Here is a dilemma. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Here is a dilemma. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Grizzled Gryphon
12-27-05, 12:16 PM My DM has tasked me with playing a LeShay in his game. The other players are well aware of what I am playing, but their characters have no idea. So, I have to pretend to be around their level (15), without anyone suspecting I am much more than meets the eye.

The situation is this (as far as I know, anyway)

The group has to accomplish some task to save the multiverse from destruction. They can not be interfered with in any way by the higher powers. The good guys won't interfere, of course, but the bad guys just might. So, I am here to make sure that doesn't happen. However, as an agent of these higher powers, I cannot help them in their task. I can help out in combat, but only in self defense. I cannot help them in any other way, unless there is some higher power trying to impede them.

So, my dilemma is this: How do I play such a powerful creature, but appear to be much less than I am? I mostly wonder what class I should portray. I could pretend to be a cleric, I suppose, and just use Heal to emmulate my casting of healing spells. However, I am not proficient in any armor, so I don't know about that. I plan on redoing the feats, so that is one way to get some class like abilities, possibly.

What do you all think?
Shaggy_Shaggs
12-27-05, 12:25 PM I'm not familiar with LeShay so I can't offer anything too specific, sorry.

However, you could explain away your reluctance to join combat as being a conscientious objector to harming other creatures, and just go about playing the role of healer. If you're concerned about blowing your cover if you get drawn into a fight for self-defense and they see you tearing the enemies apart too easily, why not ask the DM if you can have a subtle little magic item that puts a damper on your abilities when equipped, and that you can take off if the BBEG shows up?
R-G
12-27-05, 05:25 PM Vow of poverty and Vow of non-Violence. The Side effects in healing and general Hard as nails when hit should allow your characters to not be too suspious. Also stops you from taking to much money as a bystander and at the same time boosting the rep of the group in a different way by being humble and giving.

Go for the Sheperd Book way from serenity/Firefly for a visual refernce. (Don't know the race you describing, but taking a stab in the dark)
MasterOfPsychic
12-27-05, 07:50 PM LeShay... EPIC...

Hmm... Isn't that way LA?
ressurrector
12-27-05, 08:21 PM Well, I knew someone who played a demi-god in a campaign successfully.
Mainly just give yourself *voluntary* penalties to your attack/dmg and don't use your spell-likes.

Unless completely necessary.
red_scare87
12-27-05, 09:11 PM My DM has tasked me with playing a LeShay in his game. The other players are well aware of what I am playing, but their characters have no idea. So, I have to pretend to be around their level (15), without anyone suspecting I am much more than meets the eye.

You're a leShay pretending to be level 15? I guess it's possible. I'd say it wouldn't be too hard to pull off if it wasn't for the leShay's gaze attack. How are you going to deal with that? Are you just not going to look at any of the characters in your party? Or at any monsters you face for that matter. You'd also have to either figure out a way to explain the two weapons coming out of nowhere or just not ever use them in combat.

I do happen to agree with the other posters about the Vow Of Poverty and Vow of Non-Violence. I would also go with being a cleric so you could use your healing abilities, I guess Paladin would work too.
CzarGarrett
12-28-05, 09:44 AM My intitial thought to this- Raistlin out of Dragonlance. Immensely powerful, with physical drawbacks, and doesn't often use his powers.

You might want to draw inspiration from him (if you're familiar with the series)
Teydyn
12-28-05, 08:25 PM I dont know about these LeShay, but one thing you could do is:

Simply create a level 15 character.

He pretends to be level 15 so MAKE him lvl 15, normal stats and all (fair to the other players)

When your DM wants/needs a deus ex machina you are already there and do the impossible (at least for a lvl 15 char...)

Maybe the other players are thrown off limits when they see your character sheet and on top of it is written "human fighter, lvl 15". Tell em you crapped the LeShay idea because they knew about it...
RogerWilco
12-28-05, 08:41 PM I don't know what a Leshay is, but the Gaze attack can not be a problem, because you can volunarily switch it off, look up Gaze attack in the glossary (DMG or MM, can't remember which) it states it there.
^Graff_EpsilonIX
12-28-05, 10:02 PM Maybe take a leaf out of your average polymorphed dragon, and try not to actually do anything that might give away your appearance, just seem like an elf. Other than that, you can use feats like power attack and expertise to attempt to emulate the happy people over in level 15 land. Use your spell-like abilities to emulate magic and only pull out those swords when absolutely needed. Play the elven mage/cleric until...
Terraneaux
12-28-05, 10:46 PM LeShay are stupid powerful to be running around in a level 15 game. First of all, and I'm not saying you did, but if you pestered your dm into letting you play one, shame on you. Second, if your dm was the one who came up with the idea, i'd roll with it, unless you really don't want to play one. Frankly, there's not that much of a possibility of hiding it. You have fifty hit dice, so thats 17 feats when the other pcs have 6. Your base attack bonus is +25/+20 and you can form +5 keen brilliant energy bastard swords at will.

If the campaign hasn't started yet, and you don't want to totally outshine the rest of the party and make their acheivements moot, then i would suggest playing a powerful dead hero sent by the gods to help the pcs (also 15th level). You'd still have a reason for knowing more about the quest the pcs were going on, as the gods themselves would have told you about it.
Grizzled Gryphon
12-29-05, 08:38 AM LeShay are stupid powerful to be running around in a level 15 game. First of all, and I'm not saying you did, but if you pestered your dm into letting you play one, shame on you. Second, if your dm was the one who came up with the idea, i'd roll with it, unless you really don't want to play one. Frankly, there's not that much of a possibility of hiding it. You have fifty hit dice, so thats 17 feats when the other pcs have 6. Your base attack bonus is +25/+20 and you can form +5 keen brilliant energy bastard swords at will.

If the campaign hasn't started yet, and you don't want to totally outshine the rest of the party and make their acheivements moot, then i would suggest playing a powerful dead hero sent by the gods to help the pcs (also 15th level). You'd still have a reason for knowing more about the quest the pcs were going on, as the gods themselves would have told you about it.

For one, my DM came up with the idea, and the rest of the party not only knows about it, but really like the idea. As a quick aside, what kind of moronic DM would EVER allow a player to pester something like this out of him?!?!? I have been gaming for about 15 years, now, and I have NEVER met a DM... well, no, I take that back. Uh, disregard that last, OK? :D

Anyway, I am going to do it, and I already have the guy made up. As I can turn off the gaze, I don't have to worry about that. Basically, I am going to pretend to be a stupid noble type, that is only adventuring because it is the 'in' thing to do. I have a +1 rapier for a weapon. You know, a 'gentlemanly' weapon. I have a very few other items apparant (thanks to Hewards Handy Haversack), and will basically act terribly inept. However, should the bad guys send some interference, I will try and engage them where the PC's won't see me. If that is possible, I could always run off screaming in terror, only to alter self back into my real form, come back and kick butt, then flee before the party can corner me (greater teleport ). Of course, they will probably come looking for me, and find me hiding (poorly, of course) in some corner somewhere near by.

I don't know, this has the makings for some really great role- playing. It should be fun. Both the players and the DM have been doing this for years, and I can only hope I mesh with their group as well as they seem to mesh together.

Anyway, thanks for all the help. Just so you all know, I really liked the vow of poverty and vow of non-violence ideas, but I lent my BoED out, so I couldn't do it. Also, this seems a better way for the character, as they seem to me to be rather arogant, so this won't seem odd coming from a noble. And how do I get them to let me join there gorup, you ask? Simple, I am a RICH nobleman, and I offer to finance them in return for taking me along.

Thanks again, guys, these were very helpful. Surprisingly, even the guys (or gals) that gave ideas that didn't know what the LeShay are were great, too!! Oh, for those who were wondering, the ECL of a LeShay is 50. :bigeyes: I have never even played an epic character, so this will be new.

Thanks again!!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Grizzled Gryphon 12-27-05, 12:16 PM	My DM has tasked me with playing a LeShay in his game. The other players are well aware of what I am playing, but their characters have no idea. So, I have to pretend to be around their level (15), without anyone suspecting I am much more than meets the eye. The situation is this (as far as I know, anyway) The group has to accomplish some task to save the multiverse from destruction. They can not be interfered with in any way by the higher powers. The good guys won't interfere, of course, but the bad guys just might. So, I am here to make sure that doesn't happen. However, as an agent of these higher powers, I cannot help them in their task. I can help out in combat, but only in self defense. I cannot help them in any other way, unless there is some higher power trying to impede them. So, my dilemma is this: How do I play such a powerful creature, but appear to be much less than I am? I mostly wonder what class I should portray. I could pretend to be a cleric, I suppose, and just use Heal to emmulate my casting of healing spells. However, I am not proficient in any armor, so I don't know about that. I plan on redoing the feats, so that is one way to get some class like abilities, possibly. What do you all think?
Shaggy_Shaggs 12-27-05, 12:25 PM	I'm not familiar with LeShay so I can't offer anything too specific, sorry. However, you could explain away your reluctance to join combat as being a conscientious objector to harming other creatures, and just go about playing the role of healer. If you're concerned about blowing your cover if you get drawn into a fight for self-defense and they see you tearing the enemies apart too easily, why not ask the DM if you can have a subtle little magic item that puts a damper on your abilities when equipped, and that you can take off if the BBEG shows up?
R-G 12-27-05, 05:25 PM	Vow of poverty and Vow of non-Violence. The Side effects in healing and general Hard as nails when hit should allow your characters to not be too suspious. Also stops you from taking to much money as a bystander and at the same time boosting the rep of the group in a different way by being humble and giving. Go for the Sheperd Book way from serenity/Firefly for a visual refernce. (Don't know the race you describing, but taking a stab in the dark)
MasterOfPsychic 12-27-05, 07:50 PM	LeShay... EPIC... Hmm... Isn't that way LA?
ressurrector 12-27-05, 08:21 PM	Well, I knew someone who played a demi-god in a campaign successfully. Mainly just give yourself voluntary penalties to your attack/dmg and don't use your spell-likes. Unless completely necessary.
red_scare87 12-27-05, 09:11 PM	My DM has tasked me with playing a LeShay in his game. The other players are well aware of what I am playing, but their characters have no idea. So, I have to pretend to be around their level (15), without anyone suspecting I am much more than meets the eye. You're a leShay pretending to be level 15? I guess it's possible. I'd say it wouldn't be too hard to pull off if it wasn't for the leShay's gaze attack. How are you going to deal with that? Are you just not going to look at any of the characters in your party? Or at any monsters you face for that matter. You'd also have to either figure out a way to explain the two weapons coming out of nowhere or just not ever use them in combat. I do happen to agree with the other posters about the Vow Of Poverty and Vow of Non-Violence. I would also go with being a cleric so you could use your healing abilities, I guess Paladin would work too.
CzarGarrett 12-28-05, 09:44 AM	My intitial thought to this- Raistlin out of Dragonlance. Immensely powerful, with physical drawbacks, and doesn't often use his powers. You might want to draw inspiration from him (if you're familiar with the series)
Teydyn 12-28-05, 08:25 PM	I dont know about these LeShay, but one thing you could do is: Simply create a level 15 character. He pretends to be level 15 so MAKE him lvl 15, normal stats and all (fair to the other players) When your DM wants/needs a deus ex machina you are already there and do the impossible (at least for a lvl 15 char...) Maybe the other players are thrown off limits when they see your character sheet and on top of it is written "human fighter, lvl 15". Tell em you crapped the LeShay idea because they knew about it...
RogerWilco 12-28-05, 08:41 PM	I don't know what a Leshay is, but the Gaze attack can not be a problem, because you can volunarily switch it off, look up Gaze attack in the glossary (DMG or MM, can't remember which) it states it there.
^Graff_EpsilonIX 12-28-05, 10:02 PM	Maybe take a leaf out of your average polymorphed dragon, and try not to actually do anything that might give away your appearance, just seem like an elf. Other than that, you can use feats like power attack and expertise to attempt to emulate the happy people over in level 15 land. Use your spell-like abilities to emulate magic and only pull out those swords when absolutely needed. Play the elven mage/cleric until...
Terraneaux 12-28-05, 10:46 PM	LeShay are stupid powerful to be running around in a level 15 game. First of all, and I'm not saying you did, but if you pestered your dm into letting you play one, shame on you. Second, if your dm was the one who came up with the idea, i'd roll with it, unless you really don't want to play one. Frankly, there's not that much of a possibility of hiding it. You have fifty hit dice, so thats 17 feats when the other pcs have 6. Your base attack bonus is +25/+20 and you can form +5 keen brilliant energy bastard swords at will. If the campaign hasn't started yet, and you don't want to totally outshine the rest of the party and make their acheivements moot, then i would suggest playing a powerful dead hero sent by the gods to help the pcs (also 15th level). You'd still have a reason for knowing more about the quest the pcs were going on, as the gods themselves would have told you about it.
Grizzled Gryphon 12-29-05, 08:38 AM	LeShay are stupid powerful to be running around in a level 15 game. First of all, and I'm not saying you did, but if you pestered your dm into letting you play one, shame on you. Second, if your dm was the one who came up with the idea, i'd roll with it, unless you really don't want to play one. Frankly, there's not that much of a possibility of hiding it. You have fifty hit dice, so thats 17 feats when the other pcs have 6. Your base attack bonus is +25/+20 and you can form +5 keen brilliant energy bastard swords at will. If the campaign hasn't started yet, and you don't want to totally outshine the rest of the party and make their acheivements moot, then i would suggest playing a powerful dead hero sent by the gods to help the pcs (also 15th level). You'd still have a reason for knowing more about the quest the pcs were going on, as the gods themselves would have told you about it. For one, my DM came up with the idea, and the rest of the party not only knows about it, but really like the idea. As a quick aside, what kind of moronic DM would EVER allow a player to pester something like this out of him?!?!? I have been gaming for about 15 years, now, and I have NEVER met a DM... well, no, I take that back. Uh, disregard that last, OK? :D Anyway, I am going to do it, and I already have the guy made up. As I can turn off the gaze, I don't have to worry about that. Basically, I am going to pretend to be a stupid noble type, that is only adventuring because it is the 'in' thing to do. I have a +1 rapier for a weapon. You know, a 'gentlemanly' weapon. I have a very few other items apparant (thanks to Hewards Handy Haversack), and will basically act terribly inept. However, should the bad guys send some interference, I will try and engage them where the PC's won't see me. If that is possible, I could always run off screaming in terror, only to alter self back into my real form, come back and kick butt, then flee before the party can corner me (greater teleport ). Of course, they will probably come looking for me, and find me hiding (poorly, of course) in some corner somewhere near by. I don't know, this has the makings for some really great role- playing. It should be fun. Both the players and the DM have been doing this for years, and I can only hope I mesh with their group as well as they seem to mesh together. Anyway, thanks for all the help. Just so you all know, I really liked the vow of poverty and vow of non-violence ideas, but I lent my BoED out, so I couldn't do it. Also, this seems a better way for the character, as they seem to me to be rather arogant, so this won't seem odd coming from a noble. And how do I get them to let me join there gorup, you ask? Simple, I am a RICH nobleman, and I offer to finance them in return for taking me along. Thanks again, guys, these were very helpful. Surprisingly, even the guys (or gals) that gave ideas that didn't know what the LeShay are were great, too!! Oh, for those who were wondering, the ECL of a LeShay is 50. :bigeyes: I have never even played an epic character, so this will be new. Thanks again!!