FR: Help with a new character...

[Wraithdrit]

Hey all:

I have a new character (replacement) coming into my campaign. He wants to play a shade monk. I normally would have him come in at 9th level (the rest of the party is 10th). However if I stick by the ECL rules he would be a 5th level monk in daylight, and a buffed up 5th level monk in non-daylight (seriously buffed... shades are pretty impressive).

So I am thinking he will be practically useless in the party of 10th level characters.

I am considering the following. Let him make the monk 8th level (total ECL of 12). He would have xp of halfway through 9th. This would make him not advance till the rest of the group 'caught up'. Also I am making him take the shadow weave feat (since all his City of Shade provided items will be shadow weave items) and I am only giving him equipment of an 8th level PC, and making him take a monastic sharian vow of poverty.

Am I nuts to consier allowing an ECL 12 character into the party? Are the restrictions I am imposing a good balance? Remember all of the Shade abilities (ALL OF THEM) go away in Daylight or in the presence of a daylight spell.

Thoughts or comments are extremely welcome and needed.

- Wraith

 

[d12]

Personally, I would stick to the ECL as written or maybe change it by one level. The player needs to realize that playing a shade is going to cost him.

 

[apocalypstick]

What? A Shade Monk?

Man... see, this is what I don't dig about the FR setting. In the FR game my group is in, our party consists of a Drow, a Kobold, a Half-Orc, a Wild Elf, an Aasimar, and ... finally ... a Human.

It's just irritating.

 

[senodam]

The wise course of action is to keep the ECL as written. You'd be surprised how many darkness spells the party will throw dow so their new buddy can whoop some @$$. Trust me on this..my NPCs still bear the scars

 

[Eccles]

Aren't you running City of the Spider Queen, though?

In which case, virtually every encounter that your party runs into for the next 8 or 9 levels will be in the dark, where the Shade player will get the full benefit of his various powers...

(Although his innate darkness causing ability will seriously cheese off any other players who rely on torches!)

 

[Wraithdrit]

Yes I am running CotSQ. So yes, they will be underground for several levels. BUUUUUUUUT, I also always play NPCs as smart. Guys losing try to get away (and often do). The NPCs ahead of the party will most likely eventually know most of the parties tactics and will also know that their clerics should prep a daylight spell.

Drow Commander: Prep a daylight spell.
Drow Cleric: What? That will make us near blind!
Drow Commander: Yeah, but it will stop that damn monk from shadow stepping!

I'm not intending to adjust the ECL at all. Just considering allowing him to start at a higher level, as if he is bringing in an 8th level character then getting the shade template at that point.

In RoF it talks about if a character in game gets a template added then they just have to sit at that level for x number of levels while their companions continue to increase in ability.

Thats my intent. Did I not make that clear before? It just means that for expanded power now, the player takes an equipment hit (8th level gear rather than 9th + vow of poverty), is forced to take a feat that is basically otherwise useless (shadow weave magic) and is forced to serve a patron and a patron diety that will cause issues forever (a prince of Shade, and Shar).

Oh, and in my heavily modified version of CotSQ the shades are not just sitting on their hands while the drow do their thing. This ties directly into the campaign.

In case you ain't figured it out, I am leaning toward's doing this. What I really need are some more balancing factors that might help make this work.

- Wraith