drnuncheon's Freeport Story Hour: Create-a-Cohort Contest

[drnuncheon]

Announcing...the drnuncheon's Freeport Story Hour Create-a-Cohort Contest!

Achieve lasting fame and a place in the spotlight!

See your creation get folded, spindled, and mutilated alongside Dru and Di'Fier!

The Prizes

Grand Prize (2): The character you create will be used as a cohort NPC in drnuncheon's Freeport Story Hour! He, she, or it will be teleported without error for a lifetime stay in the beautiful Serpent Isles, where they will get to experience life alongside the Freeport City Watchmen who continually beat the odds: Dru and Di'Fier! They will also receive 5 sp/day spending money and a share of the XP! (Creators of the characters will receive public credit in the game sessions and Story Hour.)

Second Prize (everyone else): Your character will be 'waiting in the wings' for a walk-on role in drnuncheon's Freeport Story Hour! It could be a cameo appearance, an extra, or even a recurring NPC! (Creators of characters chosen to appear will receive public credit in the game sessions and Story Hour.)



The Rules

1. Permitted Sources: All skills, spells, classes, and feats from the Player's Handbook are allowed. NPC classes from the Dungeon Master's Guide are also permitted. Some elements from the following sourcebooks may be used: WOTC's classbooks, Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, Oriental Adventures and Magic of Faerun; Sword & Sorcery's Relics and Rituals, Malhavoc Press' Book of Eldritch Might and Book of Eldritch Might II: Songs and Souls of Power. If you are going to use an element from non-Core books please consult with the judge via email to make sure there have been no changes made.
   
2. Multiclassing: Multiclassing is permitted under the standard 3e guidelines. Cohorts should be designed so as not to incur an XP penalty. NPC classes and prestige classes are not counted when determining XP penalties. Apprentice-Level Multiclassing rules are allowed (DMG pp 40-41). Characters cannot be higher than 3rd level in the Fighter, Rogue, or Wizard classes - we don't want them to outdo the heros!
   
3. Permitted Races: All races from the PHB are allowed. The following races are also permitted: aasimar, genasi (all kinds), and tiefling (ECL 1, from WOTC's Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting), nezumi (ECL 0, from WOTC's Oriental Adventures), kobold and orc (ECL 0, from WOTC's Monster Manual). ECLs should be calculated using the method in WOTC's Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting.
   
4. Entry Format: Entries must have the following sections: Appearance, Personality, Background, Reason for Being a Cohort, and d20 Stat Block or Character Sheet.
   
5. ECL: Cohorts for Dru should have an ECL of 5; cohorts for Di'Fier should have an ECL of 4.
   
6. Starting Equipment: Cohorts receive starting equipment based on Table 2-44 in the DMG (page 58). They may possess no more than one (1) permanent magic item, and no item may be more than half of their starting equipment value. Spellcasters able to create items must still pay full price in gold for items they could have created but there is no XP cost.
   
7. How to Enter: Entries should be posted to this thread or emailed to the DM with a subject of 'Cohort Contest'. (If there's something that should be kept secret about the cohort, please use email...)
   
8. Judging: All judging will be done solely by me, drnuncheon, the DM. Sorry, Dru & Di'Fier! As for the judging critera, it's going to be terribly subjective - it will be based upon how well the character will fit in with both the campaign and the characters, how well their personality and abilities complement those of the players, and how much fun they will be for me to play as an NPC.
   [/list=1]

1. 
   
   That's all there is! Go to it!
   
   * - rent, food, medical bills, laundry fees, life insurance, burial expenses, pension contributions, and spellcasting fees (including but not limited to: mending, prestidigitation, cure spells, remove curse, remove disease, neutralize poison, break enchantment, raise dead, resurrection, true resurrection, reincarnation, limited wish, wish, miracle and gentle repose) not included. Animate dead may be available in some situations, please see your DM for details.

 

[DiFier]

I'm mostly posting to bump this to the top and to remind people to send their cohorts to Dr. N

 

[Dust]

ECL 5 Cohort

This cohort is designed for ECL 5, though he could just as easily drop down a level to serve as Dru's companion. His background culture details are vague, so he can be easily fit into the Freeport universe's "Oriental" niche.

-------------------------------------

Doji Imura: Male human (Crane) Sam5; CR 5; Medium-size humanoid; HD 5d10+5; hp 42; Init +9; Spd 20 ft.; AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17; Atk +7 melee (1d10+1/19-20, masterwork katana); or +6 melee (1d6/19-20, masterwork wakizashi); SA none; SQ Ancestral daisho; AL LN; SV Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +5; Str 10, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 14.
Skills and Feats: Diplomacy +12/+8, Iajutsu Focus +10/+8, Intimidate +10/+8, Jump +6, Perform +6/+4 (dance, kabuki, poetry, rhetoric), Ride +4/+6, Sense Motive +11/+8; Great General [ancestor, +2 Initiative and +1 Fort], Improved Initiative, Quick Draw, Smooth Talk [ancestor, +2 Diplomacy and Sense Motive], Weapon Focus (katana).
Ancestral Daisho: Imura’s katana and wakizashi are family heirlooms, and through prayer sacrifice he can awaken the ancestral spirits in the weapons. See Oriental Adventures p. 21 for more information. At this moment, he has spent 2000gp to make his katana into a +1 weapon.
Possessions: +1 katana, masterwork wakizashi, great armor, potions of haste, blur, and cure light wounds (x5). Total GP value: 4300.

Appearance: Imura is of average height and quite slight, with a dignified bearing and impeccable posture. His hair is luxuriously long and pitch black, bound up in a topknot, his skin is even and without blemish, and his features are pleasant in a not-too noticeable way. Indeed, were it not for his eyes, also black like his hair and a bit too intense for a fawning noble, he would look every bit the consummate courtier. His gaze, and the forceful way he speaks, quickly persuades even the densest onlooker that the armor he wears and the swords at his waist, perfectly maintained though they may be, are not for show.

Personality: He is, oddly enough, exactly like he looks. Amazingly polite, formal and well spoken even to his enemies, suave and persuasive, he is surprisingly personable and yet at the same time ruthless and determined. His voice is soft even when angry, and he makes looking calm and collected into an art form. He really enjoys art, too, and has a secret penchant for love poetry and some of the more risqué dances that are frowned upon at court: deep inside, Imura has a sentimental and gentle streak, but his years at court have taught him how to mask this nature when needed (which seems to be all the time, these days). Imura seems to be poised on the razor’s edge between naughty and nice, knowing exactly when to use the silk and when to use the steel.

Background and Reason for Being a Cohort: Imura is a younger son from a prominent Crane family known for their diplomatic skills, though his quick reflexes and even head drew him towards the sword as well as the pen. He excelled at swordplay, making up what he lacked in strength with his speed and tactical skills, and also served as one of his lord’s negotiators and messengers due to his quick tongue. It is exactly this combination that has drawn him away from the court and brought him to Freeport. His lord sent a group of merchants to Freeport, hoping to establish a foothold in the market there, and initially this group reported great success. A few months ago, however, the group ceased sending its usual reports, and the lord decided to send Imura to investigate in the hopes that he would be able to smoothly make his way to Freeport and fix whatever problems present themselves. He is still investigating what happened but hasn’t come up with many leads yet, though he’s working under the assumption that the merchants are all dead and that his mission will ultimately be about revenge. He can meet our heroes either by:
(1) Going to the watch for help (boring!).
(2) Running into them while going about his own investigation, due to an as yet undetermined link between the merchants’ disappearance and the snake-filled badness (I haven’t read the Freeport adventures, so I leave the details up to you).
(3) Having them stumble upon him while he’s beset by thugs, due to some sort of etiquette breach, and then preceding to #2. If the PC’s save his life, then he has a debt to them even after the mystery is solved.

 

[Dust]

Attempt #2

Thinking about it, our herous could probably use a bit more melee power and some divine spells to keep them in one piece (more or less). With no further ado, I present:

Annelise, female human Bbn1/Clr3: CR 4; Medium-size Humanoid; HD 3d8+1d12+8; hp 38; Init +0; Spd 20 ft; AC 18 (+8 full plate); Atks +5 melee (2d6+3/crit 19-20, greatsword), or +5 melee (1d4+2/crit 19-20, dagger), or +3 ranged (1d4/crit 19-20, dagger); SA rage, spells, turn undead; SQ feat of strength, good fortune; AL CG; SV Fort +7, Ref +1, Will +5; Str 14, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 12.

Skills: Concentration +9, Diplomacy +7, Heal +6, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (religion) +8. Feats: Cleave, Great Cleave, Power Attack.

SA--Rage (Ex): 1/day, Annelise can fly into a screaming blood frenzy for 7 rounds. Annelise gains +4 Str, +4 Con, and a +2 morale bonus vs. fear, but suffers -2 to AC. After the rage, Annelise is winded.

SA--Turn Undead (Su): 4/day, Annelise can attempt to turn undead creatures. She can turn undead with no more than (1d20)/3 HD. Each attempt, she turns 2d6+4 total HD. Undead with 1 or fewer HD are destroyed instead.

SQ--Feat of Strength(Su): Annelise may gain an enhancement bonus to her strength equal to her cleric level once per day. This effect lasts for one round, and invoking it is a free action.

SQ--Good Fortune (Ex): Annelise may reroll one roll per day that she has just made. She must take the result of the reroll, even if it’s worse than the original roll.

Cleric Spells Prepared (4/3/2; base DC = 12 + spell level): 0 -- create water, guidance, light, resistance; 1st -- divine favor x2, shield of faith; 2nd -- aid, spiritual weapon.

Domain Spells: (Strength and Luck) 1st -- endure elements; 2nd -- bull's strength.

Possessions: masterwork greatsword, dagger, full plate, wand of cure light wounds (50 charges), scrolls of cure moderate wounds (x2), bull's strength, and hold person.


Background, appearance, reason for being a cohort, and all that jazz, as well as her stats at 5th level, to be posted in the very near future.