Need a crash course in Ravenloft (S&S 3.5 version)

[RigaMortus2]

So far we have a Swordsage (me), a Crusader, a Cleric, and we are waiting on the other player to pick what he wants to play (the guy I originally recommended DN/Warlock to). My latest suggestion was Crusader, because it would be cool to have 2 Crusaders in the party, nice healing going on.

Oh yeah, we wanted to start with a connection to each other. Probably a church-affiliated connection (like we all work for the same church). This works well for the Crusader and Cleric, not sure how a Swordsage will fit in.

BTW... My Swordsage I am basing him off of being a ninja (but I don't like the base class ninja, so going SS w/ similiar "ninja-like" maneuvers). My progression will be Swordsage, Warrior (generic class, to pick up sneak attack), Warlock (for the invocations, plus a ranged attack is nice) and then some levels in bloodclaw masters.

 

[InVinoVeritas]

So far we have a Swordsage (me), a Crusader, a Cleric, and we are waiting on the other player to pick what he wants to play (the guy I originally recommended DN/Warlock to). My latest suggestion was Crusader, because it would be cool to have 2 Crusaders in the party, nice healing going on.

Oh yeah, we wanted to start with a connection to each other. Probably a church-affiliated connection (like we all work for the same church). This works well for the Crusader and Cleric, not sure how a Swordsage will fit in.

BTW... My Swordsage I am basing him off of being a ninja (but I don't like the base class ninja, so going SS w/ similiar "ninja-like" maneuvers). My progression will be Swordsage, Warrior (generic class, to pick up sneak attack), Warlock (for the invocations, plus a ranged attack is nice) and then some levels in bloodclaw masters.

Churches have always been heavily staffed with faithful people who haven't taken binding oaths to their gods; they are known as lay people or the laity. It's like how today's churches will have groundskeepers, Sunday school teachers, acolytes, someone who brings in lunch, etc. even though they aren't all priests themselves. Then again, perhaps the Swordsage is a monk of the faith (just not a Monk-class person). The Catholic Church, for example, has many orders (and had many more in earlier times) and quite a number of them lead lives very different from the most famous Franciscans. There are plenty of ways to be a devout member of a church without being required to have a divine power source.

Has your DM talked to you about the church of Ezra? It's the most Catholic-inspired church in Ravenloft.

If I may make a suggestion about the design and progression of your characters, Ravenloft is a place where a person's personality matters greatly. In many cases, one's moral compass is even more valuable than one's capabilities. I can't speak to the tone of your campaign, so I may be completely off base, but development decisions based on how the PC interacts with the world around him/her usually net better rewards than development decisions based on combat mechanics. So the particular class combo for your friend who's trying to come up with an idea could be based more on what kind of role the player wants the PC to fill. A PC based on this kind of intuition might net greater rewards from play than one designed by mechanics. He might find, for example, that he wants to smite a blow against evil. Start with that kernel, and grow the character from there, no matter where it takes the character class-wise. Be true to the personality, and the character that results will be very enjoyable.

 

[Klaus]

Churches have always been heavily staffed with faithful people who haven't taken binding oaths to their gods; they are known as lay people or the laity. It's like how today's churches will have groundskeepers, Sunday school teachers, acolytes, someone who brings in lunch, etc. even though they aren't all priests themselves. Then again, perhaps the Swordsage is a monk of the faith (just not a Monk-class person). The Catholic Church, for example, has many orders (and had many more in earlier times) and quite a number of them lead lives very different from the most famous Franciscans. There are plenty of ways to be a devout member of a church without being required to have a divine power source.

Has your DM talked to you about the church of Ezra? It's the most Catholic-inspired church in Ravenloft.

If I may make a suggestion about the design and progression of your characters, Ravenloft is a place where a person's personality matters greatly. In many cases, one's moral compass is even more valuable than one's capabilities. I can't speak to the tone of your campaign, so I may be completely off base, but development decisions based on how the PC interacts with the world around him/her usually net better rewards than development decisions based on combat mechanics. So the particular class combo for your friend who's trying to come up with an idea could be based more on what kind of role the player wants the PC to fill. A PC based on this kind of intuition might net greater rewards from play than one designed by mechanics. He might find, for example, that he wants to smite a blow against evil. Start with that kernel, and grow the character from there, no matter where it takes the character class-wise. Be true to the personality, and the character that results will be very enjoyable.

InVinoVeritas speaks true.

The greatest hero in the history of Ravenloft was a middle-aged human Expert (yes, the NPC class), Dr. Rudolph Van Richten.