Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 rekko Aug 19, 2011 16:17:29	Hey! I've been in D&D for about 10 years now, always as a DM. Now, after a long break of over a year, I'm back into the game (yeah!) but this time, I'll be on the other side of the DM's screen, as a PC. So, here's where you come in. I've played a PC only once when I was first introduced to the game (a goblin fighter). Eberron has a lot of different possibilities for characters, and I can't seem to be able to choose. I was thinking of playing a member of the Ghaash'kala clan from the Demon Wastes Labyrinth, but I don't know which rare/class I should be. We play in 3.5 all books allowed, but I'd like to keep to PHB and ECS for race and class. The Ghaas'kala clan appeals to me because of their beliefs, its parallels with the Silver Flame and at some point with the Gatekeepers. Also, I believe the Demon Wastes hasn't seen much love from PCs. Please share your suggestions for race/class to fit this character theme. Or suggest another character theme that might appeal a DM becoming a PC. I know my DM will set our first adventures in Xen'drik. Thanks Rekko
#2 CorrinAvatan Aug 19, 2011 22:01:57	One thing that you'll have to explain: the Ghaash'kala don't leave the Demon Wastes.  Like, ever.  It's considered a sin/crime for them to do so under normal circumstances.  That's part of the Ghaash'kala way: you can join us, but you cannot go in, or leave, because we will kill you. Now, it should be relatively easy to "fluff" a reason why you were allowed to leave.  Vision, divine sign, you woke up one day in a tavern six hundred miles away, etc.  Now, as for PCs, I would actually recommend a wizard or sorcerer, with a single level in cleric, so you can take the "Silver Pyromancer" prestige class (the Five Nations book, page 150).  It has some nifty benefits, like being able to treat paladin spells as wizard/sorcerer spells, making your fire spells pass through resistance and immunities, and causing stuff to be on fire longer from fire spells. The official fluff of the book says that you have to seek out the Silver Flame, but it has been heavily hinted at both in the RPG books and the actual Eberron fiction that the Ghaash'kala worship the same entity as the Silver Flame, so you can easily fluff that, as well. Honestly, I'd go human wizard/cleric, since your favored class is "any," meaning you don't have to worry about loosing xp while going for this prestige class.
#3 chemikus Aug 20, 2011 5:41:35	You could try out a cleric. I used to play a human cleric of the silver flame during my last 3.5 campaign and he proved to be very effective and funny with the exorcist of the silver flame prc, especially against demons/devils. I am used to 4E now, so I don´t remember the detailed mechanics. I agree with CorrinAvatan with the fluff restricitons. Regarding your race decision i have to admit that I normally play humans because of their versatility (especially in 3.5, the extra feat is a big winner!), but if you want to play something more exotic perhaps you could choose a monstrous race like tiefling or duergar (some problems with the low charisma values). If I would take part in your campaign, perhaps I would play a shifter ranger or barbarian with weretouched master prc and lots of shifter feats.
#4 rekko Aug 20, 2011 11:38:15	Here are some reasons for my character to be out of the Demon Wastes. 1- Since the Mourning happened, the Ghaash'kala understand that their efforts in keeping evil in the Demon Wastes aren't enough to protect Eberron. They thus choose a worthy member of their clan as their ambassador in the world. His mission is to hunt down evil wherever it is, spread the teachings of the Kalok Shash (aka Silver Flame), and train others in the art of demon hunting. The Champion could have been chosen for his past deeds, or is the winner of a clan tournament, or because he was the next in line to becoming the clan's leader. 2- In his duty as Guardian of the Labyrinth, my character could have failed to the task, and have permitted a dangerous evil to escape the Demon Wastes. Being unrestful, he decided to hunt it down until he would destroy it or die trying. 3- Being in close proximity with the Lords of Dust agents, the Ghaash'kala discovered part of their machinations. This evil scheme must be stopped, but in order to do so, the clan must break with tradition and send a champion to his destiny. 4- A leader, shaman or myself had a vision that another Silver Flame needed protection, is it the one in Flamekeep, or another one not known yet to the people of Khorvaire? Or a vision of epic destiny in which my character sacrifices himself and becomes the Tira Miron of this era to keep evil at bay. As for race/class, I haven't decided yet.
#5 chemikus Aug 21, 2011 3:45:48	4- A leader, shaman or myself had a vision that another Silver Flame needed protection, is it the one in Flamekeep, or another one not known yet to the people of Khorvaire? Or a vision of epic destiny in which my character sacrifices himself and becomes the Tira Miron of this era to keep evil at bay. I like this one best. You wrote that the campaign starts in Xen´drik? Then perhaps there are some Quoatl hiding in need of a brave hero.
#6 Siberys Aug 21, 2011 18:07:58	The Draconic Prophecies trilogy by James Wyatt had a Ghaash'kala that was exiled for letting evil escape the Labyrinth... He was supposed to be killed, but ran away. As for race, I'd do Half-Orc, or if you're fine with monster races, Orc. Human could work too, but when I think Ghaash'kala, I think Orc.
#7 rekko Sep 05, 2011 22:20:12	I've decided to go down the route of the Ghaash'kala Half-Orc Cleric of Kalok Shash (Silver Flame) and I'll probably take the path of the Exorcist. I've given some thoughts on my character's story, and here's what I came up with this far. Like all Half-Orcs, Daran has two distinct heritages. His father is a Ghaash'kala Orc, a guardian of the labyrinth that seperates the Demon Wastes from the rest of the Khorvaire. His mother is a Silver Flame Paladin that crusaded from Flamekeep to the Demon Wastes in order to fight evil on its own turf. From his father, Daran knows a great deal about the Ghaash'kala since he's been raised in their culture. From his mother, he knows close to nothing except some vague memories of his early childhood and that he took up his mother's last name for his own when she got killed/possessed by fiends. I talked with my DM, and we agreed that Jaela Daran, the Keeper of the Flame, would be my unknown big sister. My mother would have left her when she was still a baby to go on that crusade. We also decided that my character would be 10 years old and considered an adult in Ghaash'kala culture since people tend to die young when fighting demons. Or that he would actually be older than Jaela because of planar travel to a plane where time flows faster than on Eberron (maybe Shavarath or Kythri). Planar travel could be explained either because of manifest zone or hunting a demon, and it could also explain why I got to Xen'drik. I'll develop my background and write it in a next post. In the meantime, you could always suggest events to include in my past or those of my parents and clan. Or do I have a special equipment or weapon of choice, why? Rekko