Choose life? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Choose life? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Barbra_arian
08-20-06, 03:56 PM Hi all, this is my first thread so be gentle and i'll try to make it quick.

I've played numerous characters over the years in numerous campaigns but by far and away the most fun i've had is playing a basic "strength is everything and magic is for those with twig bones!" human barbarian. I love living the simple life and sorting out tonnes of encounters with my battle axe and pure determination.

I like "Corbin" to be simple...he doesn't wear armour or any kind of protective item and will refuse any magical help unless its devine and from a fellow follower of his deity, so can you imagine how many times i've gone into a fight knowing 1 decent hit will put me down for good????

I deal a decent amount of damage myself now I'm level 20 (havn't a clue how i've lasted this long!) but unfortunatly so do my enemies and I can't take it any more anymore! I'm seriously thinking of breaking my beliefs and spending the recently earned large amount of coin on some armour, rings, bracers, pendants, pants, boots, even anklets and nipple rings, anything for a good, decent armour class and i don't care if its devine or not.

I just want to go into a fight knowing i might not get beaten to within an inch of my life this time and maybe, just maybe i'll even get the chance to be cocky "go on i'll give you the first shot" lol

so what do ya think? Stick to the old routine and have no nails and be grey by the time i'm 25, but know that i'm pleasing the good old deity? Or cutt the rope thats holding me back and start putting posters up saying "Corbin of the north seeks a new god because the old one fired me :-("?

Any advice would be appreciated.
Darkuwa
08-20-06, 04:08 PM +5 mithral breastplate, amulet of natural armor+5, dusty rose ioun stone
syrinth
08-20-06, 04:19 PM He could always get magic items created by the clerics of his god. Not all magic items are arcane y'know ;)
MistWolf
08-20-06, 04:30 PM Assuming "Corbin" has been faithful to his deity all this time, take the DM aside and ask him if "Corbin" can work out a deal with his god for some divine buffs. Heck he's 20th level & ready to go epic- he should be able ask for some perks keeping to his character & faith. Ask if the deity will give him the boon of making his skin natural armor and divinely imbue it with some cool stuff. You may have to render service to the deity, but that's what it's all about.

You've worked too hard to toss aside the flavor of the character that makes him so much fun to play
Aeromus
08-20-06, 04:56 PM Take Vow of poverty.
tizonacampeador
08-20-06, 05:02 PM The forsaker from Master of the Wild sounds perfect for you. He gains spell resistance, damage reduction, and ability bonuses by refusing to use any magic and sacrificing magic items. It's a 3.0 book though so your DM might have to look it over.
Reversefigure4
08-20-06, 08:28 PM If you aren't armoured or using a shield, consider a monk's belt. While the monk flavour doesn't really fit, if you can change the fluff so it's a divine belt imbued with your deity's power that allows you to use your perception (WIS mod) to make you a better dodger in combat and provide you with stronger fists (increased monk unarmed damage), it works.
InterSilva
08-20-06, 08:52 PM Assuming "Corbin" has been faithful to his deity all this time, take the DM aside and ask him if "Corbin" can work out a deal with his god for some divine buffs. Heck he's 20th level & ready to go epic- he should be able ask for some perks keeping to his character & faith. Ask if the deity will give him the boon of making his skin natural armor and divinely imbue it with some cool stuff. You may have to render service to the deity, but that's what it's all about.

You've worked too hard to toss aside the flavor of the character that makes him so much fun to play

I like this suggestion the most.
Barbra_arian
08-21-06, 04:09 AM I like Mistwolfs idea and will probs start "milking" my DM teats, providing he hasn't seen this thread, and given that he spends every minute he's awake (a probs when he sleeps as well lol) on message boards all over the net i'll get ready to be laughed at.

thank you all very much you've been a great help, but i'm still open to more suggestions if anyone has any.
mad_dok_dave
08-21-06, 04:29 AM Shun all armor items, and laugh in the face of death. If you MUST get items, simply get items that grant CON boosts, or increased HP. Get some regen items, or some fast healing items. If you want to do it without magic, get Grafts. Two grafts from Lords of Madness might be of use. One grants you Fast Healing 2, and the other grants a 1/day Contingent Heal Serious Wounds, which activates when you hit 0 Life. Total cost : ~180 Grand.

The Fast healing graft is a blood transfusion. (No visible physical signs)
The Contingent healing is a Heart Transplant (No visible physical signs)

Problem is finding someone to perform them.
Kirk99
08-21-06, 05:44 AM I sympathize with you; I have a gotten into similar predicament in that I am currently playing a barbarian myself in the Forgotten Realms setting of faerun.

My character Hoche the Grim of Baress Dell is a 9th level barbarian/8th level Scout and devout follower of the beast totem called: The Black Raven which in turn is an aspect of the faerunian deity known as Uthgar. My dearest Hoche the Grim has seen his fair share of deaths door himself and its often annoying to see the other members of our party flying around and blowing things up with all their shiny magic toys and spell like abilites while all I have is a cloak of Resistance to Cold constructed of dire bat and griffon hide which was made by my cleric of Chauntea mother Igridd the Silver. Unfortunatly its just something I’ve had to learn to live with and even be proud of! A few games ago one guy in our group even got himself a helmed horror to command, so now this twelve foot tall constuct is muscleing in on my party role of the muscle... :(

But you see: Originally, I liked the rich flavor of the Uthgart barbarians and always wanted to play one this way, I made my own bed… so to speak; I suppose I could have gone a different route originally and simply made a barbarian from some other land and took a patron deity that wasn’t so hard to please, maybe a Nar barbarian (more like a Cimmerian from the Conan stories) then I too would now be flying about faerun fully tooled up and spiting fire bolts from my Hammer of Doom but no, I like how I got to the level I am now without all that stuff, 100% pure barbarian grit, and NO ONE can ever take that away from me!

Not to say I haven’t ever been very tempted to take and use the odd arcanely made item though…;)

Uthgar’s dogma preaches that arcane magic is wrong, weak, corrupting, evil, effete, against tradition and leads to death and ruin!

So unless I want to turn my back on everything that means something to my characters culture and sense of self (effectively totally going against the character I have created and enjoyed so far) I cant ever allow myself to claim any of those lovely and exciting magic items that my adventuring companions and I find on our adventures, so no invisibility cloaks, magic shields of force or boots of flight for brave Hoche the Grim unless maybe just maybe… I can identify the item of being created by a shaman of Uthgar or allied deity to my patron of course! But that is unlikely to happen as my characters people are not big magic item creators and I don’t really have the right knowledge skills to know about the differences between divine, arcane or psionic creations.

So I decided a new course of action was needed, if I wanted some real legal, 100% Uthgar endorsed! magic items that my uptight deity would allow me to use and: POWER! ''MUH HA HARRR!'' :D ;) I would target all those dirty traitor Uthgart tribes who have turned away from our glorious god or even go hunt down people like the remaining Blue Bear Uthgart in order to take back any relics and sacred items that those dirty Malar, Auril (and other thieving deites) worshippers have stolen from my people. Go rifle through their trophy mounds and smash up their cairns!

By dealing with these ‘Heretical’ renegade uthgart I am taking back power for my deity, smiting his enemies, spitting on those lesser gods who wish to usurp power from the father of the uthgart and maybe even during the process turn a few heretics back to uthgar by showing them strength which is one of uthgars virtues!

Searching their camps and taking out their clerics/shamans was not an easy task but I have in recent games managed to acquire a pair of Boots of the Spine of the World which were revealed to be made by a circle of Chauntean clerics (therefore ok with Uthgar) for a brave uthgart hero called Breom in the Dark and later taken by a cleric of Auril; they fit perfectly! :D Later in a combat against the Blue Bear I unearthed an amulet giving immunity to lycanthropy and our party skald (uthgart divine version of bard from UA) identified it as being created by the Black Lion uthgart before they turned to the worship of Helm and the Triad. I intend to attack a remote chapel of Helm next as we gathered the information that it’s ‘Attended by a very tall uthgart man who was once a great warrior’ I can now add him to my hitlist, given that the fellow is rumoured to be a good man and local rumours suggest he wears an enchanted white dragon pelt that was once a ‘holy relic’ of the Thunderbeast tribe - I may give him a chance to hand over any items and perhaps even repent his sins against Uthgar first, before I teach him a lesson and burn down his place of worship! ;)

It’s all fun!

Good Luck!
and
08-21-06, 07:12 AM Call in a favour or two from a friendly cleric or church, recruit or fund a loremaster or sage in the finding of items or adventure hooks that may lead ''Corbin'' to find items that his god allows?

Get down and dirty with a vision quest and see if you can get some divine guidance?

Or trust that your god has an overall plan for you and the carrot at the end of the stick is eventually about to swing into your mouth... ;)
Barbra_arian
08-21-06, 08:42 AM I like the idea of "dealing with these ‘Heretical’ renegade uthgart", that sounds like a lot of fun and benificial at the same time :D

but then i also like the idea of trusting in Uthgar and seeing where that takes me, at the end of the day i started with the intention of earning a seat alongside him in the great hall after my death and i think a bit of blind faith should do the trick...

i just don't want Corbs to die :weep: do you think its worth presenting him with an ultimatum????????
Solian
08-21-06, 09:11 AM Get a magical item which increases dexterity, you should be able to get a boost to AC from that (maybe not much, but then again, if you've got so little already, evary +1 counts). And i like the making your skin natural armopur thing, very good idea, i'd have never thaught of that.
Kirk99
08-21-06, 09:26 AM I like the idea of "dealing with these ‘Heretical’ renegade uthgart", that sounds like a lot of fun and benificial at the same time :D

If you are playing in the Forgotten Realms and have an Uthgart barbarian it could be the best idea; which deity does your character follow?

As a Black Raven I faced some rather difficult trials and tribulations, even my choice of companion (fellow PCs') was limited by my characters (often difficult to play) prejudice against arcane magic users, rival cultures, 'weakling' city dwellers etc.

Luckily two of my fellow gamers played a Illuskan fighter (who followed Tempus) and a Red Tiger Skald (who followed his own tribes beast totem). Still, I gave them a hard time and there was many harsh words spoken between the Skald and I. Fun roleplaying though! :)
FeceMan
08-24-06, 03:26 PM Take Vow of poverty.
No.
Zuj
08-24-06, 04:45 PM I like Mistwolfs idea and will probs start "milking" my DM teats

Sigged.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Barbra_arian 08-20-06, 03:56 PM	Hi all, this is my first thread so be gentle and i'll try to make it quick. I've played numerous characters over the years in numerous campaigns but by far and away the most fun i've had is playing a basic "strength is everything and magic is for those with twig bones!" human barbarian. I love living the simple life and sorting out tonnes of encounters with my battle axe and pure determination. I like "Corbin" to be simple...he doesn't wear armour or any kind of protective item and will refuse any magical help unless its devine and from a fellow follower of his deity, so can you imagine how many times i've gone into a fight knowing 1 decent hit will put me down for good???? I deal a decent amount of damage myself now I'm level 20 (havn't a clue how i've lasted this long!) but unfortunatly so do my enemies and I can't take it any more anymore! I'm seriously thinking of breaking my beliefs and spending the recently earned large amount of coin on some armour, rings, bracers, pendants, pants, boots, even anklets and nipple rings, anything for a good, decent armour class and i don't care if its devine or not. I just want to go into a fight knowing i might not get beaten to within an inch of my life this time and maybe, just maybe i'll even get the chance to be cocky "go on i'll give you the first shot" lol so what do ya think? Stick to the old routine and have no nails and be grey by the time i'm 25, but know that i'm pleasing the good old deity? Or cutt the rope thats holding me back and start putting posters up saying "Corbin of the north seeks a new god because the old one fired me :-("? Any advice would be appreciated.
Darkuwa 08-20-06, 04:08 PM	+5 mithral breastplate, amulet of natural armor+5, dusty rose ioun stone
syrinth 08-20-06, 04:19 PM	He could always get magic items created by the clerics of his god. Not all magic items are arcane y'know ;)
MistWolf 08-20-06, 04:30 PM	Assuming "Corbin" has been faithful to his deity all this time, take the DM aside and ask him if "Corbin" can work out a deal with his god for some divine buffs. Heck he's 20th level & ready to go epic- he should be able ask for some perks keeping to his character & faith. Ask if the deity will give him the boon of making his skin natural armor and divinely imbue it with some cool stuff. You may have to render service to the deity, but that's what it's all about. You've worked too hard to toss aside the flavor of the character that makes him so much fun to play
Aeromus 08-20-06, 04:56 PM	Take Vow of poverty.
tizonacampeador 08-20-06, 05:02 PM	The forsaker from Master of the Wild sounds perfect for you. He gains spell resistance, damage reduction, and ability bonuses by refusing to use any magic and sacrificing magic items. It's a 3.0 book though so your DM might have to look it over.
Reversefigure4 08-20-06, 08:28 PM	If you aren't armoured or using a shield, consider a monk's belt. While the monk flavour doesn't really fit, if you can change the fluff so it's a divine belt imbued with your deity's power that allows you to use your perception (WIS mod) to make you a better dodger in combat and provide you with stronger fists (increased monk unarmed damage), it works.
InterSilva 08-20-06, 08:52 PM	Assuming "Corbin" has been faithful to his deity all this time, take the DM aside and ask him if "Corbin" can work out a deal with his god for some divine buffs. Heck he's 20th level & ready to go epic- he should be able ask for some perks keeping to his character & faith. Ask if the deity will give him the boon of making his skin natural armor and divinely imbue it with some cool stuff. You may have to render service to the deity, but that's what it's all about. You've worked too hard to toss aside the flavor of the character that makes him so much fun to play I like this suggestion the most.
Barbra_arian 08-21-06, 04:09 AM	I like Mistwolfs idea and will probs start "milking" my DM teats, providing he hasn't seen this thread, and given that he spends every minute he's awake (a probs when he sleeps as well lol) on message boards all over the net i'll get ready to be laughed at. thank you all very much you've been a great help, but i'm still open to more suggestions if anyone has any.
mad_dok_dave 08-21-06, 04:29 AM	Shun all armor items, and laugh in the face of death. If you MUST get items, simply get items that grant CON boosts, or increased HP. Get some regen items, or some fast healing items. If you want to do it without magic, get Grafts. Two grafts from Lords of Madness might be of use. One grants you Fast Healing 2, and the other grants a 1/day Contingent Heal Serious Wounds, which activates when you hit 0 Life. Total cost : ~180 Grand. The Fast healing graft is a blood transfusion. (No visible physical signs) The Contingent healing is a Heart Transplant (No visible physical signs) Problem is finding someone to perform them.
Kirk99 08-21-06, 05:44 AM	I sympathize with you; I have a gotten into similar predicament in that I am currently playing a barbarian myself in the Forgotten Realms setting of faerun. My character Hoche the Grim of Baress Dell is a 9th level barbarian/8th level Scout and devout follower of the beast totem called: The Black Raven which in turn is an aspect of the faerunian deity known as Uthgar. My dearest Hoche the Grim has seen his fair share of deaths door himself and its often annoying to see the other members of our party flying around and blowing things up with all their shiny magic toys and spell like abilites while all I have is a cloak of Resistance to Cold constructed of dire bat and griffon hide which was made by my cleric of Chauntea mother Igridd the Silver. Unfortunatly its just something I’ve had to learn to live with and even be proud of! A few games ago one guy in our group even got himself a helmed horror to command, so now this twelve foot tall constuct is muscleing in on my party role of the muscle... :( But you see: Originally, I liked the rich flavor of the Uthgart barbarians and always wanted to play one this way, I made my own bed… so to speak; I suppose I could have gone a different route originally and simply made a barbarian from some other land and took a patron deity that wasn’t so hard to please, maybe a Nar barbarian (more like a Cimmerian from the Conan stories) then I too would now be flying about faerun fully tooled up and spiting fire bolts from my Hammer of Doom but no, I like how I got to the level I am now without all that stuff, 100% pure barbarian grit, and NO ONE can ever take that away from me! Not to say I haven’t ever been very tempted to take and use the odd arcanely made item though…;) Uthgar’s dogma preaches that arcane magic is wrong, weak, corrupting, evil, effete, against tradition and leads to death and ruin! So unless I want to turn my back on everything that means something to my characters culture and sense of self (effectively totally going against the character I have created and enjoyed so far) I cant ever allow myself to claim any of those lovely and exciting magic items that my adventuring companions and I find on our adventures, so no invisibility cloaks, magic shields of force or boots of flight for brave Hoche the Grim unless maybe just maybe… I can identify the item of being created by a shaman of Uthgar or allied deity to my patron of course! But that is unlikely to happen as my characters people are not big magic item creators and I don’t really have the right knowledge skills to know about the differences between divine, arcane or psionic creations. So I decided a new course of action was needed, if I wanted some real legal, 100% Uthgar endorsed! magic items that my uptight deity would allow me to use and: POWER! ''MUH HA HARRR!'' :D ;) I would target all those dirty traitor Uthgart tribes who have turned away from our glorious god or even go hunt down people like the remaining Blue Bear Uthgart in order to take back any relics and sacred items that those dirty Malar, Auril (and other thieving deites) worshippers have stolen from my people. Go rifle through their trophy mounds and smash up their cairns! By dealing with these ‘Heretical’ renegade uthgart I am taking back power for my deity, smiting his enemies, spitting on those lesser gods who wish to usurp power from the father of the uthgart and maybe even during the process turn a few heretics back to uthgar by showing them strength which is one of uthgars virtues! Searching their camps and taking out their clerics/shamans was not an easy task but I have in recent games managed to acquire a pair of Boots of the Spine of the World which were revealed to be made by a circle of Chauntean clerics (therefore ok with Uthgar) for a brave uthgart hero called Breom in the Dark and later taken by a cleric of Auril; they fit perfectly! :D Later in a combat against the Blue Bear I unearthed an amulet giving immunity to lycanthropy and our party skald (uthgart divine version of bard from UA) identified it as being created by the Black Lion uthgart before they turned to the worship of Helm and the Triad. I intend to attack a remote chapel of Helm next as we gathered the information that it’s ‘Attended by a very tall uthgart man who was once a great warrior’ I can now add him to my hitlist, given that the fellow is rumoured to be a good man and local rumours suggest he wears an enchanted white dragon pelt that was once a ‘holy relic’ of the Thunderbeast tribe - I may give him a chance to hand over any items and perhaps even repent his sins against Uthgar first, before I teach him a lesson and burn down his place of worship! ;) It’s all fun! Good Luck!
and 08-21-06, 07:12 AM	Call in a favour or two from a friendly cleric or church, recruit or fund a loremaster or sage in the finding of items or adventure hooks that may lead ''Corbin'' to find items that his god allows? Get down and dirty with a vision quest and see if you can get some divine guidance? Or trust that your god has an overall plan for you and the carrot at the end of the stick is eventually about to swing into your mouth... ;)
Barbra_arian 08-21-06, 08:42 AM	I like the idea of "dealing with these ‘Heretical’ renegade uthgart", that sounds like a lot of fun and benificial at the same time :D but then i also like the idea of trusting in Uthgar and seeing where that takes me, at the end of the day i started with the intention of earning a seat alongside him in the great hall after my death and i think a bit of blind faith should do the trick... i just don't want Corbs to die :weep: do you think its worth presenting him with an ultimatum????????
Solian 08-21-06, 09:11 AM	Get a magical item which increases dexterity, you should be able to get a boost to AC from that (maybe not much, but then again, if you've got so little already, evary +1 counts). And i like the making your skin natural armopur thing, very good idea, i'd have never thaught of that.
Kirk99 08-21-06, 09:26 AM	I like the idea of "dealing with these ‘Heretical’ renegade uthgart", that sounds like a lot of fun and benificial at the same time :D If you are playing in the Forgotten Realms and have an Uthgart barbarian it could be the best idea; which deity does your character follow? As a Black Raven I faced some rather difficult trials and tribulations, even my choice of companion (fellow PCs') was limited by my characters (often difficult to play) prejudice against arcane magic users, rival cultures, 'weakling' city dwellers etc. Luckily two of my fellow gamers played a Illuskan fighter (who followed Tempus) and a Red Tiger Skald (who followed his own tribes beast totem). Still, I gave them a hard time and there was many harsh words spoken between the Skald and I. Fun roleplaying though! :)
FeceMan 08-24-06, 03:26 PM	Take Vow of poverty. No.
Zuj 08-24-06, 04:45 PM	I like Mistwolfs idea and will probs start "milking" my DM teats Sigged.