[4e] Campaign discussion thread (Full)

[Mathew_Freeman]

Love the background there on the Eladrin! Really nicely done.

I've added rituals and major items to Arawn (see link in sig) - just got the rest of his money to spend on minor items and then he's done. I'll also sort out a more detailed background, as I said.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Don't be shy. If you want to take your Mythic PC all the way to an epic destiny - do this! If it's appropriate that your Mythic PC founded a country or an order or something like that - tell me. I'll be spinning the current state of things off of the legacies (good and bad) left by these Mythic PCs (and other forces).

Arawn:
About five years before the start of the campaign, Arawn battled the Storm Giant Magog in his mountain-top lair, finally defeating him and casting his body to the ground, far below. As the victor, he was able to take Magog's prized possession - the Thunderstrike Diamond.

Drawn on by visions and guidance from the powers of nature, Arawn began to use the Gem to augment his own impressive powers. Eventually, he and the Gem fused into one, and as a result his eyes are now the color of diamond, blank and intimidating.

Arawn founded the Stormwalker Order, and leads the continent wide group of Nature Priests. The group have no unifying goals other than to keep the worship of nature strong amongst all races, and to keep everyone in a state of healthy respect for the powers of the natual world. Using the Tree Strike ritual, Arawn is able to move quickly across the continent, acting as a visible face for a religion that still suffers a lot of persecution at the hands of those that consider themselves more 'civilised'.

 

[Sparky]

Fun to see the PCs starting to take shape.

Atan, can you give me a link to the RPGA excerpt?

What level? As high as 30. They don't have to be level 30 to be Mythic, I'll work with you on these high-level PCs' mythic legacies no matter what level they are (higher is obviously easier to work with). They can have chosen and 'completed' their epic destinies.

Tallarn, do you mean for Arawn to be a going force in the current world? Because if so, I need to clarify the role of Mythic PCs some... I apologize for any confusion and ask for some patience as I work through just what we're doing here.

The Mythic PCs are meant to be from the distant past - granted - Epic Destinies and magic might make some of them relevant still, but they're meant to be legendary (think Beowulf, Joan of Arc). Their stories and the legacy of their lives are what are important about them. NOW. Having said that, they CAN be contemporary with the current PCs but I'll need some measure of control over their current state. For example: it's entirely reasonable for the events in Arawn's description to have happened, but long ago, and the Order exists, but he's not leading it per se.

---

Some things that are becoming clear to me about the world...

The Age of Darkness was lllooooong. And dark. The pantheon in the core books (good and evil) are the gods of those who are emerging into the world after the long Darkness. It is widely held that dragons were the original masters of Toranthar, but that in their vast cosmic wanderings and collection of servitor creatures, they brought lesser beings with them, these beings sometimes already had belief systems of their own. All but a few dragons left Toranthar (the translation of phrase 'left' is VERY controversial) and the world changed.

Ages passed. The lesser beings came in to power. Civilizations rose and fell.

Rose and fell. And then the Egg of Aeons was 'discovered' and with its discovery came dire portents.

The various powers that be (were?) in the of the Mythic PCs saw what was coming and Took Measures...

1. The Eladrin retreated into the Feywild, closing all links to Toranthar (with some unforeseen consequences, architected by Trasimakos?).
2. Dwarves similarly retreated into their mountainhomes.
3. Elves retreated into warded forest-city states (ritually grown forests in vast circles... developed by Arawn?).
4. Other races coped in different TBD ways. Suggestions welcome. (I have some ideas about the Warforged)

Many, many generations have passed for mortal creatures since the end of the era of the Mythic PCs. During the Age of Darkness, a multitude of monsters and other fantastic creatures took over the face of Toranthar.

The world that the 1st Level PCs will play in is a world where the various groups are creeping out of their enclaves into the world at large again. So the Eladrin and the Feywild will reopen the links between the realms and Eladrin will walk Toranthar again (technically, there were Eladrin that weathered the Age of Darkness in Toranthar proper, but they were cut off from the Feywild).

 

[Atanatotatos]

Here's the link to the excerpt. But there is less than I remembered. I can clarify for you that what is not in the article.
Then again, if this is too much of a hassle for you, I can change my character...

Love the flavor of what you posted, Sparky, by the way...
About my mythic PC,Trasimakos, I was thinking that he might have become a more and more "unseen" power behind the scenes during the Age of Darkness (or at the end of the golden age, depending on the chronology of events). I'm still thinking about it, but reading your fluff and the other pcs' will give me ideas...

 

[garyh]

4. Other races coped in different TBD ways. Suggestions welcome. (I have some ideas about the Warforged)

Many, many generations have passed for mortal creatures since the end of the era of the Mythic PCs. During the Age of Darkness, a multitude of monsters and other fantastic creatures took over the face of Toranthar.

The world that the 1st Level PCs will play in is a world where the various groups are creeping out of their enclaves into the world at large again. So the Eladrin and the Feywild will reopen the links between the realms and Eladrin will walk Toranthar again (technically, there were Eladrin that weathered the Age of Darkness in Toranthar proper, but they were cut off from the Feywild).

I could see the warforged, after being liberated by Freedom (my mythic PC) retreating from the world at large and forming a communistic, equality-focused commune / enclave, centered around protecting the existing creation forges.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Tallarn, do you mean for Arawn to be a going force in the current world? Because if so, I need to clarify the role of Mythic PCs some... I apologize for any confusion and ask for some patience as I work through just what we're doing here.

The Mythic PCs are meant to be from the distant past - granted - Epic Destinies and magic might make some of them relevant still, but they're meant to be legendary (think Beowulf, Joan of Arc). Their stories and the legacy of their lives are what are important about them. NOW. Having said that, they CAN be contemporary with the current PCs but I'll need some measure of control over their current state. For example: it's entirely reasonable for the events in Arawn's description to have happened, but long ago, and the Order exists, but he's not leading it per se.

Ah, my mistake, thanks for clearing that up.

Let's rework it like this:
[sblock=Arawn's Backstory 2.0]The most lasting event of Arawn's life was when he battled the Storm Giant Magog in his mountain-top lair, finally defeating him and casting his body to the ground, far below. As the victor, he was able to take Magog's prized possession - the Thunderstrike Diamond.

Drawn on by visions and guidance from the powers of nature, Arawn began to use the Gem to augment his own impressive powers. Eventually, he and the Gem fused into one, and as a result his eyes turned the color of diamond, blank and intimidating.

Arawn founded the Stormwalker Order, and lead the continent wide group of Nature Priests. The group have no unifying goals other than to keep the worship of nature strong amongst all races, and to keep everyone in a state of healthy respect for the powers of the natual world. Using the Tree Strike ritual, Arawn was able to move quickly across the continent, acting as a visible face for a religion that still suffered a lot of persecution at the hands of those that consider themselves more 'civilised'. Arawn helped design and build the elves forest-based homes, harnessing the power of lightning into magical energy that provided light and heat.

Over time, the Stormwalker Order moved from being a teaching order, to a war order - perhaps ineveitable since they were founded by someone who could shake the mountains with his rages. As the Age of Darkness came, the Stormwalkers were passionate defenders of the elves, the humans and the eladrin, hurling lightning into the foes that assaulted them. Arawn himself disappeared during this time, and legend has it that he fell in battle against a massive goblinoid force. However, his body was never found...[/sblock]

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Final version of Arawn posted in my pbp characters thread, link in sig to save me copying & pasting the whole thing over here!

 

[Shayuri]

Heya guys, I'm still alive. I'm doing science and I'm still alive.

Been dinking on Thorn. Follows is a WIP sheet of what I've determined so far. I find making a high level 4e character is almost as brain twisting as making a high level 3.5...but maybe I'm just still getting used to the system. With all the power swaps, I had to map it out level by level instead of cheating and just adding everything up to the endpoint.

This is clearly unfinished, but I wanted to give folks a peek at where I'm going. I think rogue and wizard actually synergizes decently well, though the requirement of focusing on Intelligence as much as Dexterity hurts a bit. Especially since doppelgangers don't get a racial bonus to Dexterity. I still have a few feats to fill out, and skills to calculate... I'm fairly happy with the power choices though.

So it's not what I'd call an 'optimal' build...but I think it will be an effective one.

If there's any glaring errors or suggestions y'all have, let me know!

[sblock=Thorn - Rogue/Wizard 30]
Name: Thorn
Class: Rogue 30
Alignment: Unaligned
Race: Doppelganger
Deity:
Size: Medium
Gender: Female

Abilities
Str: 10 [+0], Dex: 24 [+7], Wis: 13 [+1]
Con: 14 [+2], Int: 23 [+6], Cha: 16 [+3]

Hit Points: 171 Bloodied: 85
Healing Surges: 8 out of 8/day Healing Surge hp gained :42 HP per level: 5
Action Points: 1
Speed: 6 squares

Armour Class: 16
Fortitude Defence: 27
Reflex Defence: 25
Will Defence: 27
Initiative: +6

Skills:
Arcana
Stealth
Thievery
Acrobatics
Athletics
Bluff
Perception
Streetwise

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Draconic

Feats:
1 Arcane Initiate
2 Ritual Caster
4 Novice Power
6 Linguist
8 Acolyte Power
10 Adept Power
11 Agile Athlete
12 Combat Anticipation
14 Evasion
16 Mettle
18 Secret Stride
20
21 Arcane Mastery
22 Blind Fight
24 Unfettered Stride
26
28 Great Fortitude
30 Iron Will

Race Traits:
+2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma
+2 Bluff, +2 Insight
Mental Defense: +1 Will
Change Shape (At-will, Minor action)

Class Abilities:
First Strike - Combat Advantage against anyone who hasn't yet acted
Artful Dodger - +3 to AC vs opportunity attacks
Weapon talent - Inc shuriken dmg die, +1 to hit w/dagger
Sneak Attack +5d6

Epic Destiny: Deadly Trickster
Sly Fortune's Favor: Reroll any d20 roll 3/day
Trickster's Control: Enc or Daily power unexpended on 18 or more
Trickster's Disposition: 1/day force a 1 on GM roll

At-Will
Sly Flourish- Dex vs AC, 1W+dex+cha
Magic Missile

Encounter
Tornado Strike
Hounding Strike
Steel Entrapment
Spectral Ram

Daily
Assassin's Point
Feinting Flurry
Wall of Fire
Disintegrate

Utility
Master of Deceit
Dispel Magic
Shadow Stride
Arcane Gate
Leaping Dodge
Hide from the Light
Epic Trick

Gear
[/sblock]

 

[Atanatotatos]

Shayuri, you may want to look up the table on page 143 or so of the DMG. It's simpler to build high lvl characters like that.

 

[nerdytenor]

[sblock=Stog, Dragonborn Inspiring Warlord 16 (work in progress)]

Initiative: +16
Senses: Perception +9, low light vision
Alignment: Lawful Good
Languages: Common, Draconic

Str 22 (+6)
Con 14 (+2)
Dex 15 (+2)
Int 11 (+0)
Wis 9 (-1)
Cha 20 (+5)

HP 111; Bloodied 55; Healing Surge 29 (draconic heritage), 11/day (con, durable)
AC 33 (+14 razor wyrmscale, +1 specialization, +8 level)
Fort 29 (+6 str, +1 class, +8 level, +4 amulet)
Ref 24 (+2 dex, +8 level, +4 amulet
Will 28 (+5 cha, +1 class, +8 level, +4 amulet)

Speed 6
Action Points 1

Skills (trained ones in bold):
Acrobatics +10
Arcana +8
Athletics +19
Bluff +13
Diplomacy +18
Dungeoneering +7
Endurance +15
Heal +7
History +10
Insight +7
Intimidate +20
Nature +7
Perception +9
Religion +8
Stealth +10
Streetwise +13
Thievery +10

Feats:

• Armor proficiency: scale
• Armor specialization: scale
• Dragonborn senses
• Enlarged dragonbreath
• Durable
• Toughness
• Heavy Blade Opportunity
• Improved Initiative
• Inspired Recovery
• Combat Commander

Gear:

Cost Weight Item
65,000 gp 45 lbs Razor Armor +4 (Wyrmscale), lvl 17
25,000 gp 10 lbs Flaming Glaive +3, lvl 15
45,000 gp 1 lb Amulet of Protection +4, lvl 16
25,000 gp

Adventurer's Kit: Backpack, Bedroll, Flint and Steel, Belt pouch, 2 sunrods, 10 days of trail rations, 50' of hemp rope, and a Waterskin.



Racial and class features not covered elsewhere:

• Proficiencies: cloth, leather, hide, chain, light shield, scale (from feat), simple melee, military melee, simple ranged
• Combat Leader (+2 init to allies within 10 who can see/hear me)
• Inspiring Presence - ally who spends action point who can see me gains hp equal to one half my level + CHA mod

Paragon Path (Knight Commander)Features:

• Allies get +2 to attack rolls when adjacent to me
• When I spend action point, allies gain +1 all defenses until start of my next turn (they must see/hear me).
• I and allies within 3 gain bonus damage to opp attacks equal to my CHA mod

Attacks:

• Str-based = +14 (+6 str, +8 level) + bonuses TODO

Powers
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(1aw) Furious smash
(1aw) Wolf pack tactics
(3x per encounter) Insipiring Word
(2u) Shake it off
(3e) Inspiring War Cry
(5d) Stand the Fallen
(6u) Stand Tough
(7e) Surround Foe
(9d) White Raven Strike
(10u) Defensive Rally
(11e) Slash and Press
(12u) Break their nerve
(13e) Beat them into the ground
(15d) Renew the troops
(16u) Warlord's Banner

[/sblock]