Venger

[Timely Drought]

Has anyone stated Venger from the D&D cartoon? I'd love for him to make a cameo in my campaign but I have no idea where to start. What race is he? Is he a wizard? I seem to remember his mount being a nightmare.

What's his backstory and goals, and how does he accomplish his objectives? Does he have minions? A cohort?

 

[Mouseferatu]

Hmm...

Off the top of my head, I'd make him a half-fiend sorcerer, with an eye toward Divination, Evocation, Illusion, and Transmutation. (Not that he shouldn't have the others, just that I'd make those primary.) He has a nightmare mount and a shadow demon cohort.

Really high level, too.

 

[Scarbonac]

Venger's backstory is that he's the Annakin to Dungeon Master's Obi-Wan, very possibly the literal son of DM (as suggested by the episode The Dragons' Graveyard and stated in the script for Requiem , which was written as the start of a new direction for the series, but never got produced), who turned to the service of He Who Must Not Be Named, the powerful force of Evil in the Realmverse. He's quite afraid of Tiamat, as his magic, for some reason, is ineffective (or at least of significantly reduced effectiveness) against her.

He's bent on conquering The Realm, and has numerous minions, typically orcs, bullywugs, "simian-bats" (which resembled bearded devils) and phantom stalkers but he delights in forcing otherwise good or neutral beings into working for him; those whom he can't corrupt or dominate he kills or imprisons.

He doesn't hesitate to dominate other evil characters, though, such as the wizard Khellek, employ them, as with Warduke or imprison them, as he did with his sister, Karina.

Oddly, in the Hall Of Bones he was hesitant to destroy it when he was under attack by the combined forces of the spirits of the great heroes who were interred there, until it came down to him or it.

Still, he's ugly and his momma dresses him funny -- the hat and dress he wears should get him laughed out of the Villains' Union.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

Just seeing the thread title was enough to bring me in.

I have never seen any stats for him but my only concern about using him would be the looks on my players' faces like 'are you finally losing it?'

 

[diaglo]

A cohort?

what about the Shadow Demon?

 

[Henry]

what about the Shadow Demon?

I loved that weasly little stain. He was funny.

Here's one stab at Venger.
"There is no escape -- from the realm of... Dungeons and Dragons!"


Venger
Medium-size Male Half Fiend Human
Sorcerer10

Hit Dice: (10d4)+50
Hit Points: 90
Initiative: +2
Speed: Walk 30', Fly 30'
AC: 13 (flatfooted 11, touch 12)
Vision: Darkvision (60'), Normal
Face / Reach: 5.0 ft. / 5
Special Qualities: Bat Wings (Ex), Energy Resistance Acid/Cold/Electricity/Fire 10, Immunity to Poison (Ex), Natural weapons treated as magic weapons (Ex), Smite Good (Su) 1/day +0 damage, Summon Familiar
Saves: Fortitude: +8, Reflex: +5, Will: +6
Abilities: STR 14 (+2), DEX 14 (+2), CON 20 (+5), INT 18 (+4), WIS 8 (-1), CHA 24 (+7)
Skills: Appraise 4; Balance 2; Bluff 20; Climb 3; Concentration 6; Craft (Untrained) 4; Diplomacy 11; Disguise 9; Escape Artist 2; Forgery 4; Gather Information 8; Heal -1; Hide 2; Intimidate 12; Jump 3; Knowledge (Arcana) 17; Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 6; Knowledge (Geography) 6; Knowledge (History) 6; Knowledge (Local) 6; Knowledge (The Planes) 6; Listen -1; Move Silently 2; Ride 6; Search 5; Sense Motive 1; Spellcraft 19; Spot -1; Survival -1; Swim 3;
Feats: Eschew Materials, Extend Spell, Maximize Spell, Mounted Combat, Simple Weapon Proficiency, Skill Focus (Ride)
Alignment: Neutral Evil

Spells:
Innate: Darkness, Desecrate, Unholy Blight, Poison, Contagion
Sorcerer - Known:
Level 0: Detect Magic, Disrupt Undead, Flare, Light, Mage Hand, Message, Prestidigitation, Read Magic, Touch of Fatigue
Level 1: Animate Rope, Comprehend Languages, Disguise Self, Magic Missile, Shield
Level 2: Detect Thoughts, Invisibility, Pyrotechnics, Scorching Ray
Level 3: Dispel Magic, Lightning Bolt, Magic Circle against Good
Level 4: Animate Dead, Shadow Conjuration
Level 5: Summon Monster V

 

[JoeGKushner]

See, the problem with statting out someone like Venger, is it really depends on what you're going to use him for and what your campaign baseline is. That 10th level version posted here would be beaten like a small child by the party I'm GMing in the Forgotten Realms where one of the mages uses a two handed sword! In other, especially low level campaigns, he'd be godlike.

 

[Henry]

I agree, Joe - I'm posting him like I perceive him in the D&D cartoon, because those kids were low-level, but use their weapons and their wits to see them through. A version of Venger able to spank powerful capable adventurers would have swallowed those kids whole, Dungeon Master or not.

 

[Sado]

Not to threadjack, but it got me wondering something else. It's been a while since I've seen the cartoon, so I don't remember, was the show based on any particular published setting?

And how come my mommy and daddy let me watch the show, but the game itself was satanic???

 

[fafhrd]

And how come my mommy and daddy let me watch the show, but the game itself was satanic???

Likely because your average parent, while familiar with cartoons, simply doesn't have the experience to fairly contemplate roleplaying games. When suffering from a dearth of actual understanding, most tend to find groupthink and paranoia the next best thing.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Not to threadjack, but it got me wondering something else. It's been a while since I've seen the cartoon, so I don't remember, was the show based on any particular published setting?

Not at the time. Subsequent products such as comic books and hidden references in computer games have attempted to place the kids in Forgotten Realms, but I don't believe any of those references can be considered "canon."

Besides, if it'd really been the Forgotten Realms, the villains would have been incompetents who regularly got their butts handed them due to the machinations of powerful NPCs far mighter than the main characters could ever hope to...

Oh, wait a minute.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

There were 2e stats for the venger in the City by the Silt Sea boxed set. I haven't seen the DnD cartoon, so I don't know if they're the same thing.

 

[DnDChick]

Here is the stat block I made for Venger:

Venger, Male Half-Fiend Human Sor18: CR 21; M Outsider [Native]; HD 18d4+54; hp 100; Init +3; Spd 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (average); AC 21 (+3 Dex, +1 natural, +7 leather armor), touch 13, flat-footed 18; BAB/Grap +9/+11; Atk +11 melee (1d4+2, claw); Full Atk +11 melee (1d4+2 [x2], claws), +6 melee (1d6+1, bite); SA smite good (1/day, +18 damage vs. good opponent), spell-like abilities; SQ darkvision (60 ft.), DR (10/magic), immunity (poison), resistances (acid, cold, electricity, and fire 10); SR 28; AL LE; SV Fort +9, Ref +8, Will +14; Str 14, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 15, Wis 12, Cha 21.
Skills: Bluff +18, Concentration +24, Craft (alchemy) +13, Diplomacy +7, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (arcana) +23, Knowledge (the Realm) +12, Spellcraft +25, Spot +3; Feats: Combat Casting, Dodge, Empower Spell, Eschew Materials, Iron Will, Heighten Spell, Maximize Spell, Spell Penetration.
SA—Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 3/day—darkness, poison, unholy aura; 1/day—blasphemy, contagion, desecrate, horrid wilting, summon monster IX (fiends only), unholy blight, unhallow.
Arcane Spells Per Day (6/8/7/7/7/7/6/6/5/3; save DC 15 + spell level).
Arcane Spells Known (9/5/5/4/4/4/3/3/2/1).
Possessions: Leather armor +5.

You are all, of course, free to disagree with this stat block in any way you see fit. lol

I didn't select his spells known, since I felt that it would be easier for a DM to customize him that way. Give him whatever spells you want or need him to have.

As for his backstory, someone already mentioned the Requiem story, which is fairly easy to find with a Google-search.

 

[jmucchiello]

Can someone explain how a villain from a 1e or basic/expert based show would be a sorcerer? Do people so dislike wizards that they cannot even stat up someone who was obviously (to me at the time) meant to be a wizard as a wizard?

 

[Henry]

Can someone explain how a villain from a 1e or basic/expert based show would be a sorcerer? Do people so dislike wizards that they cannot even stat up someone who was obviously (to me at the time) meant to be a wizard as a wizard?

Because

1) Venger was flinging around spells like no tomorrow, with seemingly no preparations and no material components

2) There weren't half-fiends or tieflings either, but Venger sure as heck looked like one, and the sorcerer to me fits his description better in the same way that "half-fiend" fits it.

3) The Wizard already gets enough props around these forums as it is - throw the sorcerer a bone.

He surely COULD be a wizard, but Venger seemed be more inborn magic, than trained magic.

 

[Timely Drought]

There were 2e stats for the venger in the City by the Silt Sea boxed set. I haven't seen the DnD cartoon, so I don't know if they're the same thing.

The Dark Sun supplement? That doesn't make any sense. What was Venger doing on Athas?

 

[Henry]

That might have been "a" Venger, but not "the" Venger. It's also possible his character was Vengr or Vengyr or something, too, while I'm thinking about it.

The thing in Dark Sun I doubt had any relation to the cartoon Venger from 1983.

 

[Stone Angel]

Yea I think sorcerer is definitely better as a 3e of Venger. But if you are doing it from the basic set or so. You would have to make him a wizard. My memory is so hazy of the actuall cartoon. Out of all the things that I remember from it Venger does not stand out. I just remember him having a blast what I would no compare to searing light or even what I picture as divine blast. And I know that the kids used Tiamat as a way to get rid of him.

The Seraph of Earth and Stone

 

[Kelek72]

Venger!!!
What a cool guy in a silly costume. It reminds me of Gary Oldman's costume in 5th Element.
I picked my Enworld name from Kelek in the episode "The Last Unicorn"...
Ah the memories...

I would make Venger a wizard, probably an Evoker seeing how he had all force spells.
Or maybe he could be a sorcerer with some force-magic based prestige class.

I still think had Kelek gotten his teleportation spells he could have taken Venger in the coming wizard duel!

 

[Timely Drought]

Did Venger have a black sword? Not actually using it, but waving it around menacingly? Someone said so on another board, but I can't find any confirmation.

The thing is that I want him optimized, but still faithful to to the original. I'd want something to explain his appearance, but blackguard by itself could do that, since he's made a pact with EVIL. Blackguard/sorcerer/eldritch knight could be ok for the fallen paladin concept. I'd want him to have full or almost-full spellcaster levels, since that seemed to be his method of operation in the cartoon. I'd prefer to avoid any templates, since that'll raise his level without improving his already lower spellcasting.

I'll keep him a few levels above the PCs, to make sure he's a challenge. I'll try to avoid direct confrontations, but I'd still like to have the same rapport with the PCs as he did in the cartoon. They'll meet on a few occasions, but Venger is optimized for running away, and doesn't like getting into a fight he could lose.

I guess I just need to figure out the correct break-off points for his classes to keep him optimized. Maybe make a custom familiar. Is the Shadow Demon stated in 3.5? He'll need the Improved Familiar feat.

I have difficulty with sorcerer spell selection, though. I've heard that many players with sorcerers have an emphasis on the same spells, due to overall usefullness and versatility. Anyone know where I can find a good list of picks for sorcerers?