Roleplaying Incarnum?

[RUMBLETiGER]

So I'm hoping to try out a Totemist in my next campaign. Looking forward to smashing things, good times.

I'm curious and would love input on how one roleplays the fact that your Soulmelds are 24 hour persistent objects that are obviously unnatural. Since you shape your soulmelds at the start of the day and to not have the option to reshape them whenever you want, how does one wear soulmelds outside the wilderness or dungeon?

Walking into a village trying to to scare commoners. Any time you try to disguise yourself to not appear like an adventurer. Amongst sophisticated company where you want to seem distinguished, or being asked to leave your weapons outside a militant city state before your allowed in.

A Fighter can take his armor off and leave his sword aside. I caster can dismiss a spell effect and just cast another when needed. Warlocks can re-establish their 24 hour effects. Even a Barbarian can put on a suit and comb his hair and leave his axe behind if he reeeeally needed to.

But the Totemist I intend to play will have a Spider face (Phase cloak), a Terrasque-styled back/shoulder shell (Dread Carapace), and the scales of a Purple Worm around his hips (Wormtail belt)... all at level 2. And he's only going to look weirder from there. There is the option to unshape a soulmeld at any time, but he'd still need to wait until the next day to reshape, and that's simply not practical.

Even if you are completely ignorant of the material from Magic of Incarnum, the question is this: How does a PC who's dressed up to look like a monster, who can't take off that appearance without having to wait until the next day to put it on, function in a world with people who are weary of monsters?

How does one deal with this obviously drastic physical appearance in a variety of roleplaying applications and non-combat circumstances where tact may be important? Is a Hat of Disguise really my only fallback option, and would that even cover up the ethereal, soul-substance stuff that's wrapped around one's body? What are my options for playing this character, which is designed to rip monster's faces open, in all the situations when he's not ripping faces open?

 

[Empath Negative]

So I'm hoping to try out a Totemist in my next campaign. Looking forward to smashing things, good times.

I'm curious and would love input on how one roleplays the fact that your Soulmelds are 24 hour persistent objects that are obviously unnatural. Since you shape your soulmelds at the start of the day and to not have the option to reshape them whenever you want, how does one wear soulmelds outside the wilderness or dungeon?

Walking into a village trying to to scare commoners. Any time you try to disguise yourself to not appear like an adventurer. Amongst sophisticated company where you want to seem distinguished, or being asked to leave your weapons outside a militant city state before your allowed in.

A Fighter can take his armor off and leave his sword aside. I caster can dismiss a spell effect and just cast another when needed. Warlocks can re-establish their 24 hour effects. Even a Barbarian can put on a suit and comb his hair and leave his axe behind if he reeeeally needed to.

But the Totemist I intend to play will have a Spider face (Phase cloak), a Terrasque-styled back/shoulder shell (Dread Carapace), and the scales of a Purple Worm around his hips (Wormtail belt)... all at level 2. And he's only going to look weirder from there. There is the option to unshape a soulmeld at any time, but he'd still need to wait until the next day to reshape, and that's simply not practical.

Even if you are completely ignorant of the material from Magic of Incarnum, the question is this: How does a PC who's dressed up to look like a monster, who can't take off that appearance without having to wait until the next day to put it on, function in a world with people who are weary of monsters?

How does one deal with this obviously drastic physical appearance in a variety of roleplaying applications and non-combat circumstances where tact may be important? Is a Hat of Disguise really my only fallback option, and would that even cover up the ethereal, soul-substance stuff that's wrapped around one's body? What are my options for playing this character, which is designed to rip monster's faces open, in all the situations when he's not ripping faces open?

Easy... Lie. What rule says they have to be "visible" all the time? And even if they are visible what rule says they have to look like they do? You're the one shaping them right? Shape them how you want to look. Why not have them look like gray wisps of their shape until you're shocked into combat at which point they become 'realer'?

Or just keep them as wisps?

Why can't they be intangible wisps when you're not in combat? People can still see *something* is there... but does it have to be a mask of horror? Not really.

 

[Drowbane]

I have only used Incarnum a handful of times since that book came out, but each time I've managed to convince the DM to allow me to turn off my soulmelds by investing a single point of essentia in them. They all reshape once I reallocate essentia. This made it a little more playable than the "I shape my fiery cloak, but its not a threat to my surroundings... honest".

 

[kingius]

Have you considered wearing heavy bandages and/or a mask and/or a helmet and cloak to help disguise your deformities? Many iconic heroes and villains keep their mysteries by not revealing their true selves in company (Zorro wears a mask, Spiderman wears a suit, Batman likewise and Judge Dredd never removes his helmet - take note Stallone!). Perhaps that is all you need to round out your character concept and make him the coolest build on the block.

 

[James the Newbie]

A hat of disguise should do it. Althought if you cop out for this admittedly cool item, you may struggle to keep up gear wise for a while.

If your group wizard is willing to craft it for less in exchange for GP then you are in a lot of luck.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Easy... Lie. What rule says they have to be "visible" all the time? And even if they are visible what rule says they have to look like they do? You're the one shaping them right? Shape them how you want to look. Why not have them look like gray wisps of their shape until you're shocked into combat at which point they become 'realer'?

Or just keep them as wisps?

Why can't they be intangible wisps when you're not in combat? People can still see *something* is there... but does it have to be a mask of horror? Not really.

Honestly, the book is pretty detailed in describing exactly what they look like. The illustrations vary between a glowing blue semi-substance and looking solid and monster-like. I could talk with the DM about if I have options in how to shape the appearance but, taking the Phase Cloak spider face as an example, it grants a 1d4 bite attack with a 1d3 poison, I'm not sure how to shape a venomous bite in any way that doesn't look somewhat menacing, even if I controlled the details.

The idea of keeping it wispy and then calling it into substance is a cool idea, and I can talk to the DM about it, but it doesn't really seem to be supported by the RAW.

I have only used Incarnum a handful of times since that book came out, but each time I've managed to convince the DM to allow me to turn off my soulmelds by investing a single point of essentia in them. They all reshape once I reallocate essentia. This made it a little more playable than the "I shape my fiery cloak, but its not a threat to my surroundings... honest".

That's a simple homebrew mechanic that could work. Also not supported by RAW and would need to be a DM discussion, but an option.

Have you considered wearing heavy bandages and/or a mask and/or a helmet and cloak to help disguise your deformities? Many iconic heroes and villains keep their mysteries by not revealing their true selves in company (Zorro wears a mask, Spiderman wears a suit, Batman likewise and Judge Dredd never removes his helmet - take note Stallone!). Perhaps that is all you need to round out your character concept and make him the coolest build on the block.

Now this is a useful idea. A bandana over one's mouth would mask the fact that the lower face is a spider's mandibles. I think of Naruto's Danzo:

or Dosu:

as examples of how one can be creative with clothing and bandages to cover something. It still might not help in every social situation, but it would get my character into town, buy something in the shop and make his way to his room at the inn without causing a panic in the streets.

A hat of disguise should do it. Althought if you cop out for this admittedly cool item, you may struggle to keep up gear wise for a while.

If your group wizard is willing to craft it for less in exchange for GP then you are in a lot of luck.

Yeah, this has been my default solution. I'm not sure it will work as well in later levels when I grow a second pair of arms (Girallon Arms) and a 4 legged lion body (Lamia Belt), but it would help early on.

I guess part of what I'm wondering is how does one look like a unique monster and still roleplay it off? Has anyone played something like a Three-keen or other drastically different looking creature and had to wander among the average populace? How'd you play it off?

 

[James the Newbie]

Four legs and a pair of arms, centaur? while odd, not terrifying?

Four arms, I am certain there is going to be a race with four arms out there. Cant think of one off the top of my head

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Four legs and a pair of arms, centaur? while odd, not terrifying?

Four arms, I am certain there is going to be a race with four arms out there. Cant think of one off the top of my head

A Three-keen Centaur?

As I've conceptualized this character, at level 20 he's possessing the bottom body of a lion, scales of a Purple Worm, a cloak of Lammasu feathers, the face of a spider, four clawed arms, two as a gorilla, the shoulder carapace of a Tarrasque, and the overall torso and skin of a Grey Render.

I'm not sure if a Hat of Disguise was designed to mask all that into the appearance of a commoner.

 

[James the Newbie]

Argue that your a large Aberration, that the hat of disguise can make you thin, and make yourself a cloaker with a hood? Have someone strong wear you.

If you have the torso of a magical beast
the legs of an animal
The face of an insect
Four arms, two of which are gorilla's

The only category left is aberration, and if your DM rejects cloaker, see if there is one you like that's big enough for you.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Argue that your a large Aberration, that the hat of disguise can make you thin, and make yourself a cloaker with a hood? Have someone strong wear you.

If you have the torso of a magical beast
the legs of an animal
The face of an insect
Four arms, two of which are gorilla's

The only category left is aberration, and if your DM rejects cloaker, see if there is one you like that's big enough for you.

lol, nice.

Thing is, this PC isn't actually of the Aberration type (base race for my PC will be a Shifter, but Incarnum users can be of any race, feel free for the purpose of this thread assume human), he just plays one on TV. The Soulmelds create a type of armor and magical items that take the place of equipment slots, provide magical-like bonuses, but in essence are really just class-built-in gear.

If you're not familiar with Incarnum, imagine summoning your own magical items onto you, that look awesome, and, hence the purpose of this thread, pretty intimidating/unusual. He can in fact take all that gear off and look normal, but then he has to wait until the next day to summon the gear again.