Should Skum have class levels?

[clockworkjoe]

I'm running a high level campaign and I'm planning a stygian aboleth dungeon. Obviously, the aboleth with wizard levels and fiendish templates make for decent foes at high levels but their skum servants are pretty weak. However, I'm not sure if skum with class levels would actually be something the aboleth would allow. After all, if they become powerful they might rebel. So, what do you think? Should skum be given class levels?

 

[Piratecat]

Does it make your game more fun? Then yes, I'd say so. If you want, give them a penalty to their will saves equal to their class level, as a result of aboleth manipulation. That gives them an achilles heel while still making them tough.

 

[Nyaricus]

Well, aboleths would dominate them like crazy, so I see no problem having some being a vanguard for the aboleth - "prized fighters", if you will - with quite a few levels in fighter or barbarian. You don't just want a bunch of asy kills for you players, so give 'em a challenge

 

[Nyaricus]

And also, the aboleth would likely consider them to be too powerful if they had potent magical items on (well, more than one or two) rather than something more "meta-gamey" then class levels. My advice: go with your heart, and do what PC said - if it's more fun, run with it

 

[clockworkjoe]

And also, the aboleth would likely consider them to be too powerful if they had potent magical items on (well, more than one or two) rather than something more "meta-gamey" then class levels. My advice: go with your heart, and do what PC said - if it's more fun, run with it

Another reason I had hestiated to give the skum class levels was their lack of drive and their low intelligence. Makes me wonder how the aboleth would train the skum. Perhaps they psionically implant a bunch of memories from other slaves. Thus, skum fighters have a number of 'templates' to be implanted, such as frontline fighter, sniper, etc. Perhaps this makes the skum more suspectible to confusion attacks/insanity effects and it takes time and effort to implant a skum so the aboleth can't do it at a whim. Furthermore, the template memories are stored in a magical device that can be stolen or destroyed.

Hmm, what kind of alternatives could I give the skum vanguard to beef them up to compensate for their lack of magical items?

 

[Knight Otu]

Another reason I had hestiated to give the skum class levels was their lack of drive and their low intelligence. Makes me wonder how the aboleth would train the skum.

Stat-wise, skum have the same intelligence and wisdom as humans. As long as the aboleth can control them, they understand what it wants. Any training that would take place would be in terms of advancing or gaining class levels. Though the idea of some kind of aboleth-craft amulets that grants skum a special template, at the "cost" of a Will save penalty could work quite well.

 

[Raylis]

Skum's "natural" advancement is additional hit dice, which you could use in liu of giving them levels.

To compensate for the lack of magical items you could use the aboleth's spells to buff up your vangards; a bull's strength of stone skin gives them a decent edge, and sending a bunch of low level Skum to greet the PCs could put them off guard when they face the stronger foes later.

Another idea is to use the skum as bait instead of as opponents. Have a few skum stationed at the far edge of a pit or some other trap with simple ranged weapons and orders to attack. As the PCs close they'll trigger the trap.

 

[PieAndDragon]

As pointed out earlier, they are the same Int as humans, so no reason not to have class levels.

If I wanted to boost them up without using many class levels or magic items, I'd use the non-standard array (13,12,11,10,9,8), advance them up to 6 HD (and Large size), give them a level in barbarian (for Rage and Fast Movement). Some light armour, maybe a longspear (possibly masterwork) which can be dropped in water or when up-close, replace the Alertness feat with something more aggressive, and you're away.

 

[clockworkjoe]

I like the idea of using skum as bait for the PCs. Now this dungeon is in Stygia, basically a glacier with holes carved in it, most of which is underwater. Fiendish advanced skum with weird grafts or mutant abilities...

 

[Aeolius]

You might also consider using the aboleth grafts, as described in Appendix 2 of the Fiend Folio. Perhaps have the aboleth breed skum with merrow (half-ogre skum) or scrag (half-troll scum).