Evilhalfling said:
Lotuseater - I found a varient that might work better, but it only works for your begining character, and not very well for advancement - at least the way you describe in the 2nd post.
Your second post describes more of a Rogue type, and in this case I don't understand why you went sorcerer first. It seems just as likely that you recieved physical training before your magical abilities showed up. And doing it that way would have enormous benfits for your skills.
If you are going to be primarily a ranged attacker, you really need to head for percise shot -
as for skills, many cannot be used unless you have 1 rank in them (Trained only) including:
Decipher Script, Disable Device, Open Lock, Tumble, Use Magic Device
and what was the reasoning for ranks in ride and swim?
I hope these suggestions are helpful, as ultimately its you decision, as nothing you have violates the setting or rules.
evilhalfling,
thanks for the advice. i've rethought my skill set and adjusted it more along the lines of how i would like it to look. i believe the main problem is that i did a lousy job of explaining what i was going for, as my original character writeup got accidently deleted. the fact is that i am trying to create a character that isn't very well focused. i just needed to do a better job of explaining that.
i agree that the varient fighter class you suggested might make a better protector. but the fact is my character never completed his training. so he should be weaker than a regular fighter might be.
here are two keys points about my character. first, as i said already, he was being trained as an elite protecter, a group of magic wielding sentinels trained to act as bodyguards/spies. However, he was thrown out for political reasons--although he always tended to resist authority as well--and then he continued his training with his uncle, becoming more rogueish and less warriorish. thus, his abilities and skills are not focused and are incomplete.
second, because of his family situation, a corrupt father, a virtuous uncle framed for crimes he didn't commit, thaimon has become disillusioned with the city's institutions and doesn't have anything he can believe in. he wants to do right, but doesn't know how to go about it. this disillusionment has caused him to lack focus in his career, and so he's not sure of what direction he's headed. i want him to be a character that will be shaped by events. i don't know where i want him to go, that depends on the story. he might even pick up another class.
for example, perhaps the party meets an npc, a higher level warrior who becomes a leader of the group. thaimon might naturally turn to this character for guidance, and ask to become his pupil and learn how to become a warrior from him.
or maybe some traumatic event will cause him to find religion, and he would devote himelf to become a cleric.
these might both be extreme examples, but i hope they illustrate my point. it's more likely that thaimon would continue as a sorceror/rogue, with the type of adventure indicating the types of skills/spells/feats that he would acquire. i think it will be quite interesting to play a character that is shaped by events rather than being focused on a narrow career path. of course the rest of the party should realize that he will be less powerful than he might otherwise be, but he should also be quite adaptable to many different situations.
so to address some of your more specific points:
i came very close to going down the precise shot path. again, if he were still an elite protector, that's the way i would go. but i sort of like this more scattered approach.
you are definitely right that i did a poor job of picking out my skills, though maybe not for the reasons that you were indicating. i ended up getting too focused on a few areas, so i have gone through and distributed my skill points around a little more haphazardly, to reflect the diversity of his training. i did leave ride in however. you know the geography better than i. i'm thinking that with his uncle in hiding, that might be a reason why he would have learned to ride. but if it's really not a skill you need in this geography, then i might dump it out.
and i picked up some ranks in gather information, assuming that was my bonus cross class skill.
as for why sorceror first, that's more about my own personal ideas on the nature of sorceror. i am a firm believer that if sorceror abilities naturally manifest themselves, it's not a class you should take later on. i know others view the situation differently, but i feel like sorceror is something you just are, and that rogue is something that you learn to be. so if i'm going to play a sorceror, that will always come first.
again, thanks for the advice. it helps to get feedback, and i think it's really forced me to do a better job of articulating the vision i have for my character. and please let me know if you have any further suggestions.
le
