What does your collection of AL characters look like?

[Caliban]

Just curious, but how many AL characters do people have lying around? Any interesting patterns in classes/levels/races/etc?

I'll start. I've got 8 playable characters right now, although one is just a pile of DM rewards that hasn't actually been in a game yet. 4 of them are Tier 1 characters at level 4, the rest are Tier 2 ranging from levels 5 to 8. I don't have any duplicated class combinations, but I'm clearly a fan of feats because I've got 3 variant humans.

Mordite - Hill Dwarf (Fighter 8/Warlock 4)
Nightblade - Goliath (Fighter 1/Warlock 5)
Sir Robin - Human (Paladin 4/Warlock 4)
Ray Pierre - Human (Rogue 4 - with Magic Initiate for Booming Blade/Green Flame Blade and Hex)
Lance McGowan - Human (Paladin 8)
Altessa DeVille - Tiefling (Warlock 12)
Hanzo - Human (Monk 4 - with magic initiate for Shillelagh, Thorn Whip, and Faerie Fire)
Mongo - Half Orc (Barbarin 5 - Frenzied Berserker)
Flynt Hardstone - Mountain Dwarf (Barbarian 4 - Battle Rager)

I multi-class or single class depending on the character concept.

 

[Undrhil]

I don't know if there's much of a pattern in mine, except I like to make use of multiclassing.

Tuk'n Rol - A level 16 variant human Entertainer Wild Sorc 1 / Diviner 15 (Lucky feat), who is a Jester with the desire to rule the world, one day.
Quintosis Decimus - A level 14 half-elf Guild Artisan (Jewelcrafters and Gemcutters) Dragon Sorc 13 / Bard 1, who likes to talk ... incessantly, about his work with gems and jewelry.
Heskann - A level 13 dragonborn Sailor Battle Master Fighter 8 / Undying Warlock 5, who grabs people when they anger him, sometimes dropping Silence so they can't scream.
Philip Vineclimber - A level 10 variant human Soldier Banneret Fighter 10 (Magic Initiate: Druid feat). He was adopted into a noble family for saving a noble's daughter.
Ebb - A level 9 water genasi Sailor Tempest Cleric of Deep Sashelas, who was reared by Sea Elves
Darthon - A level 6 Goliath "Tribal Sage" Necromancer Wizard. He loves reading books and is trying to find a way to gain entrance to Candlekeep.
Trinion Ankerton - A level 5 Mountain Dwarf Cloistered Scholar Abjurer Wizard 5. He likes to get into melee with things and bring the pain.
Charlie Grofsaw - A level 5 Protector Aasimar Outlander Battle Master Fighter 5. The reincarnation of my LFR character of the same name.
Vani Boldleaf - A level 5 Stout Halfling "Cloistered Monk" Way of the Open Hand Monk 5. He's a devout follower of Tempus and donates any leftover gold he has to his church after getting 1 potion of healing.
Vendibar Aelfshaim - A level 4 High-Elf Noble Conjurer Wizard 4. He is very snobbish- doesn't like to do dirty work ("That's why I have retainers ... the lazy lay-abouts!")
Clargh - A level 3 Half-Orc Gladiator Champion Fighter. He brags about his release from the arenas at Hillsfar and is slowing making his way around the Moonsea to spread his tale far and wide!

 

[aramis erak]

Just curious, but how many AL characters do people have lying around? Any interesting patterns in classes/levels/races/etc?

I'll start. I've got 8 playable characters right now, although one is just a pile of DM rewards that hasn't actually been in a game yet. 4 of them are Tier 1 characters at level 4, the rest are Tier 2 ranging from levels 5 to 8. I don't have any duplicated class combinations, but I'm clearly a fan of feats because I've got 3 variant humans.

I pretty much only GM, but most of my players have a bunch each... locally, the hardcore have 1-2 tier 3 characters, 3-5 tier 2, and often 5-15 tier 1 characters. They're playing in 1-2 sessions per week of AL play.

 

[Pauper]

I wouldn't say that character deprives anyone else's character of a role, however. He is purely a fighter who uses spells for self-buffing and smiting. Sort of an early experiment of having a 'self-contained' PC in AL that could melee well, heal & remove nasty conditions from themselves and get cool magic buffs in combat (Misty Step, Blink, Shield, Bless, etc) regardless of party composition.

I'll agree, that seems like a good idea when you first think of it, especially if you plan to play at conventions or other locations where you don't really know what other characters you'll be adventuring with.

The problem comes in when, after the first fight, the cleric realizes he doesn't need to worry about healing you and the wizard doesn't need to use spells to buff or otherwise help you get out of a jam. To me, part of what makes a party is the opportunities for PCs to come to each other's aid using their special abilities -- that's the thing that really makes for the cool moments in game that you talk about with your other friends afterward -- and building a character that can do everything himself allows you to do that for your teammates, but prevents them from reciprocating for you.

Not to mention that AL adventures frequently continue to follow a 4E design aesthetic when it comes to encounters -- here's the encounter to challenge the 'controller', here's one where the 'leader' needs to step up with heals and buffs, and here's a traditional boss-fight where the strikers can shine. In theory, it's nice to have a character that can step into a role you don't have covered, but in practice, you often find yourself depriving another character of the spotlight in exactly the encounter she's supposed to be shining in.

This is more a personal feeling than any sort of 'holy writ' -- if you're still having fun and the table seems to be enjoying themselves, more power to you. I just feel the tables I play at are more entertaining when I'm not the one volunteering to do everything just because I can.

--
Pauper

 

[rooneg]

The problem comes in when, after the first fight, the cleric realizes he doesn't need to worry about healing you and the wizard doesn't need to use spells to buff or otherwise help you get out of a jam. To me, part of what makes a party is the opportunities for PCs to come to each other's aid using their special abilities -- that's the thing that really makes for the cool moments in game that you talk about with your other friends afterward -- and building a character that can do everything himself allows you to do that for your teammates, but prevents them from reciprocating for you.

I think you're overstating the problem somewhat here. In my experience most AL games run with full tables (at least at conventions), in that situation there's probably more than one person to buff, help out of a jam, etc. On top of that, perhaps a larger problem than "not giving the various archetypes time to shine" is "we don't actually have anyone from that archetype at all" (again, my experience is largely from convention games with random piles of players). In that world having a jack of all trades type character is very nice, since they can at least provide a stopgap version of the missing archetype.

Now if you're talking about a table where multiple of these self contained characters are showing up then the problem becomes more clear, but just one at a table? I'm not terribly concerned about it.

 

[Undrhil]

My Sorcerer character took a level of Bard simply to have back-up healing in the event he ended up at a table without a dedicated healer. His healing isn't as optimal as it would be from a Cleric or a fully dedicated Bard, but he can drop Cure Wounds on someone with a 5th level spell slot just like a Bard of his level could. In addition, he has the Inspiring Leader feat, so he can hand out temp HP during those long journeys and during short rests. However, his primary goal is to light fires under the bad guys and make sure the corpses burn.

 

[devlin1]

Well, this is making me feel better about having seven AL PCs.

Ajax Wormrider, Giant-Slayer, Eye-Strider, Knight of the Broken Vault, Hero of Undermountain is my halfling Battle Master 8/Swashbuckler 4 Folk Hero. He's a action-before-thought kinda guy, and I love just diving into dangerous situations with him and being a hero. He's earned every one of those titles. I am way too fond of Ajax.

You've probably already heard of the half-elf Anwell Scrivener, celebrated calligrapher, late of Phlan. He's a very well-known calligrapher! He used to copy manuscripts at Mantor's Library, when he came across the Necronomicon and multi-classed into a Great Old One warlock. A well-mannered, well-dressed Lore bard 5/Tome warlock 7 who gets super-creepy for a few moments when he casts a warlock spell.

Holst (Eldritch Knight 9) is also from Phlan, but fled when Vorgansharax wrecked the place. He used to be a blacksmith there, and still carries with him the iron doorknob from his shop -- it's all he has left of his old life. Still hoping to get back to Phlan now that it's been reclaimed, but his work with the Order of the Gauntlet has left him precious little time to practice his trade. He's a big plate-clad fighter with two bonded greatswords (of dragon-slaying and giant-slaying, respectively) who doesn't cast any spell that requires a save or attack roll, because he has an Int of 10.

Ozamataz Buckshank started as an enslaved half-elf in Hillsfar under Maalthiir's Great Law of Humanity. When Maalthiir fell from power and the Great Laws were revoked, Ozamataz got as far away from Hillsfar as he could... until he heard of the ascendance of a new First Lord who had reinstated the Great Laws. Filled with hatred, he vowed to kill this new First Lord. If he couldn't get his vengeance on Maalthiir, he'd get it on Torin Nomerthal. That's when an unknown entity came to him and offered him the power to accomplish his goal. And -- this is the crazy part -- he did! He actually killed Torin Nomerthal. It was very satisfying. He's an Assassin 4/Blade warlock 5, and kind of a jerk. Also: no faction.

Dalton Wilcox, Poet Laureate of the North (self-declared), is still stuck in Barovia, but I'm not sure he has a problem with that, what with all the damn vampires and mummies there what need killin'. You may be familiar with his book, You Must Buy Your Wife at Least as Much Jewelry as You Buy Your Horse, and Other Poems and Observations, Humorous and Otherwise, from a Life on the Range, or his poem "I One Time Killed a Flesh Golem." Dalton's a ton of fun to play, but his build (paladin 3/ranger 3) is fairly nonsensical, and only really intended to support his backstory of a ranger poet (with the Entertainer background) who has it out for the undead. He's also a loving homage to comedian Andy Daly's character of the same name.

Hektor Kulenov (Hunter ranger 3/Battle Master 3) used to be a Trade Sheriff in Hillsfar who did his duty and didn't think much about the morality of the Great Laws he enforced. That lasted until his second adventure, when he was thrown into an arena full of non-humans and made to fight to the death for the amusement of his fellow citizens. This, despite him clearly displaying his badge! Hektor's loyalty to the First Lord fell off precipitously after that, but he stuck with the job for the access it provided. Once Torin Nomerthal was killed (in awesome fashion, so he heard, by a half-elf rogue/warlock), he resigned from his position. Now he's taken the skills he'd learned on the job to good use as a bounty hunter. His multiclass split is a little problematic right now, but I really want a Battle Master archer, so this is what we're doing.

Jackmerius Tacktheritrix is a lizardfolk barbarian 4 (my only remaining Tier 1 PC, now that Hektor's moved up) from the Twilight Swamp. He's very new and I'm still getting a feel for him. He's mostly built around an effective but not team-friendly combat gimmick that gets me looks from other players. I regret nothing. The lizardfolk alien-brain thing is... a little weird, but I like this guy and I'm looking forward to playing him more. Plus he has a ring of jumping, which a fellow player pointed out makes him a leaping lizard, so I've got that going for me.

After Hektor, I'd promised myself not to make another Tier 1 character, but then this dumb barbarian idea in my head started to look pretty cool on a lizardfolk PC, so... Jackmerius Tactheritrix. But now I won't make another character. I feel like I have more than enough, especially with Dalton stuck in Barovia until I get the opportunity to rebuild him.

 

[eboaen]

Lets see here...

Dansteel - 3rd Wizard (Conjuration), Human, Neutral, Zhentarim. He constantly refers to all his party members as his "minions", when he bothers to acknowledge their existence at all.

Zand Vor - 4th Fighter (Eldritch Knight), Half-Elf, Lawful Neutral, Lord's Alliance. A member of the long-standing Vor family in Cormyr. Knighted for actions becoming an officer in battle. He doesn't let his bastard-heritage get in the way of anything.

Navaj Vor (Deceased) - 6th Fighter (Battlemaster), Human, Neutral Good, Lord's Alliance. Another member of the Vor family. Ran befoul of a Zombie Beholder's disintegration ray in Barovia while attempting to rescue his comrades.

Dusty - 7th Warlock (Undying/Pact of the Blade), Human, Lawful Good, Lord's Alliance. A cousin to the Vors. Claimed the great sword of Navaj Vor when it was returned from Barovia, but the sword had been cursed by the Dark Powers, which was transferred to Dusty. He now uses the channeled Dark Powers for the greater good, has so far resisted their call for evil.

Zian Vor - 6th Rogue (Assassin), Human, Neutral, Zhentarim. A Vor in name only, he rejected his heritage and struck out on his own. Was trapped in Barovia for some time but was able to shadow a group of adventurer's and assisted them in escaping (also found the sword of Navaj Vor and returned it to the Vor family).

Pryde Vor - 9th Druid (Order of the Moon), Human, Chaotic Good, Zhentarim. Another black sheep of the Vor family. Refused his name and title, left the trappings of civilization behind him.

Ironsoul - 8th Paladin (Oath of Vengeance), Human, Chaotic Good, Order of the Gauntlet. A man called by faith and war to leave his hometown and strike out against oppression and freedom.

Ian Vor - 15th Sorcerer (Dragon), Tiefling, Chaotic Good, Lord's Alliance. A man of fine tastes of all kinds. Usually seen with a decanter of wine in one hand and the roar of flames erupting from his other. He believes in a rather direct and no-nonsense way of handling most situations (blowing things up).

 

[Z. H. Darkstar]

Here's my stable of characters:

Esteban Extraño - Harper Variant Human GOO Tomelock/Bronze Draconic Sorcerer; my first PC as a Dr. Strange homage with Magic Initiate for Vicious Mockery + Cure Wounds

Z. H. Darkstar - Zhentarim Variant Human Fighter/Fiend Tomelock/Red Draconic Sorcerer; plate armor (Mobile to mitigate speed penalty) Eldritch Spamcannon + fire damage spells (GFB/Scorching Ray/Fireball)

Aylagur Buschbudd - Emerald Enclave Variant Human Nature Cleric/Hunter Ranger; Shillelagh + PAM + Hunter's Mark + Extra Attack + Colossus Slayer

Jh'mi Dh'behr - Lord's Alliance Variant Human Open Hand Monk/Moon Druid; Sentinel + exotic saddle = intelligent mount for Bear Cavalry

Oliver McQueen - Emerald Enclave Variant Human Hunter Ranger/Thief Rogue; Green Arrow homage with Ranger spells to emulate Trick Arrows

"Blade" - Order of the Gauntlet Half-Elf (Turami/Drow) Open Hand Monk/Thief Rogue; "Drow Daywalker" homage to Marvel's Blade and has Dawnbringer from OotA

Kakarot Gokuson - Order of the Gauntlet Variant Huiman Sun Soul Monk; Sun Soul Monk + Winged Boots + Mobile = DBZ in D&D

Issac Jaymes Bartles - Harper Half-Elf (Turami/Drow) Life Cleric/Lore Bard; Support Bard-tender build with custom recipe for Wine Coolers

Redd Majay - Harper Variant Human Fighter/Arcana Cleric; Final Fantasy I Red Mage homage

Simone Belmont - Lord's Alliance Variant Human Battlemaster Fighter/Swashbuckler Rogue; Castlevania/Raven Simone homage with Magic Initiate + Spell Sniper for GFB/BB at whip reach and Find Familiar for raven named Thatso

Flakka - Emerald Enclave Variant Human Bear Totem Barbarian/Battlemaster Fighter; naked Barbarian that eats almost anything and has proficiency in Cook's Utensils

So yeah...I practically play exclusively with Variant Humans...

I think that I'm going to have to avoid making any more humans until the "Midway" comes out in November. Depending on what player options are in that book, I may go back to the VH well.

I haven't fully fleshed out the specifics for my next character but I do know what it's going to be: a Mountain Dwarf Wizard with Int 8. Essentially, I'm going to challenge my system mastery by optimizing full-casters who have dumped their casting stats, thus also taking multiclassing out of the equation. If you guys have any advice on how to build this character, I'll have a separate thread for it in the CharOp forum to prevent thread derailment.

 

[briggart]

My current PCs, after 1.5 years of more or less weekly playing:

• Mountain Dwarf, Ftr 3 (OG)
• Fire Genasi, Clr 1/Wiz 3 (Z)
• VHuman, Ftr 1/Clr 5 (H)
• Half-Elf, Ftr 1/Pal 5 (LA)
• VHuman, War 4/ Bard 3 (LA)
• VHuman, Ftr 4/Rog 5 (LA)
• VHuman, Rog 8/War 4 (Z)