The Adventures of the Knights of Spellforge Keep

[MasterOfHeaven]

Re: heh

lol, no ones downing the fallen paladin MoH I was just observing that Vek is ths shiznat and in a battle between a high lvl spell caster and a front line beat em up...

Vek is nothing but dust beneath the booted feet of Dartan.

well the caster should win theres to many things he can do to make the battle go his way, such as summoning a greater planar ally 24hd (makes him something akin to a balor or a planetar) and then having him do the dirty work, or theres the ol' Power word stun (if you have the war domain) followed by a rather nasty coup de grace, or any number of bad things,

Well, first the Planar Ally has to agree to your terms. Note that taking the job is a risk to the outsiders very existence, as the Planar Ally spell actually brings them to the prime material, and if they die they die forever. Going up against a man of Dartans might is a very dangerous proposition, and even if Vek could convince them to do it, he would be in a very bad position because of what they would demand of him in return.

And then there's the fact that Dartan can likely beat a Balor or Planetar at this point, and still kill Vek. A high level Fighter can dish out amazing damage in one round, and if Dartan has the proper magic items, he'll be even deadlier.

As for domain spells, there are counters to every spell, and Vek would really have to choose his spells carefully in a fight with Dartan, as Dartan could likely kill him in a FRA + partial attack, and certainly he could kill him in two rounds.

Then theres the plane shifting the said person to another plane of existence where he couldnt live, like say the plane of fire (fighters have notoriously bad will saves) and then shifting yourself back to saftey or just word of recallin home, heh.

Most fighter types have cloaks of resistance and so on, not to mention the fact Dartan might be a Paladin or Blackguard, thus increasing his saves if he gets a high enough Charisma through magic items.

Well my fanboy defense of Vek is done, I'm sure he could come up with even more devious things to do to protect himself from the rabid Dartanites that seem to habitate in the post ( I actually really like Dartan, heh I'm just bustin your chops).

No matter what Vek comes up with, he will still fall to the might of Dartan in the end. At best, Vek would survive three rounds. And then die a final death. But, I'm sure Vek knows his place.

Dartan: "Come Vek, to the Knightmobile!"
Vek: "Right away, Dartan! Holy Dragons, I hope we get there in time!"
Dartan: "Worry not, my sidekick. For I shall destroy all that stands in our way."

 

[Breakstone]

Woah! My fanboyism is in peril!

Compared to Master of Heaven, I'm but a lurker!

 

[Hammerhead]

I think that more or less everyone agrees that Clerics are the best class. Dartan is little more than a trumped up Ex-Paladin/Fighter. Vek will have a very high armor class, with a magical shield, Demon Armor, a Protection From Evil Spell or something, his +5 Natural Armor Bonus, etc. Vek has d12 hit dice. Furthermore, any wands or scrolls Vek happens upon, he can use. Vek could permanently paralyze Dartan. Vek can create Anti-Magic Fields, or summon Pit Fiends to hunt down Dartan. Vek can scry. And, he can drain Dartan's levels very quickly with his Enervating Shield, Lilith. Vek can use his Command Undead ability to conscript some allies, or animate skeletons to act as a wall against Dartan. What about creating some wraiths, and then Con draining Dartan.

Agaisnt a clever and skilled undead cleric with as many options as Vek, a straight Warrior/Fighter like Dartan has little chance.

Instead, Dartan became an asskicker by being supported by his comrades who fell against evil, not by being better than them.

 

[MasterOfHeaven]

I think that more or less everyone agrees that Clerics are the best class. Dartan is little more than a trumped up Ex-Paladin/Fighter.

Clerics are no better or worse than any of the other classes, with the exception of the Monk and the Bard. Fighters can easily be the most powerful class, and I guarantee you that you can design any Cleric you want, and I will defeat that Cleric with an equivalent level Fighter at least 50% of the time.

Vek will have a very high armor class, with a magical shield, Demon Armor, a Protection From Evil Spell or something, his +5 Natural Armor Bonus, etc. Vek has d12 hit dice.

So? If Dartan is a typical Fighter of his level, he will be able to hit Vek at least 70% of the time. In addition, since Vek cannot use his Constitution bonus to HP, he actually has less hp, on average, than a Cleric with 14 or more Constitution. Dartan could probably kill him in one FRA + partial attack action.

Furthermore, any wands or scrolls Vek happens upon, he can use. Vek could permanently paralyze Dartan. Vek can create Anti-Magic Fields, or summon Pit Fiends to hunt down Dartan. Vek can scry.

The wands and scrolls argument is meaningless, if we're talking equivalent amount of GP in equipment here. Items are items are items. They increase your power, and Fighters can spend the GP a Cleric would've spent on wands or scrolls on other equipment. An Anti-Magic field would hurt Vek more than help him against a foe like Dartan.

And as I explained above, Vek can't summon Pit Fiends without paying a major, major price, given the risk of the assignment, at least until he gets Gate. And even then, Dartan could kill the Pit Fiend.

And, he can drain Dartan's levels very quickly with his Enervating Shield, Lilith. Vek can use his Command Undead ability to conscript some allies, or animate skeletons to act as a wall against Dartan. What about creating some wraiths, and then Con draining Dartan.

Vek would have to hit Dartan first, to drop his levels. Besides, all Dartan has to do is have one Negative Energy Protection spell up, and he's fine. Negative Energy Protection is not that hard to obtain for a character such as Dartan. Which also eliminates Veks other possible tactics.

If Vek is going to animate skeletons, he's going to have spend GP on it, and if he wants to create a wall, he's going to need a lot. If Veks going to spend the GP on that, all Dartan has to do is buy one necklace of fireballs with just one bead left, and the skeletons are worthless anyway.

Agaisnt a clever and skilled undead cleric with as many options as Vek, a straight Warrior/Fighter like Dartan has little chance.

Well, I completely disagree there. Clerics reputations are overrated, and again, design any level Cleric you want, and I'll defeat that Cleric with an equivalent level Fighter.

Instead, Dartan became an asskicker by being supported by his comrades who fell against evil, not by being better than them.

I disagree. Dartan has proved he is the most resourceful, tough, and just plain lucky member of the entire group by surviving encounter after encounter where every other party member fell. You can disagree if you want, but the fact is that Dartan has survived, and nobody else has. And that's the bottom line.

 

[Jon Potter]

My 2¢

Dartan has proved he is the most resourceful, tough, and just plain lucky member of the entire group by surviving encounter after encounter where every other party member fell. You can disagree if you want, but the fact is that Dartan has survived, and nobody else has. And that's the bottom line.

My personal favorite Dartan episode was more-or-less glossed over in the compiled storyhour, but it still struck a powerful cord with me:

Dartan left behind in a mine full of hobgoblins and fighting his way clear. Alone.

It was fairly early on in RttToEE and there have certainly been more exciting villains to overcome, but that really expressed Dartan's gritty, kill 'em all, character.

I must say that it would have likely spelled the end for most of the other PCs if one of them had fallen out of the mine cart.

There isn't a character amongst the bunch that I don't find intriguing, but Dartan's combination of godless angst and tough-as-mithral determination make him my personal favorite.

No offense, Vek.

 

[Hammerhead]

Does it really matter? Both Vek and Dartan along with poor Jettok, are complete bad@sses. However, I would hesistate to call Vek a sidekick. That would be a cohort or something.

I wonder who the characters in the story will be?

 

[Dr Midnight]

You people are friggin' nuts!

Dartan's player feels like Dartan's so built up now that he's almost afraid to step behind the wheels of the death machine once more. He's fickle that way.

A Dartan vs. Vek fight would be really cool, but it's pretty much the clear consensus that Vek would be the winner. He makes sure he knows every little thing that his character can do (like Harm, cough cough), while Dartan's player is all about playing the role.

At any rate, here's the next chapter of the story:

SUNDAY, 5TH OF COLDEVEN

Vek Mormont wiped his blade clean and stepped over Dartan's cloven body. The look on the fallen paladin's face showed the horror he'd felt before having his life stolen by the cold, clerical servant of Wee Jas.

"What a nice day," Vek thought. "I think I'll get me some ice cream."

END OF CAMPAIGN

 

[MasterOfHeaven]

Vek, like Robin before him, is an annoyance to the enemy and prevents the real threat to the enemy from dying on occasion. Dartan, like Batman before him, is the one the enemy fears and is desperate to destroy once and for all. But they're both Heroes. And that's fine by me.

As for the characters in this story hour, I really like Kyler and Raelin so far, though I find Kizzlorn vaguely annoying. Regardless, if Dartan and Vek don't show up, they're doomed to die and be forgotten. For the real Heroes are the former Knights Of The Silver Quill, and may they once again walk the land and wreak terrible vengeance on those who oppose them.

PS

I say Vek and Dartan both should go evil. It'd be perfect. Dartan, the deadly and fearsome Blackguard of Hextor, and his sidekick, Vek, sinster and smelly Lich Cleric of Wee-Jas. Ahh, that'd be great.

 

[MasterOfHeaven]

You people are friggin' nuts!

Dartan's player feels like Dartan's so built up now that he's almost afraid to step behind the wheels of the death machine once more. He's fickle that way.

A Dartan vs. Vek fight would be really cool, but it's pretty much the clear consensus that Vek would be the winner. He makes sure he knows every little thing that his character can do (like Harm, cough cough), while Dartan's player is all about playing the role.

At any rate, here's the next chapter of the story:

SUNDAY, 5TH OF COLDEVEN

Vek Mormont wiped his blade clean and stepped over Dartan's cloven body. The look on the fallen paladin's face showed the horror he'd felt before having his life stolen by the cold, clerical servant of Wee Jas.

"What a nice day," Vek thought. "I think I'll get me some ice cream."

END OF CAMPAIGN

The god of anti munchkins would curse Veks dice and Dartan would win. Don't believe me? Try a real fight between them. And I swear, Doc, I'm not going to take the implications of your first paragraph seriously. If Dartan doesn't show up... Well, let's just say it's not really a Knights story hour without him.

 

[Wee Jas]

I'd off him without Harm

Anyhow, Dartan is my friend... even if he did kill my ancestor, Clegar Mormont (I crippled his daddy for revenge). Its all water under the bridge now!

Did you know the atone spell could make him Lawful Neutral too! Wee Jas would be proud to have a new follower.. but if not Dartan.. maybe his son! MWhahaahahaaa.