Skill Bonus, and Combat Feats. Of course, I'm not saying to stay away from the Skill Bonus Feats. In fact, some of them can come in pretty handy for your character. In terms of skills, you have yourself spread pretty thin. With 16 skills, and 10 skill points a level, you're going to have a hard time keeping everything up. Therefore, the skill bonus feats might come in handy for your character. In the end, I'd talk it over with your DM, and see what kind of campaign he's planning to run. For all I know, it could be a Diablo-esque campaign that's all combat and not really any character interaction. If that's the case, you would be pretty screwed with the Skill Bonus feats. Let us know how it turns out. :)
LCD2YOU 06-19-05, 09:42 AM	I've never played a rogue before, what feats would you suggest? My next feat I was going to pick is the one that allows me to use my dex bonus for attack rolls instead of strength, however I can't pick that until level 3. What would you have suggested for the two first level feats? you want your character to be. My Rogues are generally the quintessential adventurer types. They are not theives. They can remove traps, spot a flea on a flies behind at 300 yards, slide out of anything, etc. They are secondary fighters who attacked when an unguarded opportunity presented itself. It is their job to protect the spell casters as well. As such I gave them these feats at first level, Combat Relfexes and Improved Initiative. Later, 3rd level, he got Weapon Finess, Rapier. Nothing flashy, just strait up combat abilities. Of course, if your campaign is different, choose different feats. Between your own charactre concept and the campaign your in, it is not one size fits all.
snowlynx 06-19-05, 10:27 AM	In my experience, it's harder to go overboard then it is to not individualize the character enough....save for a few errant players who create the weirdest characters that cannot work with the group. Your character does not seem like one of those strange individuals; it seems quite reasonable and fitting, and your history explains where you're from, why you're adventuring, and what your goals might be, which is what most DMs want. It looks like you've picked out a few quirks for your character too, which is always helpful in-game.
JohnnyShotMe 06-19-05, 12:34 PM	Only risk to making a 40 page dissertation on your character's history is if he gets killed in the first gaming session by a crit attack from a boar.
Vorin 06-19-05, 12:59 PM	Which tempts you to create pretty much the same character again... Or perhaps he simply plays in a slightly easier campaign, seriously, in the games I play, death is the punishment for stupidity, not low die rolls. Of course, that means I can tell my DM fudges dice like they're going to be made illegal...
PlutoniumKnight 06-20-05, 06:42 PM	First nice character background, really good job. A few suggestions for equipment is a chain shirt, he isn't stupid and he knows that having more defense is good, maybe hide it under other clothes. Get apraise on your skill list because it fits the character quite well. Have a great time with him.
Shaken, not Stunned 06-20-05, 06:58 PM	Yea. You should have 900gp worth of stuff at second level. You could add a MW chain shirt and a MW rapier to your equipement and be OK. I would also suggest you add 2 CLW potions. I think you will still be in the black. Drop nimble fingers and grab Improved Initiative. Your background seems to be one of swift action and subeterfuge rather than meticulous tinkering. But yea, you did good. You gave your DM a plot hook, explained your characters family and outlook. Nice.
pertoleum 06-20-05, 07:21 PM	sick character man, i like the description, it adds more fun to the game.i wrote my charcters description after a couple of dungeons so evrything wasn't fabricated. my nec/rng/ftr would party with your dude any day