Leif's 'The Hall of the Rainbow Mage' [A] (D&D 3.5 OOC)

[Jemal]

Yeah kind of like trying to MC a rogue and a Cleric... I need high Wis for my spells, high dex for the light armour and rogue-skills, high INT for skill points and some rogue skills, Str if I want to be melee (and a bunch of my PrC bonuses are melee only), Con (everyone does), and CHA for turning checks and rogue-face type skills... maybe if I had a 36 point buy I'd be ok

what's strange about 36 point buy? Isn't that average? *L*

Gauntlets of Eldritch Energy: I must be missing the punchline of this ability, since Untyped damage is generally superior to typed damage. Does changing the energytype improve something? Or is it just situational for when we encounter foes that have elemental vulnerabilities?

Chausible: Now that is something that's attractive. I'd have to tweak some stuff, but +2d6 on my blasts sounds pretty good.

Scepter: Complete Arcane has a slightly better version of this... for only... 28,000 gold? lol. Not sure if the slight bonuses would be worth the more expensive bonus though. Didn't choose it because it suits a ranged lock alot more. Definitely something I'd love to pick up later as a backup.

The Chasuble is also in Complete Arcane, and if you don't have the 18,000 for the greater there's a lesser that's 8,000 for +1d6.
As for the energy damage, yes it's just for circumstantial "HEy a red dragon.. COLD DAMAGE", OR "hey, a stone wall... ACID DAMAGE!", or for flavour.

And I much prefer the scepter from Complete Arcane.


**EDIT: Whoops, just checked the RG and it appears as though you're playing a Ranged Warlock, not sure where I got the Melee bit from (I Must be projecting *L*).
Well, for a ranged lock what you have looks pretty good. Just ignore my suggestions that pertained mainly to melee

Also, Why Drow? I presume RP reasons?**



As for invocations, there's a LOT of good ones. If you're going with the melee type I'd suggest not taking too many of the essences or shapes. A melee warlocks greatest power is the little tricks his invocations let him do.
Suggestions:
Least -
Hideous Blow - required for a melee lock
Eldritch Spear - It's nice for the greatsword fighter to have a backup bow incase he can't reah his target, but if you're grabbing Fel Flight later on you probably won't need it.
Baleful Utterance - Shatter at will is always fun, though that may be more of a personal thing.
Darkness/Devil's Sight - Makes for a good "I see you but you don't see me" combo.
Entropic Warding - Gives you a chance to get in close without being pelted to death by arrows (Especially when combined with your DR and the fact that warlocks can get a fairly respectable AC).
See the Unseen - Because everybody should have a method of seeing Invisibility, and you never know when Darkvision will come in handy.

Lesser -
Flee the Scene/Fell Flight - I highly recomend at least one of these for your enhanced movement mode. I prefer Flight, but Flee the Scene can have some good uses too.
Voidsense - Blindsense is a very useful perk
Voracious Dispelling can be OK, but I much prefer the Devour Magic Invo later on.
Walk Unseen - At first glance invisibility at will can seem awesome, but using up your standard action for it isn't so keen, especially since you don't have anything to REALLY capitalize on it with, such as Sneak Attack.
Dead Wak - Meh, I've never been to fond of neco's, but if you want it, then take it.
Eldritch Chain - A nice AoE, it'll get you 3 targets at this level if you need to hit multiple opponents.

Grater -
Vitriolic to ignore SR and add damage/round is almost always the best first choice, unless you have a specific concept in mind that would directly benefit from another one. (Such as Chilling Tentacles/Wall of Perilous Flame for a controller type)
Devour Magic - As I said, one of my personal favourites, though its use is circumstantial at best.


If you're going with a Melee Lock, I suggest ignoring any of the invocations that allow saving throws, b/c that way you can completely ignore your Charisma. (Unlike spellcasters there's no minimum required Cha to use/know invocations, it just sets the DC)



Hmm.. just realized I don't have my char. posted inthe RG. better get on that instead of poking at the warlock... But damit the warlocks are fun!!!
*Kinda wishing I'd gone with Lock, but I play too many as it is.*

 

[Rhun]

what's strange about 36 point buy? Isn't that average? *L*

You know, I was using 37 point buy in my games for a while, but I think the PCs were a little tougher than I wanted.

 

[Jemal]

OH by the way, leify-wan, I just want to make sure you're ok with the Runestaves from MIC. Specifically I'd like to use a Runestaff of Power - For both the spellcasting and as my main melee weapon.

EDit - Dangit, I just realized there's a 28,000 limit on item costs..Hmm, perhaps craft staff...
nope, requires CL 12.

well, I'll be back with something else.

EDIT:
Also, since you're allowing LA Buyoff, I'm going to try it out. Reducing my +1 LA at ECL 4 (Character lvl 3) costs 3,000 XP, which leaves me with at the current moment...67,000.. still enough to be level 12, while maintaining all the bonuses of my draconic template.

 

[Jemal]

RE: Background, I have some questions for the Other PC's

Are there a few mages out there who would like to work together on our backgrounds? My idea for this character is that he was specifically raised and trained as a protector for his country's nobles and/or mages.

Transfering this to Forgotten Realms is somewhat difficult without goign evil and being Thayan..

Perhaps Halruaa would be an acceptable substitute? Don't know much about the system unfortunately.

Anyways if anybody's curious, this was my original background for the character when I made a higher level version of him (Level 20 game). Several things need to be changed, but this should give a general idea.

[sblock]
Background :
Whin Zacharius Roe was born to human parents, Father a great General, Mother a powerful mage, both patriots. They had been specifically bred together in the hopes of producing a powerful weapon for their country. From the moment of his birth, the burning eyes and scaled skin let the powers that be know that they had suceeded. Whin was raised not by parents, but by the country itself, his every want and need looked after as he was trained many hours a day. He was outfitted with a Ring of Sustenance while still young, to maximize the time he could spend training. As such, Whin does not eat or drink, neither as habit, courtesy, or for pleasure. When he reached 13, he received a rather unusual surprise... A powerful devil had been summoned by the High Mage to bestow a present on the young prodigy, and Whin was taken away for a week. When he returned, having recovered from the diabolic surgery, his arms and legs had been replaced, he had large bat wings, and any childish innocence he may have retained had been whiped away by the evil influences. By the time he was 17, he could best his father in martial combat, and was nearly the equal of his mother in spellcasting.

Over the next years, whenever he had spare time Whin would read through the extensive library on his quest for more. He taught himself the basics of martial arts, and soon learned of secret ways to harness truley powerful abjuration spells, as well as various forms of instantaneous transportation. He learned of other's like himself, of an entire Spellscale race, and set about learning all he could about them, attempting to fill in the holes he felt in himself. He realized that he shared much with them.. Curiosity, drive, a love of magic, and he also learned of their sacred rituals, which he realized he had been performing for years without even knowing it. Once he had learned what he could, he secretly destroyed the books to keep them from being used against him, and then continued with his training and work. On his 20th birthday, Whin was presented with a speciall crafted gift, a "ForceLance" they called it, it was just like him... a custom combination of martial and magical power.

Soon thereafter, Whin was called to perform his duties for his country. His first assignment was to destroy a tribe of trolls holed up in an old dwarven mine that the country wanted to reopen. Next was a dragon; then a band of adventurers trying to 'overturn the corrupt and evil government'; a powerful Lich; a coven of hags; A Baron planning to take over; etc, etc.

Most recently, he was sent to destroy a tribe of Ogre-magi. When he got there, however, it had allready been destroyed, and all that remained was a rather unusual goblin. Desiring to know who or what had done this, in order to discover if it posed a threat, he began questioning the goblin. To his surprise, the goblin claimed it had been he, 'Meekor', that had destroyed the tribe. Enraged by the goblin's incredulous lies, Whin moved to strike him down, only to discover much to his surprise that this goblin was, indeed, very skilled in the divine arts. This being something Whin had no experience with, he decided instead to learn what he could about this 'Meekor', and his powers. They travelled together for a short time, becoming strangely close allies for their divergent lives.. Both desired the same things above all else... power, and to be in control of their own lives. When he returned to his country, Whin lied for the first time, omiting the existance of his friend... And of the God, Boccob, that he had come to worship. A year later, Whin awoke during the night from a dream... He had seen Meekor, and a figure he knew to be Boccob, beckoning him to the Oceans, to an island. After a week of the dream repeating every night, Whin decided to figure out some way of leaving, but as it turned out, he didn't have to. The Fiendish being that his King (And parents, and most of his country) worshiped had decreed that all of the best warriors and mages were to be sent to sea, to deal with a problem that had arisen. Though they did not tell him explicitely, Whin knew from his dream that this problem extended beyond their kingdom, beyond his parent's false god and his King's desires. He also knew that on this quest, he would find true power.

Appearance : Whin is a rather creepy looking individual. His face is hollow and harsh, his scales seem angry, his eyes show a soul tainted by evil since birth, and his long, silver hair is spiked. He wears no armour, and his clothing consists of Red&Black shorts and vest, revealing his fiendish appendages, which have been his so long that his scales now cover part of them, making them look as if they've always been a part of him. Large Bat-like wings extend from his back, unhindered by the jewelry embroidered cloak he is so accustomed to wearing. A pair of black gloves fit his hands like a second skin.
[/sblock]

I'm also putting a skeleton build in the Rogue's Gallery.

 

[Theroc]

what's strange about 36 point buy? Isn't that average? *L*

Man, that'd make for a wicked Warlock.

The Chasuble is also in Complete Arcane, and if you don't have the 18,000 for the greater there's a lesser that's 8,000 for +1d6.
As for the energy damage, yes it's just for circumstantial "HEy a red dragon.. COLD DAMAGE", OR "hey, a stone wall... ACID DAMAGE!", or for flavour.

Ah. Well, I was already thinking on invocations to cover the various elements a Warlock can cover. Brimstone and Vitriolic Blasts, and likely eventually Chilling tentacles or whatever.

And I much prefer the scepter from Complete Arcane.

I do too, but it's much more expensive, and didn't seem very worthwhile for a melee Warlock. Since the Profane Bonus only applied to ranged attacks, and it only had 5 charges a day.

**EDIT: Whoops, just checked the RG and it appears as though you're playing a Ranged Warlock, not sure where I got the Melee bit from (I Must be projecting *L*).
Well, for a ranged lock what you have looks pretty good. Just ignore my suggestions that pertained mainly to melee

You're not projecting. I was planning on a Melee Warlock. I suppose the high Charisma threw you? I figured if I ran a finesse build, I'd lose a bit of damage, but be able to deal effectively with my essences and the like.(Though Vitriolic needs none.)

Also, Why Drow? I presume RP reasons?**

Yeah, I just really wanted to play a Drow for once, since I've wanted to since I started learning about Elves that aren't... Legolas. lol Not that I hate Legolas, just Drow seem more suited RPwise to an anti-hero like character.

As for invocations, there's a LOT of good ones. If you're going with the melee type I'd suggest not taking too many of the essences or shapes. A melee warlocks greatest power is the little tricks his invocations let him do.
Suggestions:
Least -
Hideous Blow - required for a melee lock
Eldritch Spear - It's nice for the greatsword fighter to have a backup bow incase he can't reah his target, but if you're grabbing Fel Flight later on you probably won't need it.
Baleful Utterance - Shatter at will is always fun, though that may be more of a personal thing.
Darkness/Devil's Sight - Makes for a good "I see you but you don't see me" combo.
Entropic Warding - Gives you a chance to get in close without being pelted to death by arrows (Especially when combined with your DR and the fact that warlocks can get a fairly respectable AC).
See the Unseen - Because everybody should have a method of seeing Invisibility, and you never know when Darkvision will come in handy.

Hideous Blow: Definitely, I mean, unless you play an Eldritch Glaive Reach build(EG isn't in CArc though. It's in either Dragon Magic of Complete Mage... I don't even know which)

Eldritch Spear: I was thinking about using it for my backup ranged too.

Baleful Utterance: Isn't this sorta like Sunder? Which is bad... since you're breaking your loot?

Darkness/Devil's Sight: I have 120' passive Darkvision and can cast Darkness once a day as a spell-like ability. Not sure whether I'd need to do that trick multiple times in a day.

Entropic Warding: You mean the meatshields won't be taking the arrows for me!? I am pushing 25 AC atm.

See the Unseen: Darkvision is handy, but I already have it all the time. Is the invocation worth it simply for the invisibility seeing?

Lesser -
Flee the Scene/Fell Flight - I highly recomend at least one of these for your enhanced movement mode. I prefer Flight, but Flee the Scene can have some good uses too.
Voidsense - Blindsense is a very useful perk
Voracious Dispelling can be OK, but I much prefer the Devour Magic Invo later on.
Walk Unseen - At first glance invisibility at will can seem awesome, but using up your standard action for it isn't so keen, especially since you don't have anything to REALLY capitalize on it with, such as Sneak Attack.
Dead Wak - Meh, I've never been to fond of neco's, but if you want it, then take it.
Eldritch Chain - A nice AoE, it'll get you 3 targets at this level if you need to hit multiple opponents.

Flee/Fell Flight: I was definitely looking at Fell Flight. Worst case scenario, if I'm injured or something, I fly above my enemies and just blast from impunity if they are melee-based. Also allows me to get to hard to reach places.

Voidsense: More I think about it, this could be good.

Voracious Dispelling: I just like it's ability to shut down a caster before I even get to them.

Walk Unseen: I came to the same conclusion too... might be good for getting into a flanking position, but alternatively, I could just fly over their heads too, in all likely hood.

Dead Walk: I loved my Necromancer in Diablo II, and haven't played once since. Thought it might be fun, though no idea how useful it'd be.

Eldritch Chain: Looked nice, but since I was primarily melee, didn't think it'd be too useful.

Grater -
Vitriolic to ignore SR and add damage/round is almost always the best first choice, unless you have a specific concept in mind that would directly benefit from another one. (Such as Chilling Tentacles/Wall of Perilous Flame for a controller type)
Devour Magic - As I said, one of my personal favourites, though its use is circumstantial at best.

Vitriolic is almost a given, really. No save, no SR? That means it works on just about everyone, unless they are immune to acid or so far out of your league it's better to just run. I was looking at Chilling Tentacles... as it's a way for me to do semi-constant damage to a group, and possible trip them up while I'm at it.

Devour Magic: It looked pretty fun, I'll admit.

If you're going with a Melee Lock, I suggest ignoring any of the invocations that allow saving throws, b/c that way you can completely ignore your Charisma. (Unlike spellcasters there's no minimum required Cha to use/know invocations, it just sets the DC)

I thought my build was pretty good, since my primary weapon relies on a fort save instead of AC(it's a touch attack), and I can use various invocation status effects to pummel their saving throws to enable my to do my work. I'm guessing my stat build is what made you think I was ranged?

Hmm.. just realized I don't have my char. posted inthe RG. better get on that instead of poking at the warlock... But damit the warlocks are fun!!!
*Kinda wishing I'd gone with Lock, but I play too many as it is.*

This will be my first lock, but I'm looking forward to him. It seems like my kind of character, lol

 

[Jemal]

OK, now I'm confused.. Are you playing a Mellee lock or not? Your post seems to indicate yes, but then i saw

I thought my build was pretty good, since my primary weapon relies on a fort save instead of AC(it's a touch attack), and I can use various invocation status effects to pummel their saving throws to enable my to do my work. I'm guessing my stat build is what made you think I was ranged?

what primary weapon are you talking about?

 

[Rhun]

Wow, Theroc! Talk about a post and a half! LOL.

 

[renau1g]

Leif Can you please look at the below template and see if it'll work:

[sblock=Leif]
*I was thinking about a creature from the plane of shadows sent here as an assassin (rogue level) to take out a priestess of the Red Knight. She had foresaw the attack and was waiting for my PC. Realizing that he was a rarity, a good-aligned creature from the Plane of Shadow, she captured him alive, but locked away where he couldn't do any harm. Over the years, she worked to teach him about the Red Knight (the cloistered cleric levels), even training him in the Red Knight's favoured weapon. Eventually, she convinced him of the benefits of serving the cause of good. His natural stealth, combined with his divine training allowed him to become a powerful force of good. He was used to take out evil that was hidden, he possessed the ability to ferret it out wherever it stood. He kept his true name secret except to the priestess, following hte Red Knight's lead (as she keeps her true name secret to all except Tempus)

CREATING A DARK CREATURE
“Dark” is an acquired or inherited template that can be added
to any creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature).
Dark creatures tend to be much duller in color, with more
gray and black skin tones and hair highlights, than their
Material Plane versions. In general, they also weigh less, as if
part of their very substance was mere shadow stuff.
A dark creature has all the base creature’s statistics and
special abilities except as noted here.
Size and Type: Type and size are unchanged. Dark creatures
encountered away from the Plane of Shadow have the
extraplanar subtype.
Speed: As base creature, +10 feet to all modes of movement.
Special Qualities: A dark creature retains all the special
qualities of the base creature and also gains the following.
— Darkvision 60 ft.
— Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): Use the Hide skill even while
being observed (except in natural daylight, the area of a
daylight spell, or a similar ettect).
— Resistance to cold 10.
— Superior low-light vision.
Skills: Same as the base creature, plus Hide +8 and
Move Silently +6.
Environment: Changes to Plane of Shadow.
Level Adjustment: +1.
[/sblock]

 

[Jemal]

OK, my monster's up. I know that this character is a bit tweaked at level 20, but i've never tried it at 12, so if anybody thinks it's OP, please tell me.

OR, if you think I'm being full of myself in worrying that my character is OP, then tell me that as well *L*

 

[Theroc]

OK, now I'm confused.. Are you playing a Mellee lock or not? Your post seems to indicate yes, but then i saw


what primary weapon are you talking about?

I am playing a Melee Warlock. My primary weapon(aside from Eldritch Blast, of course) is Rods :: d20srd.org my Rod of Withering. It's basically a touch attack that deals 1d4 strength damage and 1d4 constitution damage as a +1 Light Mace instead of normal damage. Save is Fort DC 17. So I intended to use various invocations to sabotage saving throws to get more uses out of the rod. It's also why the rapier is wounding, to sabotage their constitution even if I can't hit well with my Rod.