Thugs & Angels

[Dannyalcatraz]

A couple of recent threads have discussed PC design when you have some low stats. Words like "unplayable", "thugs", "Average Joe" and other unflattering terms were tossed around by persons on all sides of the discussions.

This is a thread about PC concepts- fluff & background, not mechanics- that can work or even shine when die rolls or point buy result in some low stats.

We'll designate that 2 stats are low- no bonus or a negative modifier level- and come up with 2 roleplayable concepts for the class of your choice. One concept should be a Thug, one an Angel.

Example:

A wizard with a low Charisma and Wisdom-

Thug: a handsome Evoker Mage with a taste for acid & fire spells, he wants to do more than defeat his foes- he wants them to suffer. His sadistic streak carries over into every social interaction, though, and despite his good looks, he remains unpopular...the kind of man you associate with only if you have to.

Angel: a recluse of sorts, this Enchanter uses spells charms (and illusions) to help her gain the social acceptance she feels eludes her, little realizing there could be a massive backlash if her machinations were ever revealed...

The fun is open to any edition of any game where you can get low stats, by any method.. Go nuts!

 

[kitsune9]

Hey, this is cool. Here's my try.

A barbarian who has low Dexterity and low Constitution

Thug: A weakling barbarian who was left by out in the cold to die as the nomadic peoples moved on, but was raised / enslaved by orcs. Now he is cruel beyond measure but the elements of growing up in the cold and abandonment stunted his growth.

Angel: A rager who has seen his share of battle and has the limp in his leg to and the scars across his chest to prove it. He took a blow to the chest from a great axe and miraculously survived, but he has difficulty breathing and performing truly strenuous activity for a length of time.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

A Bard with low Wis and Str-

Thug: a viscious assassin who uses his skills as an entertainer to get close to his targets, favoring poison & daggers, individually and together. His fatal flaw is that he is a braggart. However, he believes fear of his skills will keep those who know of his abilities from betraying him.

Angel: a diminuitive elf who doesn't necessarily notice when a joke has gone too far, or when someone has gone from being impressed by her wit to being agitated by it...she talks her way into as much trouble as she talks herself out of.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

A Paladin with low Int and Dex

Thug: an implacable foe and nigh onto a force of nature, he takes the fight against Evil to all the nooks and crannies of the world. However, his lack of wit makes it easier for more manipulative types in The Church's hierarchy to use him for more political reasons. And once given a foe to fight, he's like an avalanche: graveyards are full of those who discovered he wont let mere reason and facts won't dissuade him from completing his mission. Should he ever find he's been manipulated, though...

Angel: a gentle giant who prefers not to fight, who will go to great lengths to avoid battle or conflict, even when it costs him personally. However, when pushed too far, he is ferocious. Still, as many have found, he is willing to grant mercy even as he swings his mighty maul one...last...time. In his eyes, only those beings for whom evil is an intrinsic part of their nature- demons, devils, etc.- are incapable of true remorse and repentance...and even these he has spared as an example to others if his faith of the depth of his commitment to mercy.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

A monk with a low Cha and low Con

Thug: a wandering ascetic who has lost his way. As a younger man, he immersed himself in all the vices of society, leaving his health wrecked. While he no longer feels the ravages of his indulgences, he will never be whole again. This reality has warped his soul so that he now bullies those around him to get what he needs to make it through the days.

Angel: diminuitive and always sickly child, this woman turned to a life of service and contemplation. The rigors of the ascetic lifestyle in the cloister improved her health, but she would never be considered healthy. Her innate weakness made her empathetic, especially towards those who were bullied. After some time, she eventually left the cloister to help those she saw as echoes of herself, using her martial skills to defend the downtrodden.

 

[Dausuul]

Well, first off, I've never understood this idea that a set of stats with a couple below-average numbers is a bad one. And I'm not in the "make do with whatever the dice dish out" camp; I do believe there is such a thing as a bad stat set. But it's defined, to me, by the lack of high stats rather than the presence of low ones. I think 16-13-10-10-7-5 is a much better stat set than 13-12-11-11-10-10, and much easier to build a concept around.

(Of course, I habitually play caster-types, who almost always benefit from hyper-specialization in a single stat. If I played warrior-types, I might feel differently.)

But, to the original post... I'll assume we're talking 3E here, since stat rolling is rare in 4E. To make it more challenging, I'll pick a class with substantial MAD, and avoid the obvious dump stat. So: Paladin with low Dex and Con.

Thug: A lean and hollow-cheeked fanatic with burning eyes and a shaven head. As a child, she was attacked by a wraith under control of a necromancer, and it left her with a tremor in her limbs and a wracking cough that have never faded. She has driven herself for years to overcome her frailty with brutal physical training. While it has not restored her health, it has given her the strength to take up arms against the evils of the world. She hates all dark magic, and is suspicious of arcane casters in general; she needs only the slightest excuse to burn a wizard at the stake. She never admits weakness and has no patience for it in others, and she never retreats once battle is joined.

Angel: A bony, clumsy young man with a mop of red hair and a ready smile. He was born premature and barely survived his first year. Growing up, he was always the weakest and the slowest; he was picked on mercilessly by the other children. This taught him a deep sympathy for the downtrodden. When he was twelve, he saved the life of a wandering paladin, who took him in and trained him to fight the good fight. Now a paladin himself, he spends much of his time battling evil, but never loses sight of the people he is sworn to protect--to him, saving one innocent life is worth more than slaughtering a hundred demons.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

But, to the original post... I'll assume we're talking 3E here, since stat rolling is rare in 4E. To make it more challenging, I'll pick a class with substantial MAD, and avoid the obvious dump stat. So: Paladin with low Dex and Con.

The fun is open to any edition of any game where you can get low stats, by any method...and I'll make my initial post make that clear.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

A fighter with low Str and Con

Thug: a wastrel who frequents tavern after tavern, indulging in all kinds of vices...and perpetually short of coin. While handsome, he has no particular talent at entertaining, so singing for his supper has never been an option. He favors women who, while attractive, are seemingly just as broke as he is, so he has never had the luxury of being "kept." And being a cutpurse is beneath him. Instead, he finds some likely drunk with a fat(ish) purse- never one too obviously well heeled, because that would bring the Watch or powerful allies down on him- and provokes a fight. His slight frame and prettyboy looks make his victims underestimate him and quickly take up the challenge...which inevitably ends with a few lightning strokes of his rapier, a pool of blood in the gutter, and a doxy and ale for him before the night is through.

Angel: her father's bow would test the mightiest to draw...and his aim was what kept venison on the table every winter. She always wanted to follow in his path, but her size and strength barred it. Then, one day, her father brought her something from a trade caravan made in the far-off valleys of some foreign land: a crossbow. While her arms could not bend her father's bow, her body could cock the deadly new weapon, and under his tutelage, she soon proved to be every bit as accurate as her father. This served her well when her father left on a hunt one day...and never returned.

It was no accident that claimed him, but outriders from an invading army. When she found out, she sought to enlist, but the army took no women. A mercenary troop hired by the crown, however, only cared that she was a deadlier shot than all but a few on their payroll. In the ensuing war, it was she who fired the bolt that felled the invaders' most prominent Field Marshall. She, too, never returned to her house, leaving it to her Uncle and his family, while she continued to ply her trade as a marksman.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

A bard with low Strength and Wisdom

Thug: An expert in getting others to do his share of whatever work needs doing, taking no risks that he can shuffle off onto others. When his 'friends' eventually learn his true nature he leaves them in the lurch, finding new suckers to prey upon.

Angel: A bit of a con artist at heart, but just as much a sucker for a sob story as any of his marks. He attempts to shoulder more than his share of any task, whether or not he has any true aptitude for the job at hand. He boasts happily of what the team has accomplished, but does not take all the credit, as a result the group as a whole ends up drawing the attention of those in need.

The Auld Grump

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

A Sorcerer with low Dex and Int

Thug: always big for his age- as well as clumsy and just a touch slow- he was always picked on as a lumbering oaf. But as he continued to grow even more than his peers, his size became a source of intimidation that outweighed the desire of bullies to pick on him. Instead, they reasoned his lack of wit and powerful body could be put to use for their own ends, so smarter bullies began to use him as muscle. Then he discovered his Gift. Locked within him was the ability to do magic, fire magic in particular...and one particular bully turned him into a weapon. Now, he is no longer picked on or bullied- as the most dangerous firebug the city has ever seen, he's become one of the most well paid enforcers in his gang, with women and gold and everything else he ever wanted his with but a request. Life's gooooood.

Angel: He is the firstborn of a minor Baron, groomed to lead. Unfortunately, while he and his siblings are all seemingly carved from the same granite their father seemed to be hewn from, he lacks the cunning of his father...and some less charitable persons would say he lacks his horse's sense as well. And despite his mandatory training in arms and armor, he'll never be the warrior any of his brothers will be. But his charisma makes him a natural leader, even if he's a half-wit...people just naturally want to follow him.

So when it was found that he had an innate arcane talent, his father the Baron found a mystic who could take that resource and shape it into something he could use to aid him in his role as leader...a task completed just a short Spring before the Baron died. Now sitting on the throne- with his brothers acting as advisors- his young reign has been noted as being particularly fair...and those foes who have tried to test his rulership have been met by fierce, loyal warriors and powerful magics that turn them back.