(Suspended) OOC 3.5 Eberron Shipwrecked Campaign

[airwalkrr]

I am going to go out on a limb here and make a slightly unusual request. I would like to use the Half-Dragon paragon for Rain. At a mechanical level, it is much more useful than the elf paragon. But more significantly, as I drafted a background to fit, I found it to be a rich vein of role-play potential.

So thats the pitch. I've written a background built around the idea to give it some context. Its is a little longer than I planned. It kept evolving as I wrote. I hope that you like it.

...

That's actually very creative and fits the history of elves in Eberron really well. Considering that there have been elves in the past who have dabbled with dragons (despite the fact most elves and dragons will now kill such progeny on sight), it is not entirely unreasonable that a half-dragon paragon might emerge, a character who is not quite a half-dragon, but bears many of the signs of draconic ancestry. At least one fix will be necessary though. Since your character does not have a breath weapon to enhance, let's just say that at 3rd-level of the half-dragon paragon class that you gain a breath weapon 2/day instead of 1/day.

One warning, however: bear in mind that half-dragons are not looked upon kindly by either elves or dragons in general. They are seen by members of both races as abominations. As I said, most are killed upon sight, regardless of who they are or what they have done. Your character would not necessarily be a half-dragon, but the fact that your character more obviously carries dragon blood than a typical sorcerer might put your character in peril in certain situations. Assuming you are okay with this role-playing disadvantage (and I assure you, it will come into play at some point if the campaign continues long enough), then I accept your proposal.

One other option is to swap the elf paragon wizard spellcasting level bonus for sorcerer spellcasting. The two classes are close enough in nature that I would not have a problem with this. This option would only grant 2 spellcasting levels, but it would not come with the same roleplaying disadvantage as the half-dragon paragon. I will leave the decision up to you.

 

[doghead]

Since your character does not have a breath weapon to enhance, let's just say that at 3rd-level of the half-dragon paragon class that you gain a breath weapon 2/day instead of 1/day.

At 3rd level, a half-dragon paragon can use her innate breath weapon three times per day (but only once every 1d4 rounds).

A bit confused by this. Did you want to reduce her breath weapon use to 2/day, or add another innate daily use to take the total to 4/day? I'm happy with either. Or are we working off different versions of the paragon class?

I actually think that the breath weapon is something Rain would find quite frightening. Unlike anything else, it is so intrinsically draconic. It will be interesting to see how this plays in the game.

One warning, however: bear in mind that half-dragons are not looked upon kindly by either elves or dragons in general. They are seen by members of both races as abominations. As I said, most are killed upon sight, regardless of who they are or what they have done. Your character would not necessarily be a half-dragon, but the fact that your character more obviously carries dragon blood than a typical sorcerer might put your character in peril in certain situations. Assuming you are okay with this role-playing disadvantage (and I assure you, it will come into play at some point if the campaign continues long enough), then I accept your proposal.

Accepted. This potential tension is one of the appeals of the half-dragon paragon build as opposed to say a modified elf paragon build. I'm glad you liked the idea. It was definitely inspired by the Eberron setting material.

Do you have any preference as to the type of dragon?

Rain is will be of a Chaotic nature, probably good, maybe neutral. So I was thinking Brass dragon - they are chaotic good, they delight in conversation and are prone to pique (um, just like Rain). Breathing fire though, will scare the pants off Rain. Being the smallest of the dragons, I can also see renegade brass dragons perhaps seeking alliances with like minded elves during the latter part of the Age of Giants or during the dragon-elf wars in the Age of Monsters. It was a move not supported by the other dragons however. Rain's bloodline or curse began with one such attempt.

thotd

 

[airwalkrr]

A bit confused by this. Did you want to reduce her breath weapon use to 2/day, or add another innate daily use to take the total to 4/day? I'm happy with either. Or are we working off different versions of the paragon class?

Rain would be able to use the breath weapon 2/day. As I read it, the half-dragon paragon increases the half-dragon's breath weapon from 1/day to 3/day. So I am just giving you the difference.

Do you have any preference as to the type of dragon?

Not really. Whichever you prefer.

Rain is will be of a Chaotic nature, probably good, maybe neutral. So I was thinking Brass dragon - they are chaotic good, they delight in conversation and are prone to pique (um, just like Rain). Breathing fire though, will scare the pants off Rain. Being the smallest of the dragons, I can also see renegade brass dragons perhaps seeking alliances with like minded elves during the latter part of the Age of Giants or during the dragon-elf wars in the Age of Monsters. It was a move not supported by the other dragons however. Rain's bloodline or curse began with one such attempt.

thotd

Bear in mind alignment is flexible in Eberron, even for dragons. You might find a CE gold dragon or a LG red dragon. Alignment need not be a consideration. Dragon personality tendency is probably a more important consideration.

 

[doghead]

Rain would be able to use the breath weapon 2/day. As I read it, the half-dragon paragon increases the half-dragon's breath weapon from 1/day to 3/day. So I am just giving you the difference.

Of course. That makes sense.

Bear in mind alignment is flexible in Eberron, even for dragons. You might find a CE gold dragon or a LG red dragon. Alignment need not be a consideration. Dragon personality tendency is probably a more important consideration.

OK. Hadn't thought of it along these lines. I think the Brass dragon is a good fit, but I was only really considering the chaotic dragons. I'll have another look at the others as well.

thotd

 

[Scott DeWar]

* Scott's Ranger - Bit of a story hijack here. Scott, let me know if this is problematic - Rain assists Samon escape from the hold once it is clear that the ship is foundering. He might be short and hairy and smell of ale and pipe-smoke, but he is a ranger. And Rain wants a teacher.

thotd

i like. I will change the back ground in a bit. Having pain issues right now.

 

[pathfinderq1]

I am going to go out on a limb here and make a slightly unusual request. I would like to use the Half-Dragon paragon for Rain. At a mechanical level, it is much more useful than the elf paragon. But more significantly, as I drafted a background to fit, I found it to be a rich vein of role-play potential.

>I've got to say, I like this idea/background a lot. I had been thinking about a way to do something similar, either with elf/dragon hybridization, or with the lost elven Dragonmark of Death, but I couldn't think of a way to make it work. I think this pretty much nailed it.

 

[Scott DeWar]

* Scott's Ranger - Bit of a story hijack here. Scott, let me know if this is problematic - Rain assists Samon escape from the hold once it is clear that the ship is foundering. He might be short and hairy and smell of ale and pipe-smoke, but he is a ranger. And Rain wants a teacher.

thotd

A slight variation here. Samon was cargo, not a passenger.

.. .. .. That moment came when a fellow passenger, one of obvious Elvin blood, but mixed with another of which he is not able to identify, opened the hatch and helped Samon out telling him which way land was sighted. The only words he found to say was "Samon Hael Dern is in your debt". It took a lot of bravery as he has not been able to bathe in a spring brook since he attacked the hobgoblins some months back and he smelled every bit of very prison, hold and muck pile he has been hidden in. That was the last seen of him. With nothing but a sack cloth garment and a rope belt, he dove in the water, swimming as hard as he could in the direction told to him. He woke to a late morning sun on a white sand beach at last bathed in nature's cleansing caress . .. .. .. .. ..

 

[Scott DeWar]

For my third level feat, I am considering the following:


Favored power att [comp. warr pg 98] oversized 2 wpn fighting [comp. advn pg 111] *<--

do you allow those sources?
do you have those books?

Samon's preferred fighting style was double dwarvin war axes,
which are one handed melee weapons [exotic dwarvin] so the
oversized weapon would be logical for him to take.

what say you boss?

 

[Lou]

@airwalkrr, I need some background help. I'm drawn to the Aerenal Elves. Although it will take some additional role playing, the skull face tattoo is acceptable. If it works for the attractive female elf ruler, it works for me.

My original background idea was a NG elf cleric being sent away. His name is Ayais Paeir (a-ace Payer). He will worship the Undying Court, use a scimitar and a long bow. Domains are Deathless and Protection.

To fully embrace Ebberon, I was looking over the Ebberon feats: Call of the Undying (Elf, Aerenal, Deathless domain), Right of Counsel (Elf, Aerenal), and Chosen of the Deathless (EPG) will work perfectly.

Ayais Paeir is the eldest son of an honored eldest son of an honored eldest son, putting him in the position to continue his tribe's legacy into the future and granting him the Right of Counsel feat. Being called as a cleric instead of a wizard was a bad sign to start, but Ayais questioning the wisdom of being deathless sent the tribal leaders into a frenzy. While he served his time as a squire to the deathless with honor, his questions made his superiors anxious to put it mildly. His superiors decided unofficially to send Ayais out into the world in hopes he would die without a legacy granting him nobility.

When the three paragon levels are earned, a strange truth comes out: Ayais is not a full-blooded elf at all, leading to the paragon levels being half-elf instead of elf.

Comparing the starting racial qualities of elf with half-elf, I propose using mostly the half-elf values:

• Medium: As Medium creatures, half-elves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Half-elf base land speed is 30 feet.
• Immunity to sleep spells and similar magical effects, and a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against enchantment spells or effects.
• Low-Light Vision: A half-elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats.
• +1 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks.
• +1 racial bonus on Diplomacy and Gather Information checks.
• Elven Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-elf is considered an elf.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan.
• Favored Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass half-elf takes an experience point penalty, her highest-level class does not count.

The Half-Elf paragon skills and abilities are the same, except for: Persuasion (Ex) A 2nd level half-elf paragon's racial bonus on Diplomacy and Gather information checks increases to +2. She gains a +1 racial bonus on all other Charisma-based skills.


This is a racial change that only Ayais will be aware of. To the outside world, he is an elf, just a stranger one than usual. It will make him less stoic and more talkative than his Aerenal Elven brothers.

+0 S 10 (2 pts)
+2 D 14 (6 pts)
+1 C 12 (4 pts)
+1 I 12 (4 pts)
+4 W 19 (10 pts +1 L4 +2 L2Para)
+0 Ch 10 (2 pts)
TOTAL 28 pts

His feats are chosen to show his solid ties to his homeland.

Feats:
L1:CL1: Right of Counsel or Aereni Focus (skill??)
L2L1: Chosen of the Deathless
L3L2: Call of the Undying

Ayais would take levels of Sacred Purifier and/or perhaps Hunter of the Dead. See Keith Bakers's article. If allowed, he might alternate levels of Sacred Exorcist.

Ayais is determined to return home and become a member of the Deathguard.

[TABLE="width: 1"][TR][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]Level[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563, align: left"]Base
Attack Bonus[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]Fort
Save[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]Ref
Save[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]Will
Save[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563, align: left"]Special[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563, colspan: 10"]Spells per Day¹[/TD][/TR][TR][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]
[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]1st[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]2nd[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]3rd[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]4th[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]5th[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]6th[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]7th[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]8th[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]9th[/TD][/TR][TR][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, colspan: 16"]

1. In addition to the stated number of spells per day for 1st- through 9th-level spells, a cleric gets a domain spell for each spell level, starting at 1st.
   The "+1" in the entries on this table represents that spell. Domain spells are in addition to any bonus spells the cleric may receive for having a high Wisdom score.

[/TD][/TR][TR][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]1st[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE"]+0[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]+2[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]+0[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]+2[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE"]Turn or rebuke undead[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]3[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]1+1[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]—[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]—[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]—[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]—[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]—[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]—[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]—[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]—[/TD][/TR][/TABLE][TABLE="class: right, width: 1"][TR][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]Level[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]Base
Attack
Bonus[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]Fort
Save[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]Ref
Save[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563"]Will
Save[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563, align: left"]Special[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #A68563, align: left"]Spells per Day[/TD][/TR][TR][TD="bgcolor: #FFF2E5, align: center"]1st[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #FFF2E5, align: center"]+0[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #FFF2E5, align: center"]+0[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #FFF2E5, align: center"]+2[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #FFF2E5, align: center"]+0[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #FFF2E5"]Bonus feat,
divided ancestry,
elven vision[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #FFF2E5"]—[/TD][/TR][TR][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]2nd[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]+1[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]+0[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]+3[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE, align: center"]+0[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE"]Persuasion[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #F2E0CE"]+1 level of existing class[/TD][/TR][TR][TD="bgcolor: #FFF2E5, align: center"]3rd[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #FFF2E5, align: center"]+2[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #FFF2E5, align: center"]+1[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #FFF2E5, align: center"]+3[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #FFF2E5, align: center"]+1[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #FFF2E5"]Ability boost (+2)[/TD][TD="bgcolor: #FFF2E5"]—[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]Are you using fractional BAB and saves?

 

[Graybeard]

Added background information for Duran Thorn.