Solo campaign in the Midnight Campaign Setting

[Scotley]

You can just edit this thread if you wish. I have already subscribed to it. I don't think we'll need a rogue's gallery thread for just one character. I did visit fantasy flights' site and against the shadow today, and will give both sites a full read with time. Already I'm getting some ideas. Tell me more about the character you want to play.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Hmmm I had many thoughts at one point in time but they seem to have scattered to the four corners of my mind in the months said I started this thread.

Anyhow, I can make do with what I remember as long as your willing to realize I might remember, and what to change, something later on but before we start.

I see him as being a very imposing figure, I’m not sure how many bugbears are “employed” by Izrador but I would like to keep close to the resource material and leave them as a minority at best or maybe have him be one of a few bugbears tolerated by Izrador and have him be the only one with any real power. (There is one, maybe two, Heroic Paths in later publications that really tie into Izrador… I look them up later.)

My character realize he’s unpopular but could really careless, he sees the politics as being a waste of time, and he’s probably well known for circumventing others not in the hopes of making himself look better but simply because he’s a no nonsense type of person.
He looks upon his job with “indifferent professionalism” he is cool and collected with doing the job, but if he needs information and can get it without beating it out of someone he’ll do just that. He’s not sadistic but he will do whatever is needed to get the job done.

I see his minions being untrustworthy pawns, which is a very big deviation from D&D, but I think it makes a better story if his orc followers are not truly loyal to him but are instead their to watch him for the more normal Legates, Legates are pretty much dominated by Humans. Maybe a human sergeant controls the lackey pawns.

The cohort should be useful enough to warrant respect, and vital enough to Izrador, that his/her death would come with stiff repercussions. Also the cohort shouldn’t be loyal to a fault, who knows maybe he/she isn’t loyal at all, either way I rather prefer the idea of the cohort being ran by you.

I guess the best way to sum it up would be that my character is a professional and capable soldier but not much of a politician.

If your fishing for ideas on the cohort I think a “face” would work better… I can see a need for a politician, for use against the others Legates and also to gather information against the resistance… There for I’m more leaning towards an attractive human female, whom would be more able to infiltrate the distance before my character knocked down the door, anything else would probably add to the distrust of him. (Sort of a subtle not so subtle type of thing.)

Anyhow, I’m not sure if I answered your true questions before I started to ramble on about other things… Let me know if you still have questions.

 

[Scotley]

Good news I have copies of the Midnight Campaign setting, Minions of the Shadow, and Against the Shadow, and a downloaded netbook as well as an adventure--Crown of the Shadow at my disposal. Now I just have to find the time to do some reading. I did a little skimming already.


I think you answered all my questions. I have a thought about a cohort. I was doing a bit of reading last night and discovered that Goblins were created from Highland Imp Fey by Izrador. What about a Goblin with the Feyborn heroic path. He was born with some lingering Fey nature from the past. Normally a Feyborn would be hunted, but he (or she if you prefer) is a Goblin--created by Izrador. He would have a certain loyalty to any Legate that protects him, yet at the same time even you have your doubts about a Feyborn. He would be a fairly charismatic character with some Rogue levels to make up for your limited allotment of skill points. He would have some spell powers from the heroic path that would make him very good at infilltration. You could even give him a few channeler levels if you wish. He has attained some fame for his ability to infilltrate and has come to the notice of more powerful Legates and thus is relatively safe for the time being. We can add a few Orcs and a Human sargent to fill out your followers. Anyway, if you don't like it we can go another route. A goblin just seemed to fit with a bugbear.


As to the character, why don't we go for the high end in ability and say 32 point buy and 8th level. The 2 ability points from 4th and 8th level coupled with the Bugbear bonuses should allow you to create the "imposing figure" you envision. That would make your cohort 6th level. Say enough exp for 8th level plus 2-8 thousand--you roll. Hit points max at first and then 75% after.


In reading about Legates I see they start with breeding. It is possible that you came to Theros Obsidia on your own or were stolen as a baby, but I think a true born Legate would be the only likely path for an unusual Legate like a Bugbear. How about something like this. Your father was a warleader Bugbear of some sucess. He was all too aware of how Goblinoids were treated by the Legates and "Izador's Chosen" the Orcs. When offered a reward for heroic service by one of the Night Kings he asked to be part of the Legate breeding program. The Night King was in a fine mood following the great victory handed to him by your father. He granted the boon. As a baby born to Theros Obsidia you were subjected to all the horrors of Legate training endured by the regular candidates and then an extra measure for being different. However, your father's powerful genes bred true and you were able to survive. You are likely the only Bugbear to ever make it out of Theros Obsidia alive. Normally only humans, and a very few Orcs or Dworgs ever get the chance to become Legates. Other Legates of your generation would have grown up in the tower with you and seen the extra harsh treatment you received and thus are a bit in awe of you. Older and younger Legates may have less respect for your accomplishment. Anyway, I'm just tossing out some ideas, its your show tell me what you would like.


Okay, a couple more quick questions, what part of the world do you want to work from. Doesn't matter to me, I just want to know where to focus my study. What sort of animal do you want your Astirax to be? What alignment do you plan to play? How do you feel about 3e vs. 3.5e--my preference is 3.5e, but that will require a few minor changes to the classes in book. Legate's get Scry as a class skill, but it no longer exists in 3.5. I would suggest either sense motive or listen as a replacement if we go 3.5 what do you think? I haven't looked over the Wildlander as much, but the Ranger got a serious makeover in 3.5, so the Wildlander may need changes as well. As I said I haven't read enough to know yet.


That should be enough to keep you busy while I do some reading.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Good news I have copies of the Midnight Campaign setting, Minions of the Shadow, and Against the Shadow, and a downloaded netbook as well as an adventure--Crown of the Shadow at my disposal. Now I just have to find the time to do some reading. I did a little skimming already.

That is great news!!! (I'll need to do some reading now also.)

What about a Goblin with the Feyborn heroic path.

It’s an interesting idea, and I do consider the cohort to be more of your character than mine, but I'm not sure I like it... Its been a long time since I've read the material so it might be more of a general D&D belief that is corrupting my views but I imagine that a goblinoid is still going to be frowned upon and mistrusted by the general population.

As to the character, why don't we go for the high end in ability and say 32 point buy and 8th level.

That should work but I reserve the right to beg later for 36 points. (I honestly haven't done the math on it yet but I have difficulty sacrificing well roundedness for a high ability score(s) in just a few categories. (Also remember that gestalt characters have fewer dump stats.)

The 2 ability points from 4th and 8th level coupled with the Bugbear bonuses should allow you to create the "imposing figure" you envision. That would make your cohort 6th level. Say enough exp for 8th level plus 2-8 thousand--you roll. Hit points max at first and then 75% after.

That works for me.

Other Legates of your generation would have grown up in the tower with you and seen the extra harsh treatment you received and thus are a bit in awe of you. Older and younger Legates may have less respect for your accomplishment. Anyway, I'm just tossing out some ideas, its your show tell me what you would like.

Its not really my show it's our show, or at least that's how I hope you see it. Anyhow that’s a wonderful idea, I really like that alot.

If you don't mind me tossing out a few ideas of my own, what if we expanded upon this by incorporating the cohort into it... What if the cohort was a legate of his generation? (I know that doesn't make for a very diverse group but s/he could always have expanded into other interests.) S/he could serve him either out of loyalty/awe or out of his or her own ambitions. (Eventual the older generations(s) will die.)

I still prefer a human female for the cohort; I think she would complement my character better than a non-human male. (The Feyborn heroic path would probably be perfect.)

Lastly a charismatic legate could go a long way to protect my character from internal strife.

Okay, a couple more quick questions, what part of the world do you want to work from. Doesn't matter to me, I just want to know where to focus my study.

I'm away from my books right now so I really do not know... but in general I see my character being more capable in a harsh land maybe a mountainous forest region. (Maybe a strategic region but one that’s often neglected do to its harsh/unforgiving nature.) I'll have a better answer when I get home.

What sort of animal do you want your Astirax to be? What alignment do you plan to play?

Hmmm... I'm rather bad when it comes to animal companions. I guess I would be hard pressed to be a wolf, but I might be tempted to go with an eagle/falcon.

How do you feel about 3e vs. 3.5e--my preference is 3.5e.

I prefer 3.5 by far... All my games have moved on and I would probably be at a loss in 3.0.

That will require a few minor changes to the classes in book. Legate's get Scry as a class skill, but it no longer exists in 3.5. I would suggest either sense motive or listen as a replacement if we go 3.5 what do you think? I haven't looked over the Wildlander as much, but the Ranger got a serious makeover in 3.5, so the Wildlander may need changes as well. As I said I haven't read enough to know yet.

I think you will find the wildlander to be to your satisfaction with little changes... The last time I looked at it 3.5 was already out and was the standard and it didn't strike me as being a 3.0 version of the ranger.

Anyhow WotC does have a guide for 3.0 to 3.5 conversions: Link

 

[Scotley]

Its been a long time since I've read the material so it might be more of a general D&D belief that is corrupting my views but I imagine that a goblinoid is still going to be frowned upon and mistrusted by the general population.

You are absolutely right a Goblin would not be trusted. I was assuming that the change self ability of the feyborn would be used for infilltration.

That should work but I reserve the right to beg later for 36 points. ]

Sure, 36 should be fine if you need it to build your character the way you want--I'll just have to pump up the bad guys a bit.

Its not really my show it's our show, or at least that's how I hope you see it. Anyhow that’s a wonderful idea, I really like that alot.

If you don't mind me tossing out a few ideas of my own, what if we expanded upon this by incorporating the cohort into it... What if the cohort was a legate of his generation? (I know that doesn't make for a very diverse group but s/he could always have expanded into other interests.) S/he could serve him either out of loyalty/awe or out of his or her own ambitions. (Eventual the older generations(s) will die.)

I still prefer a human female for the cohort; I think she would complement my character better than a non-human male. (The Feyborn heroic path would probably be perfect.)

Lastly a charismatic legate could go a long way to protect my character from internal strife.

I think we have a fine colaboration going. If we can keep it going it should be a great game. Allright, female human it is. Normally, you would be expected to destroy a feyborn human. How can we resolve that logically--that's how I got to Goblin. Maybe the Chrismatic heroic path would be better? I think a second Legate will be limiting in the long run, but maybe with the right multiclass choice it could be okay. I really think you will need some Rogue levels for Diplomacy, Bluff, Gather Info, Disguise and such. That will best fit the "face" role you first suggested. As to her motivation--perhaps your character somehow saved her life during the harsh training? Perhaps she simply watched with awe and decided that your character was going places and she decided to ride his coattails? Maybe she started out as a Rogue and went to become a Legate, which sort of makes her a second class Legate in the eyes of those who were born to it. Maybe even a Rogue/Channeller? Thus, she will always be a bit suspect.

Hmmm... I'm rather bad when it comes to animal companions. I guess I would be hard pressed to be a wolf, but I might be tempted to go with an eagle/falcon.

My experience is that you will get more mileage out of a flying creature than an extra combat creature. The creature can always take a new body later if you change your mind. I got the impression from my reading the the Legate maintained some unusually potent creatures for their Astirax. Maybe some sort of fiendish falcon would be good.

I prefer 3.5 by far... I think you will find the wildlander to be to your satisfaction with little changes.

Excellent. I don't plan to make many if any changes for 3.5 Just use the 3.5 spell lists and Domains for you Legate levels and pick a skill to replace Scry. I'll look at the Wildlander, it may not require any change at all. I was glad to see they already got the 6 skill points like a 3.5 Ranger.

Okay, I did look over the Wildlander and it looks pretty good as is. Intuit Direction and Wilderness Lore are now Survival and Animal Empathy is now a Ranger Class ability. My suggestion is that we give the Wildlander a replacement skill--how about Balance? Also, take the Ranger Animal Empathy ability whenever a Ranger gets it--1st or 2nd I think. A couple of the Wildlander Traits need a little adjustment. First the "sense dark magic" trait doesn't make sense for your character and should be just regular detect magic. Second--and this one is optional, the "Master Hunter" Wildlander trait is similar to the Ranger favored enemy which was greatly improved for 3.5 If you like the 3.5 version you can take it as your Wildlander trait at either 1st or 2nd level and have it progress as the Ranger version does. Other than that I think the Wildlander will play fine unless you have some concerns I missed I wont make any other changes to the Legate or the Wildlander for 3.5.

So at this point we need a starting area, an alignment and well start putting all the pieces together. You have interesting alignment choice to make--you could stick with the Chaotic Evil of Bugbears, The Lawful Evil of most Legates or the Neutral Evil of Izrador himself to be closest to your God. I presume the Cohort will be the same.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

You are absolutely right a Goblin would not be trusted. I was assuming that the change self ability of the feyborn would be used for infiltration.

Oops, I probably have my heroic path missed up.... Oh well I like the below idea better.

Sure, 36 should be fine if you need it to build your character the way you want--I'll just have to pump up the bad guys a bit.

I wouldn't expect it any other way, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Maybe the Charismatic heroic path would be better?

I agree I think it would be better too.

I think a second Legate will be limiting in the long run, but maybe with the right multiclass choice it could be okay. I really think you will need some Rogue levels for Diplomacy, Bluff, Gather Info, Disguise and such. That will best fit the "face" role you first suggested. As to her motivation--perhaps your character somehow saved her life during the harsh training? Perhaps she simply watched with awe and decided that your character was going places and she decided to ride his coattails? Maybe she started out as a Rogue and went to become a Legate, which sort of makes her a second class Legate in the eyes of those who were born to it. Maybe even a Rogue/Channeller? Thus, she will always be a bit suspect.

I agree that rogue levels would be a way to go... I'm wondering do you plan on running her as a gestalt character also? (the rules say that everyone should be gestalt but that does lead to more work...)

If you do go gestalt I think a Channeller 3/Legeate 3/Rogue 6 would do pretty much form what we want her to be.

As for her background, we could do alot of the above... Maybe he did save her life during training and she either decided to ride his coat tails to the simple life or she realize she would never be a power legate on her own... (I think it would be a far funnier game if she has motives of her own and isn't simply a "yes woman" who only agrees with the boss to brown nose and kiss ass.)

My experience is that you will get more mileage out of a flying creature than an extra combat creature. The creature can always take a new body later if you change your mind. I got the impression from my reading the Legate maintained some unusually potent creatures for their Astirax. Maybe some sort of fiendish falcon would be good.

I do agree that the flying creature would be far better... A bird of prey of some sort would be a good choice.

So at this point we need a starting area, an alignment and well start putting all the pieces together. You have interesting alignment choice to make.

I truly hate alignments... I understand why they are needed (mechanically) but they bug me... Anyhow I would say Neutral Evil simply because it is the most evil alignment... It’s also the alignment for those who would do what ever it takes to get the job done as they see fit.

I presume the Cohort will be the same.

Probably... but I leave that to you.

 

[Scotley]

I agree that rogue levels would be a way to go... I'm wondering do you plan on running her as a gestalt character also? (the rules say that everyone should be gestalt but that does lead to more work...)

If you do go gestalt I think a Channeller 3/Legeate 3/Rogue 6 would do pretty much form what we want her to be.

As for her background, we could do alot of the above... Maybe he did save her life during training and she either decided to ride his coat tails to the simple life or she realize she would never be a power legate on her own... (I think it would be a far funnier game if she has motives of her own and isn't simply a "yes woman" who only agrees with the boss to brown nose and kiss ass.)

Okay, lets do the Gestalt thing with her too. I didn't think about it until you said something, but it is the proper way to go. Now I'll have to look at the Channeller for 3.5 worthyness. Sigh. Looks like we need a skill in place of Scry--How about Gather information, while the others are just name changes. After a brief once over it looks like everything else will work as is, I think the 3.5 spell lists are in the back of Minons of the Shadow. We have to decide on a tradition for her.

You can safely assume that she will have motives of her own. Remember this is an evil game, even if she is very loyal, she's still evil and can only be trusted so far.

I truly hate alignments... I understand why they are needed (mechanically) but they bug me... Anyhow I would say Neutral Evil simply because it is the most evil alignment... It’s also the alignment for those who would do what ever it takes to get the job done as they see fit.

Don't worry I was pushing for an alignment so I could burden your character. I'm thinking there are some distinct factions based on alignment that your character wont know much about. Its mostly for my use behind the screen. Start working on the details of your character when you get a chance. You can build the cohort as well if you want.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Okay, lets do the Gestalt thing with her too. I didn't think about it until you said something, but it is the proper way to go. Now I'll have to look at the Channeller for 3.5 worthyness. Sigh. Looks like we need a skill in place of Scry--How about Gather information, while the others are just name changes. After a brief once over it looks like everything else will work as is, I think the 3.5 spell lists are in the back of Minons of the Shadow. We have to decide on a tradition for her.

Gather Information seems reasonable and rather fitting.... She won't gain much, if anything, from it since the rogue has that skill. (But then again not all channelers will be Channeler/Rogue so we should fix the class and not consider her person anal gains.)

You can safely assume that she will have motives of her own. Remember this is an evil game, even if she is very loyal, she's still evil and can only be trusted so far.

Great, that sounds like a plan but we do need to consider the Channeler's unique situation... If she isn't loyal towards Izrador, and probably my character, at all times she's going to find herself in lots and lots of trouble... (Then again considering her level of power its probably simply another way she is controlled.)

Maybe her channeler nature is what brought her into trouble. and threatened her life, to begin with, and its because of my character that she's still alive.

Maybe her true nature was discovered during the legate training... This would also allow her to watch his extra harsh treatment. Her levels could be something like:

Channeler 6/Rogue 5/Legate 1

or

Rogue 6/Channler 5/Legate 1

Don't worry I was pushing for an alignment so I could burden your character. I'm thinking there are some distinct factions based on alignment that your character won’t know much about. It’s mostly for my use behind the screen.

Well that sounds very cool. and my issues with alignment or more on a global scale as a person is simply to complex to group in 9 easy groups.

Start working on the details of your character when you get a chance. You can build the cohort as well if you want.

Cool, I doubt I will knock alot of it out tonight as my wife is off from work, but she closes tomorrow so I should have lots of free time to work upon it.

Spellcasters are notoriously hard for me to do, I can make my way through a divine one fairly quickly but the last arcane caster I worked on was called a magic user... (2nd edition, probably in 1996)

I do think that the Erenlander is the perfect race for her... I see her being highly skilled.

Other heroic paths to consider besides Charismatic for her:
Dragonblooded
Healer
Seer (seems rather dated in 3.5)
Feyblooded
Shadow Walker
Wiser (Sorcery and Shadow pg. 45)

I myself am looking at:
Quickened
Juggernaut

I love quick characters… Yet the Juggernaut calls to me also.

 

[Scotley]

Gather Information seems reasonable and rather fitting.... She won't gain much, if anything, from it since the rogue has that skill. (But then again not all channelers will be Channeler/Rogue so we should fix the class and not consider her person anal gains.)

Yes I was trying to think beyond the current game.

Great, that sounds like a plan but we do need to consider the Channeler's unique situation... If she isn't loyal towards Izrador, and probably my character, at all times she's going to find herself in lots and lots of trouble... (Then again considering her level of power its probably simply another way she is controlled.)

Maybe her channeler nature is what brought her into trouble. and threatened her life, to begin with, and its because of my character that she's still alive.

Maybe her true nature was discovered during the legate training... This would also allow her to watch his extra harsh treatment. Her levels could be something like:

Channeler 6/Rogue 5/Legate 1

or

Rogue 6/Channler 5/Legate 1

That sounds good. To the outside world she's Legate with all that implies, but within the Legates she's very minor and not well trusted--hence she needs a powerful patron.

Well that sounds very cool. and my issues with alignment or more on a global scale as a person is simply to complex to group in 9 easy groups.


Cool, I doubt I will knock alot of it out tonight as my wife is off from work, but she closes tomorrow so I should have lots of free time to work upon it.

Spellcasters are notoriously hard for me to do, I can make my way through a divine one fairly quickly but the last arcane caster I worked on was called a magic user... (2nd edition, probably in 1996)

I do think that the Erenlander is the perfect race for her... I see her being highly skilled.

Other heroic paths to consider besides Charismatic for her:
Dragonblooded
Healer
Seer (seems rather dated in 3.5)
Feyblooded
Shadow Walker
Wiser (Sorcery and Shadow pg. 45)

I myself am looking at:
Quickened
Juggernaut

I love quick characters… Yet the Juggernaut calls to me also.

Cool I'll do some reading on those. We'll figure out a way to divy up the cohort development if you like. I can crank out a spell list pretty fast I think.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Alright I'm making progress on the character and so far so good... (Oh I agree with Sense Motive as a replacement for Scry.

Anyhow this has me slightly off:

Second--and this one is optional, the "Master Hunter" Wildlander trait is similar to the Ranger favored enemy which was greatly improved for 3.5 If you like the 3.5 version you can take it as your Wildlander trait at either 1st or 2nd level and have it progress as the Ranger version does. [/COLOR]

I took Master Hunter at first level and I'm curious as to how it progresses... Do you mean it does just like the PHB (I would pick up a second race at level 5, and their after.) Or do you just mean the bonus I get for the one enemy continues to rise?

Besides that no real questions so far.

Oh Happy Thanksgiving.