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Author Topic: [D&D] Character creation advice  (Read 1781 times)

Dr_Avalanche

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[D&D] Character creation advice
« on: April 26, 2006, 06:55:23 AM »
I'm joining a D&D game in the middle of a campaign, and I need to make a character. I've been told not to worry about "what the group needs", so I have a lot of freedom, but still, I'm reluctant to simply overlap the function of another character exactly. Currently the group consists of:
 
Dwarf Paladin 4/Fighter 2 (tank in some kind of magical full plate)
Elf Rogue 4/Fighter 2 (utility rogue, a bit combat focused) /w Bard cohort
Ranger 6 (very archery focused)
Sorcerer 6 (evoker-style - a fireball-machine)
Cleric 6 (npc)
 
If I make a cleric, the npc will probably go away at some convenient time, but I'm not particularly tempted of playing the healbot, so that option is probably out.
 
I'm tempted to either do some kind of Barbarian multiclass, a druid, or a wizard.
 
The game is very tactical in style - there is (virtually) no first-person roleplaying, no character-driven plots (I have seen no other character motivations than "do good" and "get rich" so far), so this is an exercise in maximising the utility of a lvl 5 character (I'm starting at half the xp of the other characters which translates into one level behind the rest).
 
So...do you have any nasty combos? Any good ideas for how I can make myself useful to this group?
 
It's point-buy, 28 points, everything not in the standard books need to be checked with the GM beforehand.

Bagpuss

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[D&D] Character creation advice
« Reply #1 on: April 26, 2006, 09:39:47 AM »
You could go a Warmage make the Sorcerer feel totally redundant. :heh:

What's "Standard Books" is it just the PHB & DMG?

Standard books are are table are PHB, DMG, Complete X books, with certain classes banned (Warmage, for example).

Personally I'ld be inclined to go a Cleric and ask the DM to phased out the NPC cleric. If you are worried about being a healbot, go neutral, and channel negative energy, and only memorize a small number of Cures or Vigor spells. Although I find not having to memorize cure spells means that I actually have more slots free for none healing magic. If you do go for negative energy you end up with less choices since you have to memorize the few Cures you do take. This could also be a problem if you decide to go a Druid, especially if the GM feels he can get rid of the NPC cleric now he has a PC that can do divine healing.

I play a Dwarven Cleric CN cleric (postive energy), who very rarely casts Cures in combat as he is too busy with Enlarge Person (Domain spell) and swinging his Large Greataxe at everything in his 10ft reach. Afterwards I drop a few cures, where needed.

My theory is if I kill something before it damages us then I'll need to do less healing afterwards.

A Barbarian/Druid might be an interesting mix.
 

Dr_Avalanche

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[D&D] Character creation advice
« Reply #2 on: April 26, 2006, 10:05:33 AM »
Standard here is just PHb and DMG. I think that pretty much anything released by WotC would have a good chance of getting acceptance, but I don't own much besides those two anyway.

Name Lips

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[D&D] Character creation advice
« Reply #3 on: April 26, 2006, 10:29:34 AM »
I've always wanted to play a diviner. But, played well, they can be real pains for the DM...
Next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyways, it's still rock and roll to me.

You can talk all you want about theory, craft, or whatever. But in the end, it's still just new ways of looking at people playing make-believe and having a good time with their friends. Intellectualize or analyze all you want, but we've been playing the same game since we were 2 years old. We just have shinier books, spend more money, and use bigger words now.

Sigmund

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[D&D] Character creation advice
« Reply #4 on: April 26, 2006, 10:39:51 AM »
Bah, make them keep the npc medic and play a wizard.
- Chris Sigmund

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Dr_Avalanche

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[D&D] Character creation advice
« Reply #5 on: April 26, 2006, 10:40:45 AM »
Quote from: Name Lips
I've always wanted to play a diviner. But, played well, they can be real pains for the DM...

Actually, that's what I played most recently, in Cyberzombie's game. A paladin/diviner... ;)

It worked well there. It could be useful in this group as well, I suppose.

gleichman

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[D&D] Character creation advice
« Reply #6 on: April 26, 2006, 10:43:59 AM »
Quote from: Name Lips
I've always wanted to play a diviner. But, played well, they can be real pains for the DM...


Knowledge = power.
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Cyberzombie

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[D&D] Character creation advice
« Reply #7 on: April 26, 2006, 11:55:12 AM »
Quote from: Dr_Avalanche
Actually, that's what I played most recently, in Cyberzombie's game. A paladin/diviner... ;)

It worked well there. It could be useful in this group as well, I suppose.
Heh.  She would blow your current parties fucking mind.  Especially when she shows up with the parasol.  :heh:

With just the PHB, your choices are pretty limited.  See if your DM has and will let you use Unearthed Arcana.  If so, play a human.  Take your first level as rogue and pick the option where you trade the sneak attack progression for the fighter bonus feat progression.  5th level -- hmm.  I'd take 3 levels of rogue, to knock your skill points up, and 2 levels of fighter.  You'd get fighter bonus feats for every level except your 3rd rogue level, so you'll have 6 feats in all.  See if you can convince your DM to trade medium and heavy armour proficiencies for Dodge.

Dump your feats into being a cuisinart (get the whole tree up to whirlwind attack; I think you'll have enough feats).  Get a high-ish Dex and max out your Tumble skill.  When you get another feat, get Combat Reflexes; after that, two-weapon fighting and bastard sword proficiency are always fun.


If you go the barbarian/druid route, do a half-orc.  The Int and Cha penalties are almost meaningless to the druid (you're not going to be communing with the wittle forest critters).  Once you have wildshape, you will also be a cuisinart -- just a different type of one.  :)
 

Dr_Avalanche

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[D&D] Character creation advice
« Reply #8 on: April 26, 2006, 05:10:20 PM »
Quote from: Cyberzombie
Heh.  She would blow your current parties fucking mind.  Especially when she shows up with the parasol.  :heh:

It really would, I'd expect. My early impression is that they don't see a lot of characters like the posh paladin/diviner school mistress with a strong preference for pastel colours and a cohort whose main function was to set up the pavilion when the party made camp...

Quote
With just the PHB, your choices are pretty limited.  See if your DM has and will let you use Unearthed Arcana.  If so, play a human.  Take your first level as rogue and pick the option where you trade the sneak attack progression for the fighter bonus feat progression.  5th level -- hmm.  I'd take 3 levels of rogue, to knock your skill points up, and 2 levels of fighter.  You'd get fighter bonus feats for every level except your 3rd rogue level, so you'll have 6 feats in all.  See if you can convince your DM to trade medium and heavy armour proficiencies for Dodge.

Dump your feats into being a cuisinart (get the whole tree up to whirlwind attack; I think you'll have enough feats).  Get a high-ish Dex and max out your Tumble skill.  When you get another feat, get Combat Reflexes; after that, two-weapon fighting and bastard sword proficiency are always fun.

If you go the barbarian/druid route, do a half-orc.  The Int and Cha penalties are almost meaningless to the druid (you're not going to be communing with the wittle forest critters).  Once you have wildshape, you will also be a cuisinart -- just a different type of one.  :)

Hm. I don't have Unearthed Arcana. I'll ask the GM about using it. If he's okay with it, I'll go look it up at the FLGS.

Cyberzombie

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[D&D] Character creation advice
« Reply #9 on: April 26, 2006, 05:30:44 PM »
Quote from: Dr_Avalanche
It really would, I'd expect. My early impression is that they don't see a lot of characters like the posh paladin/diviner school mistress with a strong preference for pastel colours and a cohort whose main function was to set up the pavilion when the party made camp...


That could be a lot of fun with such a tactical-oriented group.  You might give 'em fits.  :heh:

Quote from: Dr_Avalanche
Hm. I don't have Unearthed Arcana. I'll ask the GM about using it. If he's okay with it, I'll go look it up at the FLGS.


If you're only going to own one 3.5 book outside the Core, UA is it.  It has some of the *best* crunch they've put out.  (Complete Arcane is also good, but more specialized.)  The variant base classes and the racial paragon classes make it a book worth buying right there.
 

Name Lips

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[D&D] Character creation advice
« Reply #10 on: April 26, 2006, 05:31:59 PM »
Quote from: Dr_Avalanche
It really would, I'd expect. My early impression is that they don't see a lot of characters like the posh paladin/diviner school mistress with a strong preference for pastel colours and a cohort whose main function was to set up the pavilion when the party made camp...

That sounds like a BADASS character! I might steal that!
Next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyways, it's still rock and roll to me.

You can talk all you want about theory, craft, or whatever. But in the end, it's still just new ways of looking at people playing make-believe and having a good time with their friends. Intellectualize or analyze all you want, but we've been playing the same game since we were 2 years old. We just have shinier books, spend more money, and use bigger words now.

Dr_Avalanche

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[D&D] Character creation advice
« Reply #11 on: April 26, 2006, 05:52:08 PM »
Quote from: Name Lips
That sounds like a BADASS character! I might steal that!

Feel free. :)

Naked Cosmonaut

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[D&D] Character creation advice
« Reply #12 on: April 27, 2006, 02:04:43 AM »
If you don't mind a lot of paperwork, a summoner druid could prove very interesting.  The Summon Nature's Ally spells have a lot of useful choices at low levels (like Wolverines at II, they just won't go down, and the Dire Wolf at III, which can hit and trip almost anything you'll be fighting.)  Your minions won't be putting out the best damage, but they can take up space, and the ones with automatic trips or improved grapple can simply remove an opponent from the fight.

The only problem is that since you'll be playing at least two characters during battle, your turns will take much longer, and there's a lot more to juggle tactically.  Also, the Summon XX spells take a while to get off, so you might miss the battle depending on how much damage your group puts out.

And of course who doesn't want to be a master of beasts?
 

Dr_Avalanche

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[D&D] Character creation advice
« Reply #13 on: April 27, 2006, 06:11:56 AM »
I think I'll pass on the summoning, thanks. :)
For the first session I played the cleric npc, which was specialized in summoning, and it was a pain even at that low level.

And I've been told that Unearthed Arcana is a no-go, but the Complete books are tentatively ok, though the GM still wants to check any class, feat or spell used from them.

Cyberzombie

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[D&D] Character creation advice
« Reply #14 on: April 27, 2006, 11:00:58 AM »
Quote from: Dr_Avalanche
And I've been told that Unearthed Arcana is a no-go, but the Complete books are tentatively ok, though the GM still wants to check any class, feat or spell used from them.


Tell your DM that he SUCKS.  UA is better balanced than most of the stuff in the splat books.  :p


Well, warlocks in Complete Arcane are fun -- you get very few powers, but you get to use them *all the time*.  Being able to fly and use eldritch blast every round rocks.  Just make sure that if you do that, you get pre-approval for the class as a whole, including all powers.  It would suck to not have access to all their variety of powers.

Hmm.  I'm not sure exactly where to steer you with the splatbooks.  It kind of depends on what you want to do.  If you want to be a wizard, for example, you'll need Complete Divine and the divine munchkin, er, oracle class.  (Full wizard spell progression, d6 HD, *and* nifty powers?  Sign me up!)  Doesn't matter what kind of wizard you are -- if you're an evoker, you're still going to want the divine oracle.  :)

Any type of character really appealing to you?  I could help you totally munchkin just about anything out, but I'd need more clues.  :)