Any ideas for 1st lvl Companion Characters?

[caudor]

OK, so I got my DMG 2 (happy dance)

At the moment I only have two players, so I eagerly read the Companion Characters section first. I love the idea/concept, but I was a little disappointed with some of the suggested monsters for CCs, especially for 1st level parties.

I'm not trying to be sarcastic. But a Fire Beetle? Really? How does one adventure with a Fire Beetle? Or, why would a Fire Beetle actually want to follow along with an adventurer?

Does anyone have any ideas on what might make a good companion character for 1st level parties?

I'm also open to advice on how something like a Fire Beetle (or some other low intelligence creature) could be fit into a party--a way to have it make sense.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions !

 

[weem]

One of the PC's could have been trapped in a cave for X amount of time and this Fire Beetle could have been his/her only companion (no pun intended) for some time - he feels a connection to it now.

Maybe it would make more sense if you imagine, say, a Drow PC being followed by one, or someone not of good intentions, hehe.

It's just a big insect really - some people keep spiders as pets

The other companions seem straight forward (Halfling Slinger, Elf Scout, etc). But really, you can easily have companions that are not monsters and it sounds like that is the way to go for you.

As far as what would make good companions for your two players, I would ask... what classes/races are they? What's the setting?

 

[caudor]

As far as what would make good companions for your two players, I would ask... what classes/races are they? What's the setting?

Thanks for the reply

To answer your questions. I've got:
Level One Half-Elf Cleric
Level One Halfling Rogue

I'm currently using the Points of Light setting and I'm wanting to run them through Keep on the Shadowfell. I've read that this can be a tough adventure, so I want to be sure they have a chance at survival.

The players are both adults and catching onto the 4e rules quickly, but they are still rather inexperienced with actual play.

Thanks again I'm pondering.

 

[Wik]

The Fire Beetle was an example of mechanics that would fit as a companion character - not necessarily something that would make a great companion for roleplay purposes. Although, a companion character that is only there to fill a role could work pretty well, since it'd be a non-entity in skill challenges or roleplaying situations.

So, you have a leader and a rogue. My advice would be to get an animal companion of some sort, and a "sidekick". Here are a few of my ideas:

Blaine is a human acolyte of your cleric player's god. He doesn't have a close personal connection to his deity, and he's jealous of this, but looks up to your cleric's close connection with the deity. Blaine has focused on martial pursuits, and is a mace-wielding warrior - an ideal defender. He has a few fighter abilities, a high fort, and a low reflex (Blaine is rather clumsy).

Ptsera is a baby dragon that has attached himself to your rogue character. He is a telepathic, and nervous around humanity - he knows too well what happens to dragon hatchlings around a fearful populace. Because of this, he does his best to hide out in social settings. The rogue has been selected as a guardian (for whatever reason), and has a goal to protect the young hatchling. Of course, Ptsera has aims to explore the world around him, and is naturally quite curious. Ptsera is a controller, focused on unusual breath weapons and telepathic effects.

Garn is a tiefling mercenary who has been hired by the PCs. She isn't entirely sure whether she wants to protect the PCs, or steal from them. She can be cruel at times, and is especially spiteful around humans, adopting an "insult them before they insult me" attitude and a general cynicism. She has a healthy dose of self-preservation and is quite greedy at times. She is a defender similar to a warden, except her "nature" powers are reskinned to appear either mundane, or slightly evil in their approach.

Cassus is an elven pirate wizard. He has an eyepatch, a bandana, and a gnarled staff. He is a rogue by nature, and excels in "wind magic" - anything that helps with sailing. He's also devoutly religious, in addition to being the world's biggest thief and womanizer (though he usually strikes out with the ladies). In combat, he's a controller based around an Invoker, with most of his powers flavoured to represent wind or fire-based attacks.

Scar is a large dog one of the PCs rescues from a dog-fighting pit early in the campaign. The dog is covered in welts, bruises, and half-healed wounds, and has a natural sense of aggression in him that is calmed by the PCs' presence. He is loyal to his master to the death, and often snarls at those who take liberties. He is a defender, built more around taking hits and keeping enemies grounded - I'd base him off a fighter, but with some mobility powers thrown in.

 

[caudor]

Wik, thanks for the reply! It is amazing how these cool ideas flowed right out of you on the fly I envy your players!

Your five examples really helped get my creative juices flowing as well. I suppose that sometimes my creativity just needs a kick in the pants to get going.

Thanks for taking the time to jot them down.

 

[Wik]

No problem. I found as soon as I looked at the Companion Characters article that I wanted to play D&D again. It sort of bugs me that my group is too big to use that particular part of the game. It reminds me of what's good about Savage Worlds.

I guess the only thing I can think of regarding using Companions is to maybe think outside the box a bit. They don't have to be Race/Class combinations (though they certainly can be). Personally, I think it works better if your players can't figure out what class the character is from, because I don't really think NPCs should be "Classed" at all.

Companion characters can also be used to replicate some old school flavour - A ranger's Bear companion (so 2e!), a Wizard's thieving ferret familiar with a vicious bite, a warlord's faithful henchman/aide-de-camp, and so on.

I've only created one companion character for my game, and it's looking like now she'll never be used. Basically, I converted a friendly NPC into a companion character, and it worked out really well. I didn't follow the DMG's advice, though - I picked powers from multiple classes and races to really fit the character concept, rather than just sticking to one.

 

[jbear]

I introduced a half-elf paladin companion called Fearlees Kay to my KotS campaign. He was a follower of Bahamut intent on redeeming the name of his order that had fallen into disrepute since the tragic Sir Keegan incident.

Initially he is in Winterhaven in the inn, and sits quietly brooding of his wine. he's totally unresponsive (unless unduly annoyed) to the PC's til they bring him the mirror (or mention it) fromt the excavation site. Douven Staul, once rescued, gives them the tip off that he might know more about this mysterious mirror that the dark cult desires.

This lead into a skill test where the adventurers were required to discover the true story of the KotS and the origins of the mirror (through the sage Valthrun) and best the paladin in a test of strength (a classic arm wrestle... can be altered to suit best your players strengths, say a test of skill or wisdom). Assured that the Silver Lady would only let her servant be bested if she meant their destinies to intertwine he joins the party.

Unfortunately he was killed in the battle with Irontooth. the PCs were careless with his body when they returned to Winterhaven, and in the joyous celebrations of the victorious heroes the mayors men took charge of the Paladins body. The mayor (a passionate lover of horses and riding) was being bribed by the cult, as they had held his beloved racehorse ransome (hidden at Ninaran's cabin). riddled with guilt the mayor had actually used the money he received to try and repair the damage and assuage the pain caused by the cult. Nevertheless he was still their puppet and so the body of the paladin ended up in the hands of Bairwin, the outrageously successful town merchant (and secret cult leader and trusted contact of Kalarel).

Once the cult got wind of the mirror being taken from the excavation site, Bairwin sent one of his shadow ghouls to go and search the Paladin's room (seen by Ninaran when the PCs handed over the mirror) and retrieve it. distrustful of the mayor despite the heroes banquet he threw for them including the village bonfire for the head roasting of the kobolds heads the PCs had brought back from their bloody adventure during which he gleeful participated with the village children, the PCs took precautions in the inn that night. they heard the arrival and forced entry of the ghoul into the paladins room. they managed to surprise it, capture it and although the information they got out of it was limited... it lead to a wonderful encounter the next day between Bairwin and the PCs in the underground secret cult church benath his shop as he offered them a bribe to leave town and stay out of Kalarels affairs. they refused and suddenly they were in desperate combat with more of Bairwins shadow ghouls and surprise surprise, the body of their fallen paladin comrade that Bairwin had spent the night awakening into undead. very tense fight... especially when Ninaran (unknown to them) sent a barrel of oil down the stairs and set Bairwins shop on fire before locking the doors behind her!

Sorry about the rant...maybe a bit off topic. some of these ideas came for the LFR version of KotS and others from LostSouls thread Sandboxing in the Nentir Vale... others are mine, like the Paladin. to say the least he was a cool companion for a very short time and a deadly enemy for an even shorter but for even more intense amount of time. Plus he inspired heaps of ideas that lead to enriching the KotS and heaps of interesting and fun sidetreks that now have the PCs totally hooked into the story. It was pure win!

 

[half-dragon dragon]

Not to threadjack too much, but this topic is essentially what I was looking for.

Like the OP my group only has the three of us, and while we could each run two characters, I'm just wondering, how viable is it for these companion characters to fill in the gaps in a party especially if they're controlled by the players?

Also, I'm not looking for exact details (my friend owns the book so I can check later), but if one of the companions were a human fighter how different would he look from a full PC human fighter? A more direct question would be, when leveling him up, do all his stats (HP, defenses, etc.) follow a preset progression and would the only thing I'd have to worry about be his powers?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Wik]

Not to threadjack too much, but this topic is essentially what I was looking for.

Like the OP my group only has the three of us, and while we could each run two characters, I'm just wondering, how viable is it for these companion characters to fill in the gaps in a party especially if they're controlled by the players?

Also, I'm not looking for exact details (my friend owns the book so I can check later), but if one of the companions were a human fighter how different would he look from a full PC human fighter? A more direct question would be, when leveling him up, do all his stats (HP, defenses, etc.) follow a preset progression and would the only thing I'd have to worry about be his powers?

Thanks in advance.

yes, a player could pretty easily run a companion as a second character. They're not as powerful as a PC, but you can use them to round out the gaps of your party. I'd suggest playing with the idea that 2 companions = 1 PC for purposes of encounter strength, at least until you get into the groove of using them and find what works best for you.

Companions in small groups should fill different roles from your PCs, and should mostly have skills that the PCs already have (so they don't take over). I'd also add that companions be made primarily for combats, with personalities or traits that leave them out of role-play situations. So, animals make great companions, as do mutes, ancestral ghosts that materialize around their heir during a fight, and so on and so forth.

And yes, when they level, everything pretty much goes up by a set amount. Companions don't have action points or magic items, and I'm pretty sure they lack dailies as well (don't have the book to check right now). They also have fewer powers than PCs, with only one or two encounter powers.

Your human fighter companion would have many things in common with the PC fighter, but only superficially. The companion would have one less at-will, fewer skills, and his defences and damage would be different (since armour and weapons don't matter for companions). The companion's marking ability would be considerably weaker. The companion would have fewer surges.

 

[caudor]

jbear, thanks for that. I think I'll borrow some of your ideas for my KotS campaign. I especially like the link to Sir Keagan's story.

I know I'll have run some out-of-game test encounters, as Wik suggested, just to get a feel for how powerful (or not) the Companion Characters really are.

My first impression after reading the DMG2 is that CCs don't get all the perks of a PC, but they are still powerful enough to replace one missing PC in terms of combat. Hum, that's probably not the case.

Thanks again to all for the responses