Fun PC Concepts

Quickbeam

Explorer
In preparation for a new D&D mini-campaign our group plans to embark upon, I thought it might be illuminating to solicit a little EN World feedback.

What are some truly entertaining, interesting, effective, and/or just plain fun character concepts that you've previously run across. It would be great if you could post the race and class (or PrC) combinations and why you found this particular character (or NPC) to be noteworthy.

Thanks in advance!!
 

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Xigbar. Human. Wizard 1 (with abrupt jaunt acf), Fighter 2, Ranger 2, Swordsage 15. With GTWF, speed, splitting, under haste, with the ever loaded weapon enhancement, he could rattle off 20 shots a round. 1d4+1/2 dex (crossbow sniper)+wis(swordsage ability)+any other damage I can throw on. Fun with poison arrows, make them roll saves 20 times. Statistically speaking, they should fail one of them. Fun to roleplay, if you know the original character from the Kingdom Hearts video game.

I made an arrow demon build under similar rules. You don't need so many feats to get your limbs to cooperate, and will end up with full BAB, and four arms, netting you 48 (I think?) attacks.
 
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I've had a lot of fun with a kind of martial arcanist I call a Mage-Brute.

The basic concept is that a Sorcerer (or Battle-Sorcerer) takes a heritage feat (Celestial, Draconic or Infernal) which has a secondary feat that allows the channelling of spell energy as a supernatural effect. Then you wear armor & tote a weapon. It's a different way to Gish, at lower levels.
 

Pretty much anything that utilizes a bonus damage source (Tome of Battle maneuvers, sneak attack, or Dragonfire Inspiration Bard) and nifty tricks (ToB maneuvers; prestige class abilities) to do crazy awesome damage and battlefield control effects with innocuous items.

For example, Bloodstorm Blade gives you the Throw Anything feat and the ability to re-arrange your weapon-based feats like weapon focus on a whim, and lets you "bounce" your weapon off the enemy back to your hand so you can full attack with the same thrown weapon(s); Master Thrower gives you all sorts of "thrown weapon tricks" for weapons you have weapon focus with, including a free trip attempt on every successful hit, throwing two weapons per attack if they're "little," and attacking touch AC.

Combine with Dragonfire Inspiration Bard (and a hefty amount of Inspire Courage optimization) or Rogue sneak attack and you can have a guy that peppers enemies with spoons for massive damage and tripping, or other such nonsense. It's too cheesy a magical weapon property for my taste, but if you made the spoons Aptitude weapons, you could also get a free Daze effect on every person you hit via the Boomerang Daze feat. If you were size large or larger, you could get the Knockback feat and Bull Rush every enemy you hit with your thrown spoons. If you had Dungeoncrasher Fighter levels and pushed them back into a wall, you'd be able to inflict even MORE massive damage with your spoons of death.

So yeah, I like ridiculous characters like that.

Last time I made a "Samurai" I used Warblade with a focus on Diamond Mind and Iron Heart, and a sprinkle of White Raven (since he was a deposed lord). Insightful Strike deals (Concentration check) damage, so I always liked the idea of him being able to kill someone with a teacup. :)
 

Oh, several months ago I had written up rules for using Perform (juggling) or Sleight of Hand with various DCs in order to juggle crossbows. My idea was a Bard that used his performance to both (dragonfire) inspire his allies while also utilizing his incredible manual dexterity to be able to load and shoot dual wielded crossbows simultaneously (since even w/ free action reloading, you need two hands to do it). Basically, shoot one, toss it spinning up in the air, catch and reload the other, shoot it, toss it spinning up into the air, catch the first, reload...

I lost what I had wrote, I need to re-do it and make that an NPC for the party to fight next time I DM.
 

I designed a PC after my cat to play. Shifter race. The objective of this PC was that he'd take a different class every level. We only made it to level 6 before the campaign ended, I forget the order I took the classes but he was a Barbarian/Cleric/Scout/Warblade/Druid/Duskblade. He had a rat (not a dire rat, a rat) as a Animal Companion.
It was an incredibly fun build, with a variety of abilities. Not likely to have kept up with other PCs if we leveled up any more, but he held his own for 6 levels.
 

I designed a PC after my cat to play. Shifter race. The objective of this PC was that he'd take a different class every level. We only made it to level 6 before the campaign ended, I forget the order I took the classes but he was a Barbarian/Cleric/Scout/Warblade/Druid/Duskblade. He had a rat (not a dire rat, a rat) as a Animal Companion.
It was an incredibly fun build, with a variety of abilities. Not likely to have kept up with other PCs if we leveled up any more, but he held his own for 6 levels.

Dang, I want to meet your cat.
 

I also used the Mage-Brute idea to do other PCs:

BOX
Warforged Ftr/Sorc

Using the basic Mage-brute theory, he takes Adamantine Body as his first level feat, maximizing Str, Con, and especially Cha. His weapon should be the spiked chain.

Instead of the Draconic Heritage & BW feats, take Infernal Heritage and Infernal Sorcerer's Howl ASAP.

Describe him as having an adamantine body, somewhat darkened by blackish-red enamel paint, with elaborate golden filigree.

That's right- he's a walking, talking LeMarchant Box, a living Lament Configuration- contstructed to be an autonomous key to the gates of hell.

Like Hellboy, however, he rejects his intended destiny, and seeks to travel a different path.

And in a thread about mute PCs, I posted:
I might make a mute Sorcerer using Black Bolt as my model- possibly as a full-on martial arcanist...

Take Infernal Heritage & Infernal Sorcerer Shout, possibly Silent Spell and Arcane Strike...and never speak, because to do so is to destroy.
 

With Swamp Thing as inspiration, I'm running a Sorc/Cleric/Geomancer/M-T.

All of his Geomancer Drift options chosen are plantlike. His spells are mostly plant/earth based. His next feat will get him an Earth Elemental Familiar, and the one afterwards will be Brew Potion (in his case, it will be in the form tubers with alchemical/magical properties on his body, as per the ST comics of the 1990s).

I made him a Cleric instead of a Druid- as appropriate as it would be- for 2 main reasons:

1) He would never get much use out of the signature Druid ability of Shapechanging due to his multiclassing.

2) The party REALLY needed a healer. Besides the Clerical ability to spontaneously channel spells into healing, the original Sacred Healing Feat coupled with Extra Turning makes him an almost inexhaustible source of healing.
 

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