D&D 5E Hold Back The Night [OOC]

tglassy said:

I'm seeing a man, or Aasimar, who's at the end of his rope.

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I'll say right now: Don't worry about optimal. Go with what feels right, go with what you want to play and explore, I don't need nor do I want Min-Maxed, Super Optimized characters who can crush combat encounters because, well, combat is not the goal of this game. Combat is going to be something that is very desperate and have very terrifying implications and consequences. As violence generally should, especially in a police state such as The City.

I have to say, this is pretty much what I'm looking for: Heroes that aren't even sure that this is the right thing to do, but what else is there? Fighter is definitely sounding the more interesting option (from what you have so far): Someone who's just channeled all that rage and misery into the weapon in his hands because there's literally nothing left to devote himself to. I like that, that grooves with me.

And as someone whose played a few this edition, Fighter is pretty fun. Lots to play with in Background combos and such, and Eldritch Knight is a fun Archetype.

Hm. Do we need an antihero? Are we holding out for an antihero til the morning light?

Cuz if there's an aasimar, equal-time demands there be a tiefling.

Hurm.

Shayuri said:

Hm. Do we need an antihero? Are we holding out for an antihero til the morning light?

Cuz if there's an aasimar, equal-time demands there be a tiefling.

Hurm.

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So if we're going with the traditional ideal of the AntiHero (that is, the protagonist lacking idealism/courage/morality/etc.), I'd wager the majority of our PCs may turn out this way regardless.

Being openly Heroic is going to attract attention and, shortly thereafter, arrows and fireballs. Being idealistic is devastatingly hard to do in a world where everyone watched idealism die, backed against The Walls, in the most inglorious manner possible. Being courageous requires having a hope that courage can win the day, and hope left The City about the same time Golems started pulling people out of their homes, kicking and screaming as everyone else just sat back and watched.

BUT.

Tieflings are always fun, especially to play off of Aasimar. And such AntiHeroes are even more fun when it's pretty clear they're not going to get much of a choice in this but to either embrace their heroic destiny or die like the rest of the meek and afraid.

Courage is for suckers. I'd be fighting just because some slobs only deserve a giant double-birdy being flipped at them, until the hands are hacked off.

And even then, they'll set in rigor mortis like that on the ground. Because eff them, seriously.

I'm going to have to go with Male Human Fighter, because I need that feat to make dual wielding doable per my vision. It gives him the extra +1 to AC that he could have gotten from Defense, and also makes up for not using a shield, and it's the only way to use two longswords. I actually see him as using two falcions, and the picture I've always seen him use is this

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct...FJ1SQ1DEH3gaXFbqkpbLZySw&ust=1483471934178993


Just retextured longswords, really, but I don't want to use scimitars.

With 27 point buy, I'll likely do a spread like this:

Str: 15
Dex: 10
Con: 13
Int: 14
Wis: 8
Cha: 12

The extra human points are obviously going to Strength and Constitution.

The high strength and constitution is because of his training. The intelligence is natural, and because of his career before his family's death. I think he was a sage, going with the "Disgraced Academic" version. Someone many people looked up to. His wisdom is low because what happened to his family impacted his judgement, and not to min-max. He was always slightly absent minded. Oblivious, but very intellectual, as per the Investigation skill instead of Insight or Perception. The extra Charisma is mainly for intimidation.

Skills would include Athletics, Intimidation, Arcana and History (from Sage Background), adding in Investigation as his extra human skill.

Hold Back The Night [OOC / RECRUITING]

So, I'm going either rogue with the entertainer background or bard with the criminal background, not certain yet. I have her story, just deciding how I want to make the stats fit. Considering we won't have access to magic much down the road I lean that way a little bit but the story is the thing here so I'm just pondering for the time being.

I'm loving watching the other characters shape up


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ok, here's my concept: Aasimar Revenant . I'm sticking with my idea of a "blade" like character, that fights Magi and their minions instead of vampires.

Backstory: There was a time when Valarian was happy. He remembered that much. He had a wife, three children, and had close ties with the sun god, the all mighty bringer of light. Sure times were tough, but he had his duties as a cleric, and enjoyed bringing hope to the people of the city. He never listened to the whispers about the omens of his birth, and it didn't matter that he had been raised by other faithful, never having known his lineage. He had been happy, and had known love. For his wife, for his children, for the people of the City that he cared for.

This was until the Magi came into his life. He only remembers bits. His friends, his wife, his children. All tortured in front of him. The process took a long time. They tried to siphon his life force, a cruel and painful process. Then there was darkness. But the darkness didn't last. He awoke, naked, in an abandoned section of the city. His body was intact, but it seemed only moments ago there were many wounds, many scars. He didn't remember anything at first, who he was, and where he was. Then, the memories came slowly back: the loss of his family, his friends, the other clerics bring light and hope to others. The pain was unbearable. Almost, but there was much to be done. Revenge; relentless revenge. His anger soared, and yet, he was serene with this desire for vengeance.

The connection to the god of light was still there, but very different and strange. He knew the Magi must pay, and he would fight with every single ounce of strength he had.

Class: I'm thinking Kensei monk, or ranger (hopefully, the Revised Ranger is allowed).

Feedback and comments are welcome.
Thanks and cheers,

SG

Some ideas, but nothing that really jumps up- and it looks like there is plenty of competition for those spots.

I shall be lurking, I guess.

One thing I'd like that is always hard to do in D&D is having roots. I want to play someone in their late-30s who owns a business in the city. Constantly being shaken down for protection money, worrying that their staff will do something stupid that gets him in trouble, has to deal with the cops always nosing around, has an elder child who can run the business when he's not around but otherwise is there most of the time. It's a bar, so he's well known to local constabulary (such as it is). It was his father's bar, and his grandfather's bar. He is known in the local community for keeping to himself and staying out of trouble.

He's also a sorcerer and he keeps that a secret.

If you like, I'll create a character out of that.

[MENTION=6855130]Jago[/MENTION] What a great pitch! I'm in, if you're looking for a final player.

So I was thinking the party could use a spellcaster, that there must be some real interesting politics regarding The Magi and non-The Magi spellcasters, and the whole idea of a society with golem "gestapo" sparked an idea...



"Oppenheimer's Apprentice" a.k.a. The Curmudgeon
A curmudgeonly gnomish tinker with a heart of gold, a guilty conscience, and unflappably bleak humor.

Story Brief: Anytime a denizen of The City passed the "Rumpels", as the rock gnomes who aligned themselves with The Magi were known, spitting on the ground would be the kindest of responses. It was rock gnomes who were responsible for the failure of the Tower Incident, so human great grandparents and demi-human elders say. Whether this was because the rock gnomes truly were geased by The Magi as they claim or because the cowardly wretches sought only to line their own pockets is a secret as murky as any other hiding behind the gnomish ledgers. Puttering away in the counting houses to grow the vast fortunes The Magi needed for their rites of power, the "Rumpels" are despised.

Fitz Augertorque was especially loathsome, possessing all the charm of a porcupine. However, it seemed that with his dismal spirits came labyrinthine intellect. Recognizing the magical talent of the Augertorque family, Severen the Gaunt (a ranking member of The Magi overseeing translation of several archaic manuals of folems) saw fit to take on the misshapen gnome as his apprentice. And so Fitz studied the art and craft of making all manner of mechanical marvels. These marvels, the sour yet kindly gnome believed, would improve the lives of The City's subjects. Golems and other automatons, after all, meant the citizens could spend more time bettering themselves and no longer fear for famine. Misguided in his belief that he would at last receive the recognition that eluded others of his benighted race, Fitz worked tirelessly in the golem forges... until the day came when he was confronted with the reality of how The Magi actually used the golems. And by then it was too late.

A snide remark to Severen the Gaunt (coupled with an attempt to sabotage a golem) resulted in Fitz being beaten, expelled from the household and deposited in the gutter. The sagacious mage could not bring himself to kill his Apprentice, either out of some sick care for the ugly gnome or a fierce pride in the face of the criticism of his mage peers. Swearing revenge, Fitz gathered some poison, planning to dump it in the soup pot of Severen's household, but < INSERT ANOTHER PC'S NAME > stopped him from doing something Fitz would have regretted and instead introduced him to a desperate underground resistance...

Mechanics: Rock Gnome / 2nd level Wizard (transmuter OR artificer if allowed) / Lawful Good

1. Is the Unearthed Arcana artificer allowed? It can make potions & scrolls. If not, I'm thinking a transmuter fits as a close second.

2. Pretty please, may I have rolled stats? You're welcome to roll them to make sure it's fair. I just really like the randomness as an idea springboard, and I think some abysmal, extreme, or middling scores would suit this character better than point buy / standard array.

3. I'm still figuring out which background to take, but I'm wondering if we could ad lib a feature that might correspond to "Construct/Engineering Knowledge of The City." For example, it might give him a network of rock gnomes he can learn about various golems or infrastructure from, maybe allowing him to learn passwords to bypass certain constructs or acquiring illicit control rods which allow him to deactivate/de-berserk a berserk golem. That sort of stuff.