Sabre_Justice Posted:

LAWL.

Hehehe, just as well I still go by that this is a role-playing game, not a competition.

Indeed.

Anyway, a character is beginning to form in my head… a mercantile soldier, Neutral in alignment (I expect it to change to Neutral Evil at some point), not picky about what keeps him alive and brings in money. As for weapons, I’m thinking a halberd and sword of some sort…

Should I keep the rest of the character rambling to myself? Just I could use some suggestions.

No, do post up whatever that comes to your head so we’ll all have some idea as to how you’ll like your character to progress and develop. Log in to see images! Personally, I’ll rather like it if everyone could do the same, making this thread a sort of worktable for their characters, but I understand that some people only like to unveil the final product.

With regards to your mercenary soldier. Let’s say that he gets a job where he has to burn down an orphanage full of children because some property developers want that land. How would he go about doing it? Would he just shrug and toss a lit torch into the stables? Kidnap the children and forcefully drag them outside before setting the fire? Convince them that there is an emergency, and that all the children must leave before setting fire to the building?

The first is definitely Evil, but the second and third might make a case for True Neutral (TN). Not likely Chaotic Good (CG), though, since taking a job like burning down an orphanage is definitely not Good behaviour unless you can somehow justify it to yourself someway. But depending on the reasons why he did what he did, there might be a case for a poor confused TN character there.

Halberd sounds good, any particular reasons why that choice? How about fighting style? Would you want to be heavily armoured in full-plate, a veritable walking tank with a swishing halberd, or would you rather be light and nimble on your feet? If so, why?

I like to make my characters in this order. I first come up with a set of unique traits that I think might be interesting (”Apathetic and paranoid mercenary warrior who thinks that the world is out to get him”), then I weave a history around those traits (”Father was an abusive ****twat who abandoned his mother; wife slept with his best friend while he was out fighting a war; killed both of them in a fit of rage and confessed to a friend while drunk; betrayed by said friend to the authorities”).

Following that, I then come up with an image of how I would like him to look and act, and some quirks that make my character more “real” (”Full-plate armour from paranoia; sleeps with weapon under pillow; halberd from previous war training; haunted by bad dreams of both the war and his murder”). And, all that done, I go on to fill in the numbers to match what I just built up in my mind on the character sheet.

Hope that helps! Log in to see images!

Sabre_Justice Posted:

Sweet.

Nondescript so far. Personally I’d prefer to start with the technical details and work from there, oddly enough.

As said, I’m thinking a fairly versatile warrior, with the halberd being only one of several weapons. Decked out in armour, though not to an extreme extent, and he likes it in black.

And I picked Neutral because I figure it’d be fun to play a character who just doesn’t give a damn what he does. So leaning heavily towards Neutral Evil.

And backstory… I’m not really into drama, but here goes…

How about a character who was once an honourable warrior believed to be destined for greatness and ended up joining the army… but over a few years he ended up seeing and doing enough horrible acts that he became disillusioned with what he formerly believed and by the end of it he just didn’t give a damn about good or evil anymore, and despite being hailed as a war hero he ended up doing any mercenary work that came his way if it paid enough. At some point he got on the wrong side of the local authorities and ended up thrown in a dungeon with a bunch other creepy folks…

Fair enough. Just a word of warning, though: a war hero means that there’s a good chance many of your military pals would recognise you on sight if you make a jail bust. Are you sure you don’t want to become an anonymous war veteran instead? Log in to see images!

The black armour can be explained by your character being part of the Obsidian Legion, an elite psych-ops strike force designed to strike fear and terror into the hearts of the enemy. Nothing quite says “badbum” as much as a bunch of men dressed in pure black armour smashing into your flanks in complete silence.

The most recent war would be the Dragon Wars, a number of years ago (six to ten; you decide), when Dentatus the Elder Red mounted an bumault on the City in a desperate bid to destroy the reincarnated form of Plinius, his twin. Armies were rallied to both sides of the wall, and there it raged for six months before Plinius came into his own power. In the process, though, a good sixth of the city was destroyed, and the ruined districts are still charred and abandoned, with rumours of it being haunted by the many vengeful shades of soldiers slain there.

Oh, and the orphanage question? He’d probably chuck a torch at it and make sure it burns. Whatever happens to the orphans is irrelevant.

Welcome to Neutral Evil Corps, hope you enjoy your stay. Log in to see images!

I guess I’ll post what I have been thinking so far for my character.

My character is a male reproductive organy 30 year old man. He smarter than you and will not fail at any moment to let you forget that. He’s a wizard that has been studying necromancy because deep down, he’s extremely afraid of dying. At some point he heard of liches and he’s dedicated himself to attaining this secret of immortality. Don’t expect him to put himself in harms way unless there’s a promise of a juicy reward. He’s not really as all powerful as he’d like you to think he is so most of his time has been spent studying and experimenting with the deceased to attain more knowledge. He also reads a lot about his favorite subjects (Log in to see images!) and like all good necromancers, he’s power hungry.

He doesn’t have a lot of friends thanks to his morbid personality. His best friend is actually his rat familiar. He doesn’t have a job but makes a bit of money by selling bodies or parts of bodies to medical schools in secret.

I’m thinking he got arrested after trying to dig up a freshly buried body.

eponymous_ennui Posted:

Night Gaunt Posted:

I guess I’ll post what I have been thinking so far for my character.

My character is a male reproductive organy 30 year old man. He smarter than you and will not fail at any moment to let you forget that. He’s a wizard that has been studying necromancy because deep down, he’s extremely afraid of dying. At some point he heard of liches and he’s dedicated himself to attaining this secret of immortality. Don’t expect him to put himself in harms way unless there’s a promise of a juicy reward. He’s not really as all powerful as he’d like you to think he is so most of his time has been spent studying and experimenting with the deceased to attain more knowledge. He also reads a lot about his favorite subjects (Log in to see images!) and like all good necromancers, he’s power hungry.

He doesn’t have a lot of friends thanks to his morbid personality. His best friend is actually his rat familiar. He doesn’t have a job but makes a bit of money by selling bodies or parts of bodies to medical schools in secret.

I’m thinking he got arrested after trying to dig up a freshly buried body.

Looks sweet. Would he, perchance, be interested in necrophilia? Log in to see images! I ask only to satisfy my purely academic curiosity.

The Xammux does indeed look like the god for him. For the record, Xammux is not widely worshipped in the City… as you might have guessed, what with him being an evil god and all that. However, Log in to see images! (4 ranks in Knowledge: Religion, 7 ranks in Knowledge: City, awareness of Xammux worship).

genericangstyposter Posted:

I’m an archery/charismatic type human rogue (obviously, with the standard thieving abilities for dungeoneering, so that we don’t die). He prefers the bow, although he is not averse to pulling out his rapier if it’s absolutely necessary. He’s very good with the ladies, and (as a result) isn’t very well liked by most men. He got thrown in jail for sodomy and “corrupting” a virgin. Of course, this probably wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t a powerful merchant’s daughter… and if he didn’t leave her after having sex with her after promising that he would love her forever. “But I’m an adventurer, and so I have to be moving on, now. Next time I’m in town, I’ll make sure to look you up.” That was about when she told her dad. Even about the uh… unorthodox sex he “tricked” her into. At least they didn’t catch the gold that he stole from them (mainly because he spent it).

He has a legitimate occupation as a locksmith (at the moment), but he’s been a pimp, a gambler, a gigolo, a loan shark, a bank clerk (very briefly), a bounty hunter, and a mercenary. When he was locked up, he told them the “truth,” saying that he was a milliner named Angus Brown (his real name is Jason Voaer, if you’re curious). Anyway, he’ll try anything twice, and you can take that absolutely any way that you can. He’s the type of guy who isn’t afraid of the druid in her animal form, if you know what I mean. As long as she really IS a human… or humanoid. Or sentient, at least. He’s even had sex with a few men, although he tries to avoid it, because he’d get more than locked up in the less cosmopolitan areas of the world. That being said, he’s liable to have a lot of ex-lovers and one night stands hanging around nearly every city, village, and outpost in the world. “I remember this one girl, a servent… this was when I was a farmhand. I told her that I was going to milk cows, and I never came back. As I understand it, she hung herself the next day. She had problems. I almost feel bad about taking her necklace.”

Log in to see images!

Brilliant. I think you and the necromancer would get along like Log in to see images! as a clbum skill and 1 free rank in it, while non-natives would get the same deal for their own home town. Your choice, ultimately.

Looks fantastic so far, guys. Now as soon as Dinictus posts his character, and everyone posts up the numbers, we’re good to go! I’ll advise everyone to format their character sheets in Notepad or an equivalent word processor and then use [code] tags to post it up here. Format your sheet in any way you see best, as long as it’s clear and readable: I’m not picky otherwise.

He came from a more rural area originally, to answer your question. This partially has to do with the fact that my character has already used up his skills. Log in to see images!

Sweet. Now I just need to think of a name…

...and can I just roll stats? I find that fun, though I suppose there’s no way to prove my honesty.

I’m terrible with names, so I’ll give him a catchy nickname too if I can.

Now, to figure out the stuff a human Fighter can choose… dammit, I need the DM Guide.

EDIT: The character so far:

Almac Zakarion

Male Human Fighter

Age 32

Level 4

STR 16 (+3) DEX 14 (+2) CON 14 (+2)

INT 12 (+1) WIS 10 (+0) CHA 12 (+1)

Skills

———

Intimidate (4)

Jump (4)

Climb (4)

Languages

————-

Common

Draconic

Feats

——-

Weapon Focus (Halberd)

Power Attack

Intimidating Strike

[General, Fighter]

(PH2 p79)

Intimidate: 4 ranks

When attacking as a Standard Action, subtract X from your attack roll, where X is from 0 to your Base Attack Bonus. If you hit, immediately make an Intimidate check with a bonus of X vs. the opponent you just hit. If successful, the opponent is Shaken for the rest of this encounter.

I’ve having a friend help me out with choosing stuff. I added the skill description mostly for my own benefit. Thanks for the backstory, it helps a lot.

Fair nuff, that’s what I did.

Working on first-level stats at the moment. I gave him Draconic as a second language, since he fought in these apparently ever-present Dragon Wars. Still working on that profile.

EDIT: OK, here’s my level 4 profile. Whaddua think?

Almac Zakarion

Male Human Fighter

Age 32

Level 4

STR 16 (+3) DEX 14 (+2) CON 14 (+2)

INT 13 (+1) WIS 10 (+0) CHA 12 (+1)

AC 13

+ 2 Dex Bonus

+ 2 Armour Bonus: Leather Armour

+ 1 Shield Bonus: Buckler

Initiative: 16 (+4 Improved Initiative)

Fortitude: +6 (4 base + 2 Con)

Reflex: +3 (1 base + 2 Dex)

Willpower: +1 (1 base + 0 Wis)

Base Attack Bonus: +4

Melee Attack: ...

Ranged Attack: ...

Languages

————-

Common

Draconic

Skills

———

Intimidate (7)

Jump (4)

Climb (4)

Ride (2)

Knowledge (history) (2)

Feats

——-

Weapon Focus (Halberd)

Power Attack

Intimidating Strike

[General, Fighter]

(PH2 p79)

Intimidate: 4 ranks

When attacking as a Standard Action, subtract X from your attack roll, where X is from 0 to your Base Attack Bonus. If you hit, immediately make an Intimidate check with a bonus of X vs. the opponent you just hit. If successful, the opponent is Shaken for the rest of this encounter.

Cleave

Improved Initiative

Combat Expertise

Equipment

————-

...

Still working on Equipment. I only have the Player’s Handbook to go by, so suggestions are appreciated.

Alright then, should I change it to Dwarven? It seems to make the most sense of them all.

eponymous_ennui Posted:

Sabre_Justice Posted:

Alright then, should I change it to Dwarven? It seems to make the most sense of them all.

Sure. Just come up with why you know Dwarven: for instance, did you bunk with a Dwarf in basic military training and became best friends with him before he died during a skirmish in the Wars, shot down by a drow archer? Or did you pick up Dwarven because you were brought up in the Dwarven ghetto slums of the City?

The first one sounds about right. The handbook says Dwarven military phrases are quite popular among humans, so I went from there.

I still need ideas for equipment. 9000gp right? I’ve got a Masterwork Halberd and Full Plate with spikes so far, and a longsword as a backup weapon. (I always keep a backup) How about a horse?