D&D 5E The New World [Volo Monsters]

[Shayuri]

It arguably could...though that has as much to do with my choice of words for narration as anything. When presented with the task of making a situation seem emotionless, I default to rampant intellectualism. But just because Saashala claimed to be doing 'research' doesn't mean she was particularly good at it. And that in itself may have been just a rationalization to conceal deeper misgivings and interests.

I feel like, if a yuan-ti had some kind of empathy for other beings, it would probably manifest like this...not as empathy per se, but rather an almost desperate attempt to rationalize the goals that the empathy makes attractive. I don't want to torment these slaves...because they're valuable research subjects! I want to learn more about their strange ways...because it could help us found a new and more vibrant Empire!

I suspect yuan-ti are not nearly as adept at handling cognitive dissonance as we mammals are.

That said, I could make an alternate version of this character as an Enchanter wizard...and then she'd be perfectly smart enough to make that talk stick. But the flavor of the warlock is just very YUAN TI. You're telepathic! And get weird and disturbing spells! And can change your appearance at will! And later on, you can enslave people -with your mind-.

To preserve that flavor, I was obligated to go warlock.

 

[ammulder]

Nert Muckshreder [...]

So I'm not clear on Nert's last name. I think you spelled it three different ways. Though perhaps that's part of his charm...?

Rangers get three skills, but you only chose two. Also you've got your favored terrain to select. And personality-wise, one more Trait and the Flaw. The flaw could easily be something like "When survival is at stake, my life comes ahead of my friends."

On the background, I can perfectly envision all the goblins shuffling off to leave Nert as the "volunteer". I'm assuming all these goings-on are within one tribe of goblins, so he's eared the Foultracker clan within that tribe even more shame. But what's going on with the tribe itself? If we look at all the Goblinoids, I'm getting the feeling that Maglubiyet is pushing to assemble a proper war machine. That would probably suggest replacing the goblin Boss with a bigger and more aggressive one.

So... maybe when someone went to wake up the Big Boss this morning, they found him whipped to death (though nobody had entered his quarters!). Seeing how that Boss went, all of a sudden everybody's desperate to NOT be the Boss... Whoever got stuck as the de-facto "interim boss" would like nothing more than to shrink into the weeds, and yet was suddenly handed two problems: dealing with Nert, and cooperating with other races. The only good solution is the one that rids you of both problems at the same time -- sending Nert to deal with the other races.

Sound OK?

 

[TallIan]

So I'm not clear on Nert's last name. I think you spelled it three different ways. Though perhaps that's part of his charm...?

Rangers get three...

Sound OK?

It should be Muckshredder, my proof reading is just not very good.

I'll flesh out the back story a bit with your ideas. I didn't want (or have) much more detail at the time, I just wanted to sound out the concept.

I'd missed the fact that all the goblins were close to being under one boss.



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[ammulder]

I'll flesh out the back story a bit with your ideas. I didn't want (or have) much more detail at the time, I just wanted to sound out the concept.

I'd missed the fact that all the goblins were close to being under one boss.

OK. Here's my copy of the PC sheet as it stands (I had to put in placeholders for the extra skill and favored terrain but you can still change those):
http://opentools.org/the-new-world/nert-muckshredder.pdf

For purposes of selecting your favored terrain:

• Many of the monsters live in or near the mountains, but the only invaders going there are Dwarves, who have started exploring/mining
• Much of the monster-claimed area is in the Forest. Elves are starting to explore the forest for future settlements.
• Much of the invader-claimed land is coast and grassland. (You're starting farther inland, but they started from the coast.) The invaders have largely stayed away from swamp, desert, arctic, and Underdark -- because it's the "good" land they're after.
• Overall, your main operational areas will likely be forest, grassland, and mountain in the short term, with some coast in the long term.

It doesn't have to be the case that all the goblins everywhere are united under one Boss. I guess I'm sort of working on the theory that there are a lot of goblin families and clans in one big "tribe" in this region that are normally independent. There's a tribal "Big Boss" who's pretty much ignored (you know, "yeah Boss, yeah Boss, we can do that!" and then go back to whatever you were doing before).

But then if the Goblinoid gods are working toward assembling a "Conquering Host" to defend their land, they'd want to install a more powerful Goblin leader to unify all the clans in the tribe... and eventually maybe rope in some of the more distant tribes. I don't think that new leader has been identified yet -- the gods operate on a different time frame -- but to them it would be worth taking the first steps by whacking the old ineffective boss to put a scare into folks and start getting them back into line.

Anyway, nothing set in stone yet, but I'm trying to craft a backstory that makes some sense for everybody's background as we put the group together.

 

[Creamsteak]

Well, I guess I won't stop you from going with the 8/8/8/15/15/15 build, but I will keep an eye out for any possible Strength save I can inflict upon you...

I put Moon Moon into the standard PDF -- let me know if there are any issues.
http://opentools.org/the-new-world/moon-moon.pdf

Looks like you didn't put the spell selection in (looks like I get 1 for level and 2 for wisdom), but that's not a big deal.

Personally I thought the stat array makes sense. I doubt he'll live long enough to actually use all the odd stats, but that is what it is.

 

[TallIan]

Edited my original character post rather than adding a whole new post.

Updated backstory to incorporate your ideas.

Added Nature as a proficiency.

Chose Forest as chosen terrain, as I have an image of the tribe territory being forest.

I forgot to ask about starting equipment, I’ve traded the longbow I would start with for a short bow, as I don’t see a goblin using a longbow. I hope that is ok. I was planning on making him a bit of a poisoner, but then I noticed that a vial of poison was 100GP for 1d4 poison damage - hardly worth buying it - and using the poisoners kit takes 20 days and 50GP to make one dose of poison – also hardly worth it. So I might change that aspect of the character.

 

[JustinCase]

Alright, how's this:


Ripnek Ratkiller used to be a frail young bugbear. His father Kleaf, a big brute and second warrior of the large Greenkil Gang, was certain his offspring was cursed by Hruggek to be cowardly and weak, and it was a test of his own strength. Without thinking twice, his father left Ripnek in the forest when the Gang moved on to new hunting grounds.

Deserted, Ripnek wandered the wilds for days. Eventually he encountered a goblin tribe, but uncertain how they would respond to his presence, Ripnek made sure to remain undetected, stealing food and the occasional trinket before vanishing in the night. After two weeks, the goblins were convinced the place was haunted and prepared to move away. At that moment, a group of bugbears appeared out of nowhere, capturing a score of goblins, killing several more and taking the severed head of the goblin chief with them.

A strong but attractive female bugbear found Ripnek, chewing on a dead rat he had stolen. She disdainfully named him Ratkiller and after a very short fight, she effortlessly threw him over her shoulder and carried him away, claiming him as her trophy. She was Clobr, daughter of the Crowbeak Gang leader from the foot of the mountains, and besides using Ripnek as a plaything, she taught him the ways of Grankhul’s stealth and wit. Not as a substitute for the ferocity of Hruggek, but as an addition to it, an ability to sneak up on your enemy and then rip them apart.

Despite his progress and the growth of his muscles, Ripnek was still considered to be weaker than the other bugbears of the Crowbeak Gang, and was bullied remorselessly. His skill at hiding turned into a survival skill, and what he lacked in strength he compensated in brutality in battle.

On one fateful day, the Crowbeak Gang ran into the more powerful Greenkil Gang. Ripnek’s father had become the leader of his gang and when Clobr saw him, she was overcome with desire. Ripnek watched helplessly, filled with hatred and jealousy, as his father and his former lover began their violent and wild courtship in front of the two collected Gangs.

Ripnek could not take it anymore. He waited until dark before creeping to the place where Kleaf and Clobr slept, grabbing a shortsword and standing over the sleeping bullies. In his mind’s eye, years of being beaten and humiliated by his father, his old gang and the new, all transformed into a burning anger at the ones lying at his feet. Hesitating for only a moment, Ripnek thrusted the blade into his father…

…and failed to kill him.

Clobr lashed out at Ripnek, sweeping his feet beneath him and making him fall awkwardly. Kleaf howled, blood gushing out of his left eye where the blade still stuck, mauling around helplessly. The other Gang members quickly came to the aid of their leader and tied Ripnek up to await judgement.

It just so happened that Kleaf, as the leader of the most powerful Gang of bugbears around, had received word that Maglubiyet required an emissary for a mission to confront the newcomers from beyond the sea. Like any bugbear, Kleaf thought this required him to be active for far too long, and he was pondering how to solve this problem without wasting one of his fine warriors. The answer to his question, however, was clear: His wayward son, who tried to kill him but failed, would be sent away on this quest.

Kleaf would not kill his own blood, but he would do the next best thing: Remove Ripnek from his sight. Again.

 

[Shayuri]

Hmm. There might be a way to be smart but still preserve the 'psionic' flavor of the character, but it would mean going into Unearthed Arcana, which I know you're reluctant to do.

There is a psionic class called the Mystic that's been put forward as a playtesty thing that would work well, with your approval. If not, that's totally okay. It hasn't even been officially released yet, let alone part of 'core.' And I can work with existing classes as well. I just wanted to bring this option up, as it would resolve some conflicting design goals.

 

[ammulder]

Hmm. There might be a way to be smart but still preserve the 'psionic' flavor of the character, but it would mean going into Unearthed Arcana, which I know you're reluctant to do.

No, I think it's OK as you originally proposed. I can buy that Saashala creates these theories without much in the way of justification or a convincing explanation for others. That basically they're just rationalizations, not sound conclusions. An Int of 10 is enough to SOUND smart, until a smarter person starts asking questions.

Who's her Great Old One patron? In particular, is it related to that which caused the Yuan-ti to pursue their snake-aspect in the first place? Or is it drawing her away from snake-dom instead, and perhaps subtly encouraging this empathy for other races?

 

[Shayuri]

Yeah, that's where I was going with it. You'll note she was unable to defend her ideas when cross-examined by the more intelligent Yuan-ti.

I suspect her patron has been exerting influence over her; perhaps it is pressing her on her current course. One of the 'lesser' of the Yuan-ti pantheon, perhaps, hoping that in upending the current paradigm, it can secure a greater position for itself. Something that, like Saashala, is small and boxed in, but is hoping to grow by thinking outside of that box.

The book doesn't give a lot of insights into the 'snake gods' or other entities that the yuan-ti pay homage to...and of course, Saashala could easily have bound herself to something else entirely. My sense is that it's more likely that it found her, than vice versa. She has never been the sort to dabble in forbidden tomes or seek out long-forgotten loci of slumbering powers.

A small god, perhaps, that feeds off of her actions and mayhem...growing stronger, and granting her more strength as it does.