New PC Brainstorming

Dannyalcatraz · Jun 17, 2010

One of the guys in our group is going to be trying his hand at running a 4Ed campaign. He wants to follow the KISS* method for this shakedown cruise, so its Core 3 only.

I've chosen to play a Star Pact Warlock. Mechanical optimization is not a priority, but advice in that direction won't be rejected. I'm really looking for some RP ideas and character hooks, quirks, etc. I can build around.

Ideas in no particular order:

Dwarf. If I go this route, I need to think of why a being from a subterranean culture would be so interested in astronomy & the Far Realms. Dwarven Weapon training is a sore temptation- that opens up Halberds, Mauls & all kinds of fun iconic weapons. TWF with hammers or axes might be an option.
Dragonborn. I like breath weapons. Strongly considering multiclassing into Paladin with this race. Given that 90% of dragonborn/reptillian humanoid minis wear armor, I'll probably take AP: Chainmail with my 1st or 2nd Feat...and a BW feat as his 3rd.
Halfling. If I go this route, I might multiclass with Rogue- that seems natural. However, beyond that, I'm stumped. Is he a tomb raider for knowledge or power...or both? Neither?
Half-Elf. Bonuses to both of a Warlock's primary casting stats don't suck, plus Dilettante gets me an additional Encounter Power (Magic Missile, perhaps?). Again, though, I'm stumped beyond the obvious "power" play. Armor him up? Multiclass Ranger?

* as in Keep It Simple, Stupid, not putting on kabuki makeup, studded leather and 8" platform thigh-high boots.

Dice4Hire · Jun 17, 2010

Dannyalcatraz said:
* as in Keep It Simple, Stupid, not putting on kabuki makeup, studded leather and 8" platform thigh-high boots.

If you do not do this, how can you roleplay him?

But mroe seriously, I can see a dwarf as an interesting Far Realms guy. I think in Underdark, they made clear that there is a lot of overlap with strange planes down there,

And of course, the Astral Sea as the "Plane above", is just a designer's conceit, it is actually in every direction.

A dwarf with a hunger to defeat the abominations down in his tunnels wold be interesting, Fighting fire with fire, something I have always seen dwarves as being very good at, a practical lot.

Herschel · Jun 17, 2010

Have you read the newest Covenant books by Stephen R. Donaldson? You could borrow from Anele quite a lot as you could have begun by reading the stones that have marked history, observe and remember. There just aren't many (any?) others who can hear/read the stones. It can be a fun 'everything is connected' bit as the stone observes the passing of the stars and lead you to their secrets.

Zaran · Jun 17, 2010

I'm really not fond of the Warlock class nor the Far Realms. But I suppose he could have been haunted by dreams of the stars and basically devoted alot of time to going to the surface and looking at them. And eventually he would pay more attention to the dreams and his infatuation than his own people.

Obryn · Jun 17, 2010

I'd honestly go with Half-Elf. Starlocks are kinda screwy - they're a very early class design - and you will want to keep both Con and Cha at high levels, salvaging whatever's left over for your Intelligence. 16's a minimum here, but I'd frankly take 16 in each and push them to 18 with your stat modifiers. With that said, if you're not going the half-elf route, concentrate on Constitution... it's where your At-Will is, and you can always pick and choose the Infernal-style Con-based Encounter and Daily powers.

With that said, if it's core 3 only, Dilettante is a rather poor ability - especially if you're focusing on Constitution. I'd look to snag a Charisma-based power from the Paladin class, and maybe give yourself a decent melee attack for emergencies.

Roleplay-wise, just about anyone could come upon beings of the Far Realm.

For half-elves, it's as easy as it is for humans, if not easier. If you were in a place where half-elves were alienated, why not turn to ... aliens?

A Dwarf perhaps could have been tutored by a not-quite-as-evil-but-still-bad mind flayer or beholder. Aberrations from the far realm loooove the Underdark.

-O

Dannyalcatraz · Jun 17, 2010

Herschel said:
Have you read the newest Covenant books by Stephen R. Donaldson? You could borrow from Anele quite a lot as you could have begun by reading the stones that have marked history, observe and remember. There just aren't many (any?) others who can hear/read the stones. It can be a fun 'everything is connected' bit as the stone observes the passing of the stars and lead you to their secrets.

I haven't even SEEN the new Covenant books- my locals & chains are either not stocking it or having trouble keeping it in stock.

That sounds interesting, though...perhaps it all started with a foray to the surface where he found a meteorite...

Zaran said:
I'm really not fond of the Warlock class nor the Far Realms. But I suppose he could have been haunted by dreams of the stars and basically devoted alot of time to going to the surface and looking at them. And eventually he would pay more attention to the dreams and his infatuation than his own people.

That could dovetail nicely with the above.

Dice4Hire said:
If you do not do this, how can you roleplay him?

Oh, there may be more than a touch of Gene Simmons in him...perhaps a 7" tongue?

But mroe seriously, I can see a dwarf as an interesting Far Realms guy. I think in Underdark, they made clear that there is a lot of overlap with strange planes down there,

And of course, the Astral Sea as the "Plane above", is just a designer's conceit, it is actually in every direction.

A dwarf with a hunger to defeat the abominations down in his tunnels wold be interesting, Fighting fire with fire, something I have always seen dwarves as being very good at, a practical lot.

With a bit of planar seepage, I could take this into a very Jeffrey Combs in From Beyond type direction...

Obryn said:
I'd honestly go with Half-Elf. Starlocks are kinda screwy - they're a very early class design - and you will want to keep both Con and Cha at high levels, salvaging whatever's left over for your Intelligence. 16's a minimum here, but I'd frankly take 16 in each and push them to 18 with your stat modifiers. With that said, if you're not going the half-elf route, concentrate on Constitution... it's where your At-Will is, and you can always pick and choose the Infernal-style Con-based Encounter and Daily powers.

Any particular reason you're choosing Int as the 3rd highest stat (as opposed to Wis, Dex or Str?)

With that said, if it's core 3 only, Dilettante is a rather poor ability - especially if you're focusing on Constitution. I'd look to snag a Charisma-based power from the Paladin class, and maybe give yourself a decent melee attack for emergencies.

I think all of the 1st level Paladin At-Wills are Str based and the Warlock would only have the most basic of weapons unless I burn a feat...but having a decent melee attack is never a bad idea.

If you were in a place where half-elves were alienated, why not turn to ... aliens?

That is a good point.

malraux · Jun 17, 2010

Dice4Hire said:
And of course, the Astral Sea as the "Plane above", is just a designer's conceit, it is actually in every direction.

The underdark book strongly gave me the impression that the planes are layered. I know MotP does say that its not literally like that, but I actually really like the idea that it is. The world is flat rather than spherical, for example.

Anyway, the underdark and the far realm are often linked. Perhaps the dwarf ended up on the King's Highway (the giant paths torog tore through the underdark) and ended up on one that touched the Far Realm. Or he was captured as mindflayers at some point (a cool idea would be that the powers inside him were the result of a mindflayer larva).

Obryn · Jun 17, 2010

Dannyalcatraz said:
Any particular reason you're choosing Int as the 3rd highest stat (as opposed to Wis, Dex or Str?)

Yep! (1) It's where most of the Warlock rider effects come from. (2) It'll help your almost-certainly-pathetic AC and Reflex. (3) Smart nerds love Cthulhu. Embrace it!

Another alternative would be to buff up your Strength to decent levels so you can get Chain Armor. That will help your AC more than anything, but I'd still try and manage at least a +1 Intelligence modifier.

I think all of the 1st level Paladin At-Wills are Str based and the Warlock would only have the most basic of weapons unless I burn a feat...but having a decent melee attack is never a bad idea.

There are two Charisma/Weapon ones, I believe. Yes, your weapon choice will stink on ice, but if you're limited to PHB1 there will seriously be no other great choices here. If you expand to PHB2 and 3, Dilettante becomes an intensely good racial perk. If you're only using core, you're basically screwed unless you're focusing on Strength or Dexterity.

That is a good point.

I try!

-O

Samir · Jun 17, 2010

I dunno, if you're going 16/16 Con/Cha with 12 Int, your AC is going to be 13. That's abysmal.

I think going 16/16 Con/Cha necessitates that you buy 13 Str and get Chainmail proficiency to put your AC up to 16; 3 AC is worth a lot more than +1 to some random riders.

Dannyalcatraz · Jun 17, 2010

I was thinking about the Dwarf as a possible Starlock multiclassed into Ranger or Wizard- either of which gets him the Dungeoncraft skill that lets him ID Aberrations.

That's when I noticed that the Ranger Paragon paths all have fighting-style prereqs...which the Ranger multiclass feat does not grant. This mean that despite the multiclassing feats' general rule saying you get access to the new class' paragon paths, you can't do that as a Ranger. RAW, at least.

Is this intentional or is there a clarification/errata out there that corrects this?

New PC Brainstorming

Dannyalcatraz

Schmoderator

Dice4Hire

First Post

Herschel

Adventurer

Zaran

Adventurer

Obryn

Hero

Dannyalcatraz

Schmoderator

malraux

First Post

Obryn

Hero

Samir

Explorer

Dannyalcatraz

Schmoderator

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