Off to War (always recruiting) OCC Year 2:

[HolyMan]

LOL you have to tell me how you wish for it to work. And I wil try and keep it as balanced for this game as possible.

You would need to be a Monk5/Duskblade1 or you could be a Monk 4/Duskblade2 but regaredless is the plan (your plan) to take Dragon Disciple1 at character lvl 6 and then go all ten lvls straight from there?

That would be the transformation stages you were talking about a long time ago and give for some great RP I believe. But back to spells either way you go DB1 or DB2 you will only be casting up to first lvl spells and have only about 3 to choose from. And those three (maybe only two) - are you really wanting spells that you cast at someone else and not boosters?

Again what is it you want to do for advancement. If you are going to take ten lvls of Dragon Disicple straight I think by the time you get back to taking lvls in a spell casting class Aidan might be a little smarter than he is now.

HM

 

[Theroc]

Well, I'm not entirely certain at the moment. I'm not sure if what I'd like is realistic, or if I ended up gimping myself with the Monk class(I've been hearing they are pretty low on the scale.), but I'd like to have a relatively useful spellset, without becoming useless in melee. I'm not sure 5 level 1 spells will be useful by level 20 or not. I haven't played that high to know.

If we're still going with the Dragon Disciple variant you gave me, Aidan would gain 1 bonus intelligence at the eighth DD level. (I believe you halved the ability bonuses in exchange for the bonus spells increasing spellcasting progression as a full caster class). That wouldn't really add too much to my ability to cast the spells, which is why I said having it keyed on intelligence would effectively make Aidan a non-caster.

(As a note, these issues were one reason I had mentioned seeing about just slowly paying the LA for Half-Dragon over time, before I realized that would take away the ability to fly[As Aidan would need to be large to gain usable wings by RAW])

Basically, I want to make sure Aidan becomes MORE useful, not less over the growth of the game. >.> So far I don't think Aidan really did anything useful besides see the hydra before anyone else. A Gish would be nice, but it isn't strictly a necessity.

 

[Myth and Legend]

Monk is bad, out of the Core classes he is right at the bottom with Fighter. Losing caster levels for Monk levels is quite bad, especially since every feature you can point out for Monk i can show you a spell that does better (except Wis to AC but i can get higher AC as Wizard 20 for example)

Some of the good Arcane spellcasting classes:

Incantatrix - broken good
Dweomerkeeper - broken good
Initiative of Sevenfold Veil - borderline broken good
Hathran (Witch of Rashemen) - good (but female only)
Abjurant Champion - no drawbacks, good if you want BAB. Make sure you take Greater Luminous Armour as the Mage Armor line is not Abjuration.
There are others. Read up here.

And that, of course, is strictly power-wise. But with so many melee characters, and HM keeping it very low on character wealth, even with 8th level spells you will still outshine everyone. Naturally though, getting to CLVL20 will take around 10 years real world time for PbP...

 

[Theroc]

Monk is bad, out of the Core classes he is right at the bottom with Fighter. Losing caster levels for Monk levels is quite bad, especially since every feature you can point out for Monk i can show you a spell that does better (except Wis to AC but i can get higher AC as Wizard 20 for example)

Some of the good Arcane spellcasting classes:

Incantatrix - broken good
Dweomerkeeper - broken good
Initiative of Sevenfold Veil - borderline broken good
Hathran (Witch of Rashemen) - good (but female only)
Abjurant Champion - no drawbacks, good if you want BAB. Make sure you take Greater Luminous Armour as the Mage Armor line is not Abjuration.
There are others. Read up here.

And that, of course, is strictly power-wise. But with so many melee characters, and HM keeping it very low on character wealth, even with 8th level spells you will still outshine everyone. Naturally though, getting to CLVL20 will take around 10 years real world time for PbP...

Would a Duskblade even be able to qualify/do well as an Abjurant champion? Also: I suppose my Spell stat won't matter as much if I don't use spells that allow saves, right?

I don't necessarily need to be able to blow up the battlefield, but I have been feeling somewhat discouraged by my poor performance. I can't tell if it's something I'm doing wrong tactically, just bad luck, or that Aidan's already suffering for being a 'monk'.

That's why I was somewhat confused by opting for a casting class that uses Aidan's middle stat... 13 int would generally be considered abominable for an intelligence based caster...

Haha, oh the issues of trying to build a (somewhat)unconventional gish!

 

[HolyMan]

As I look over the current party and think on what's missing I think a tank type would help. With everyone playing a caster of some sort and thiose that can have armor swapping it out. The need for a high AC/HP character will be needed around lvls 8-10.

Aidan with his adding widom and dex to AC along with the DB houserule on top of the DD's natural armor bonus puts him in the running to be that type of character. And his STR will raise pretty high so Aidan might be the canidate for that postion.

I had forgot about you wanting to be a caster and opting for lower stats for more spells but maybe you should skip that and take the normal pluses to abilities and the natural armor along with the low spells. Character wise you maybe the only front line guy in the group.

And again a mention of low wealth, LOL I didn't see a complaint when Adian and Lora faced a 5th LVL fighter (Lora's suitor) and he didn't have the "normal" gear for a charater of his lvl. LOL

I do have a plan do you wish me to tell you now or save the surprise?

HM

 

[Theroc]

Haha, I'm still torn. I am not sure Aidan would make a good tank, really. His HP isn't very high at the moment, and even if I skyrocketed his AC, he wouldn't provide much of a threat.

I also don't know if I want to ruin the surprise. I'm just kinda stuck with how I want to proceed with him. Aidan's cha and dex to AC is nice, the problem of course is the fact that he won't be able to be sticky, and if he DOES get hit, he WON'T have big HP. (I don't roll high HP[often], so a D12 from DD won't guarantee high HP)

I'm not sure if Aidan is the tank you're looking for. I have a couple ideas of 'rebuilding' Aidan with a similar flavor but changing out of Monk for a similar class of flavor which is a bit stronger... but it's not core. It's the 'Swordsage' from the Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords. I normally wouldn't mention it, but it can be flavored very much like a monk(complete with 'Kung Fu' style stuff and outright 'magical' type things later on), and I could even adapt the DD to still fit with it if you'd allow it.

Um... I can try to explain some of the stuff if you want, though DW or M&L might be better at explaining it.

 

[Dragonwriter]

Haha, I'm still torn. I am not sure Aidan would make a good tank, really. His HP isn't very high at the moment, and even if I skyrocketed his AC, he wouldn't provide much of a threat.

Yeah, and Duskblade won't add much to that. And honestly, I don't think we particularly need a tank. It tends to be a somewhat disposable role. And if Mal gets some good armor, he can easily tank (I know because I've got a DS in another game).

I'm not sure if Aidan is the tank you're looking for. I have a couple ideas of 'rebuilding' Aidan with a similar flavor but changing out of Monk for a similar class of flavor which is a bit stronger... but it's not core. It's the 'Swordsage' from the Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords. I normally wouldn't mention it, but it can be flavored very much like a monk(complete with 'Kung Fu' style stuff and outright 'magical' type things later on), and I could even adapt the DD to still fit with it if you'd allow it.

Um... I can try to explain some of the stuff if you want, though DW or M&L might be better at explaining it.

In all honesty, I'd have to recommend against bringing in Tome of Battle. This game is (attempting to be) low power level and ToB is high-power, somewhat over-the-top. And without the book itself to reference what is being used and how, it can/will be a pain for the DM, even with assistance from those who have the book.

 

[Theroc]

Yeah, and Duskblade won't add much to that. And honestly, I don't think we particularly need a tank. It tends to be a somewhat disposable role. And if Mal gets some good armor, he can easily tank (I know because I've got a DS in another game).

Haha, I wouldn't mind doing it, if I could find a way to be competent at it... but since that wasn't how I was originally building Aidan from the beginning, it sortof won't work well.

In all honesty, I'd have to recommend against bringing in Tome of Battle. This game is (attempting to be) low power level and ToB is high-power, somewhat over-the-top. And without the book itself to reference what is being used and how, it can/will be a pain for the DM, even with assistance from those who have the book.

~shrug~ Was an idea, since I can't think of another way to keep Aidan's flavor and become more 'tankworthy'. Though, I don't think the Swordsage would do it much either. I was hesitant to even mention it, but as I mentioned, I'm feeling kindof stuck atm and I'm frustrated, lol.

 

[HolyMan]

It's truly ok no need to have it thought out yet. I was going to have your tutor be inside the tavern Aidan is about to enter but I can put him somewhere else if you chose Duskblade.

Hold on... checking a few things.

I would allow you to swap out Ki strike for a limited spell progression say like that of a bards and also limited known spells. Which would simulate a dragon's inborn ability to cast spells but it being thinned by your human blood.

Or you could take a "feat" at 6th lvl to cast a couple spells like a gnome does. We'll just make a HB feat, I am the DM

All you really need is to cast one spell even a cantrip spontaneously to be able to go DD and once you start l think the ability boosts and such will make Aidan a good crunch warrior. But remember I prefer Role-play over Roll-play and Aidan sure has supplied me with plenty of great reads.

HM

 

[Theroc]

It's truly ok no need to have it thought out yet. I was going to have your tutor be inside the tavern Aidan is about to enter but I can put him somewhere else if you chose Duskblade.

Hold on... checking a few things.

I would allow you to swap out Ki strike for a limited spell progression say like that of a bards and also limited known spells. Which would simulate a dragon's inborn ability to cast spells but it being thinned by your human blood.

Or you could take a "feat" at 6th lvl to cast a couple spells like a gnome does. We'll just make a HB feat, I am the DM

All you really need is to cast one spell even a cantrip spontaneously to be able to go DD and once you start l think the ability boosts and such will make Aidan a good crunch warrior. But remember I prefer Role-play over Roll-play and Aidan sure has supplied me with plenty of great reads.

HM

Haha, I've already implied that Aidan's "Stunning Fist" is magic. I don't know if I wanna go swapping it. Hmm... So far it looks like, if Aidan's going to become more tank-like for the most part (Even though that'll be counter to my "Flying Dragon-breath" tactic eventually), he'll need: Armor(I can use that feat you mentioned to increase Aidan's AC a few points, plus his Natural AC increasing would be good; Better chance to hit: MCing into DD will hurt his BAB progression, but the strength will make up that single point lost; More HP: This will likely be accomplished between the increased con and the shiny D12 HD unless I roll low.

I'm thinking those are the main things, as if he's moving around with a spiked chain and such, chances are he'll hold some people's attention.

HM; Could I perchance simply take a feat that increases the save DC of my Stunning Fist by 1 or so and have it count as a 'spell' for the purposes of DD? Not sure what we'd do about the bonus spells in that case, maybe extra stunning fist uses?

As a note: I realize it's still RP over numbers, but being a waste of space in combat isn't very fun, and whenever I look back thus far, that's about all Aidan's been...

Edit: Doh! You said Ki-strike, not Stunning fist. Um... Hm... What sorts of spells would we be talking about?