Werebat
Explorer
I like the Society of Brilliance in OotA, and have used its members to good effect in my game. Blurg even travelled with the party for a time, agreeing to lead them to Gravenhollow if they would show him the way to Mantol-Derith so he could add it to his maps.
I did not like how some of the members were so weak, when they were apparently supposed to be able to hold their own alone in the Underdark. Even with the ability to teleport away to an ally once per day, members like Skriss ran the constant risk of being ganked by one failed Perception check against a chuul or giant rocktopus. In addition, I felt that the individual society members could be fleshed out a bit more, fluff-wise.
We know that the entire SoB journeyed together to Gravenhollow at one point, and presumably they have engaged in similar quests together as well. I tried to envision them as a party of adventurers, who were all roughly the same CR (in this case, CR 8 -- although I could not think of anything suitable to raise Sloopidoop's CR, so I gave him some potions). This is what I came up with:
(Note that all members of the SoB have Neutral alignment and an Intelligence score of 18)
Y: Derro Diviner, CR 8 (Volo's)
Because of his superior intellect, Y studied magic as a wizard does rather than gaining power through sheer sorcerous force like most derro savants. He is quirky, clever, and somewhat irritating, as he seems to enjoy pointing out (or gloating about) his intellectual superiority over others. Being a derro, he is insane, but his madness manifests in a relatively benign obsession with secrets. If he suspects someone knows something that he does not, he will stop at almost nothing to learn what it is, from cajoling, to pestering, to bargaining. He may suggest a contest of riddles where he reveals a secret if he loses, and his opponent tells him what they are hiding if he wins. If all else fails, he will go so far as to use his magic to learn the secret directly, or in some other manner without regard for social graces -- for example, through the use of blackmail. Y serves as the SoB's primary arcane caster, often using his magic for the purposes of gathering information.
Blurg: Orog Berserker Champion, CR 8 (As Volo's CR 9 "Champion", but replace Indomitable and Second Wind abilities with the MM Berserker's Reckless ability)
Blurg used his strength and intellect to rise through the ranks of his clan and tribe, eventually becoming a great tactician with a knack for using terrain to his advantage. To this end, he became an expert cartographer, and he possesses an extensive collection of very detailed maps of his own making that depict many Underdark locations both narrow and broad in scope, as well as an impeccable sense of direction. Although frighteningly effective at leading orogs into battle, Blurg's heart grew weary of war, and when he met Grazilaxx while on a scouting and mapmaking mission and impressed the mind flayer enough to be invited to join the SoB, he walked away from his high ranking station among his people and never looked back. Having seen enough of violence, Blurg is a pacifist who will always try to parley first, and patiently warn those who seem eager to draw blades -- but once combat is engaged, he will often surprise those who would cross him with a sudden shift in temperament from calm, eloquently verbose scholar to enraged berserker! Blurg functions as the SoB's party "tank", and his greath strength and mapmaking skill are also often of use in explorations throughout the Underdark.
Grazilaxx: Mind Flayer Arcanist, CR 8 (Mind Flayer variant)
Grazilaxx is the founder of the Society of Brilliance, and it has a terrible secret -- it is actually slightly less intelligent than an ordinary illithid (who generally possess an Intelligence score of 19)! Perhaps as a way to compensate for this, it spent a great deal of time studying arcane lore and learning to cast spells as a wizard; but in the end this "eccentricity" only made it shunned even more by its own kind. Eventually, it lost standing completely when it began to openly question the practice of enslaving the lesser races, proposing instead various methods of working with them in order to allow them to maintain autonomy while forming a more effective conglomerate society. In the end, Grazilaxx went so far as to defy an order to participate in a thrall-gathering raid against a community of orogs. Its missing tentacle was not lost in combat, but rather was removed as a mark of punishment by edict of its community's elder brain, and it was exiled. Completely alone, Grazilaxx sought out others of similar mindset and intellect, still hoping to bring its vision of a united Underdark to fruition. While it prefers the company of the brilliant, it still suffers from something of an inferiority complex, and can be quite defensive about its intellectual capabilities, especially when confronted with individuals who are clearly more intelligent than itself. As founder of the SoB, and because of its superior Charisma, Grazilaxx serves as the leader of the group in addition to being a backup caster. Its ability to cast Sending is essential to the society's communication and organization of meetings when its members are scattered throughout the Underdark. While the group is together, it does most of the negotiation in encounters with outsiders, while group decisions such as admission of new members to the SoB require a majority vote by all members, Grazilaxx is highly influential with the others and can generally persuade them to see things its way.
Skriss: Troglodyte Assassin, CR 8
Most troglodytes are almost as dumb as ogres, so it is Skriss, not Blurg, who is the most improbable of the SoB's members. Skriss is not an assassin in the sense of being a killer for hire, but rather a fast striking skirmisher with a penchant for stealth, precision, and poison use. An extremely unusual prodigy, she found her clan and its leadership to be insufferably stupid, and struck out on her own at an early age, living by luck and her wits in the tunnels of the Underdark while teaching herself the arts of trap making and poisoncraft. She almost killed Sloopidoop when she got the drop on him in a damp cavern, but the philosopher-priest managed to persuade her to cease attacking him by promising to teach her how to brew potions. She proved an exceptional student, and he introduced her to Grazilaxx, who advocated for her admission into the SoB. Skriss serves as the group's scout and spy, assisted by a magical ring Y crafted for her that enables her to suppress her inherent stench so she can make herself more difficult to detect. Well, that's why Y told her he made it for her, anyway. The newest member of the Society, Skriss is sly, devious, and slow to trust. She enjoys baiting Y by making him think she has secrets that she is withholding from him.
Sloopidoop: Kuo-Toa Archpriest, CR 6
Most Kuo-Toa are mad, and worship gods of their own fabrication. Sloopidoop is something of an exception, as he does not worship a god, but rather adheres to a philosophy -- a philosophy of peace that grants him the same spellcasting abilities of a more conventional archpriest of his kind. He attained his state of enlightenment through long periods of isolated meditation and contemplation. Sloopidoop knows Shuushar, who views him as an influential mentor (Shuushar may speak of him before they meet him). He also knows how to brew a great number of potions, and generally has 1d4 random potions on his person as well as a potion of greater healing. He is able to raise the dead, and has used this ability in order to revive fallen members of the SoB more than once. While he holds peace as an ideal, he is not quite as extreme in his philosophy as Shuushar is, and will engage in combat as a last resort if no other options are available. Sloopidoop serves as the SoB's healer and divine caster, often scrying on other society members to keep an eye on their safety and progress while on their various missions throughout the Underdark.
I did not like how some of the members were so weak, when they were apparently supposed to be able to hold their own alone in the Underdark. Even with the ability to teleport away to an ally once per day, members like Skriss ran the constant risk of being ganked by one failed Perception check against a chuul or giant rocktopus. In addition, I felt that the individual society members could be fleshed out a bit more, fluff-wise.
We know that the entire SoB journeyed together to Gravenhollow at one point, and presumably they have engaged in similar quests together as well. I tried to envision them as a party of adventurers, who were all roughly the same CR (in this case, CR 8 -- although I could not think of anything suitable to raise Sloopidoop's CR, so I gave him some potions). This is what I came up with:
(Note that all members of the SoB have Neutral alignment and an Intelligence score of 18)
Y: Derro Diviner, CR 8 (Volo's)
Because of his superior intellect, Y studied magic as a wizard does rather than gaining power through sheer sorcerous force like most derro savants. He is quirky, clever, and somewhat irritating, as he seems to enjoy pointing out (or gloating about) his intellectual superiority over others. Being a derro, he is insane, but his madness manifests in a relatively benign obsession with secrets. If he suspects someone knows something that he does not, he will stop at almost nothing to learn what it is, from cajoling, to pestering, to bargaining. He may suggest a contest of riddles where he reveals a secret if he loses, and his opponent tells him what they are hiding if he wins. If all else fails, he will go so far as to use his magic to learn the secret directly, or in some other manner without regard for social graces -- for example, through the use of blackmail. Y serves as the SoB's primary arcane caster, often using his magic for the purposes of gathering information.
Blurg: Orog Berserker Champion, CR 8 (As Volo's CR 9 "Champion", but replace Indomitable and Second Wind abilities with the MM Berserker's Reckless ability)
Blurg used his strength and intellect to rise through the ranks of his clan and tribe, eventually becoming a great tactician with a knack for using terrain to his advantage. To this end, he became an expert cartographer, and he possesses an extensive collection of very detailed maps of his own making that depict many Underdark locations both narrow and broad in scope, as well as an impeccable sense of direction. Although frighteningly effective at leading orogs into battle, Blurg's heart grew weary of war, and when he met Grazilaxx while on a scouting and mapmaking mission and impressed the mind flayer enough to be invited to join the SoB, he walked away from his high ranking station among his people and never looked back. Having seen enough of violence, Blurg is a pacifist who will always try to parley first, and patiently warn those who seem eager to draw blades -- but once combat is engaged, he will often surprise those who would cross him with a sudden shift in temperament from calm, eloquently verbose scholar to enraged berserker! Blurg functions as the SoB's party "tank", and his greath strength and mapmaking skill are also often of use in explorations throughout the Underdark.
Grazilaxx: Mind Flayer Arcanist, CR 8 (Mind Flayer variant)
Grazilaxx is the founder of the Society of Brilliance, and it has a terrible secret -- it is actually slightly less intelligent than an ordinary illithid (who generally possess an Intelligence score of 19)! Perhaps as a way to compensate for this, it spent a great deal of time studying arcane lore and learning to cast spells as a wizard; but in the end this "eccentricity" only made it shunned even more by its own kind. Eventually, it lost standing completely when it began to openly question the practice of enslaving the lesser races, proposing instead various methods of working with them in order to allow them to maintain autonomy while forming a more effective conglomerate society. In the end, Grazilaxx went so far as to defy an order to participate in a thrall-gathering raid against a community of orogs. Its missing tentacle was not lost in combat, but rather was removed as a mark of punishment by edict of its community's elder brain, and it was exiled. Completely alone, Grazilaxx sought out others of similar mindset and intellect, still hoping to bring its vision of a united Underdark to fruition. While it prefers the company of the brilliant, it still suffers from something of an inferiority complex, and can be quite defensive about its intellectual capabilities, especially when confronted with individuals who are clearly more intelligent than itself. As founder of the SoB, and because of its superior Charisma, Grazilaxx serves as the leader of the group in addition to being a backup caster. Its ability to cast Sending is essential to the society's communication and organization of meetings when its members are scattered throughout the Underdark. While the group is together, it does most of the negotiation in encounters with outsiders, while group decisions such as admission of new members to the SoB require a majority vote by all members, Grazilaxx is highly influential with the others and can generally persuade them to see things its way.
Skriss: Troglodyte Assassin, CR 8
Most troglodytes are almost as dumb as ogres, so it is Skriss, not Blurg, who is the most improbable of the SoB's members. Skriss is not an assassin in the sense of being a killer for hire, but rather a fast striking skirmisher with a penchant for stealth, precision, and poison use. An extremely unusual prodigy, she found her clan and its leadership to be insufferably stupid, and struck out on her own at an early age, living by luck and her wits in the tunnels of the Underdark while teaching herself the arts of trap making and poisoncraft. She almost killed Sloopidoop when she got the drop on him in a damp cavern, but the philosopher-priest managed to persuade her to cease attacking him by promising to teach her how to brew potions. She proved an exceptional student, and he introduced her to Grazilaxx, who advocated for her admission into the SoB. Skriss serves as the group's scout and spy, assisted by a magical ring Y crafted for her that enables her to suppress her inherent stench so she can make herself more difficult to detect. Well, that's why Y told her he made it for her, anyway. The newest member of the Society, Skriss is sly, devious, and slow to trust. She enjoys baiting Y by making him think she has secrets that she is withholding from him.
Sloopidoop: Kuo-Toa Archpriest, CR 6
Most Kuo-Toa are mad, and worship gods of their own fabrication. Sloopidoop is something of an exception, as he does not worship a god, but rather adheres to a philosophy -- a philosophy of peace that grants him the same spellcasting abilities of a more conventional archpriest of his kind. He attained his state of enlightenment through long periods of isolated meditation and contemplation. Sloopidoop knows Shuushar, who views him as an influential mentor (Shuushar may speak of him before they meet him). He also knows how to brew a great number of potions, and generally has 1d4 random potions on his person as well as a potion of greater healing. He is able to raise the dead, and has used this ability in order to revive fallen members of the SoB more than once. While he holds peace as an ideal, he is not quite as extreme in his philosophy as Shuushar is, and will engage in combat as a last resort if no other options are available. Sloopidoop serves as the SoB's healer and divine caster, often scrying on other society members to keep an eye on their safety and progress while on their various missions throughout the Underdark.
