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Post by Dibígo LeMuze on Jul 24, 2007 16:46:15 GMT -5
Ravu's final level ended up being Kensai; Blade Dancer turned out to be a waste of time (and BAB, given the required level in Shaman), as the 4 levels wasted on it would have put Ravu at level 11 Kensai for the final combat (effectively at +2 to hit +3.5 damage, and effectively +3 comparing level 12 Kensai with the current build). I'm probably taking Spell Storing as the signature weapon ability (+1 equivalent), to be charged with an empowered ray of clumsiness as cast by Vassec, though fireball would be FUNNY (I make my save). Actually, since the body is a double (triple? quadruple?) weapon, each "side" would be enchanted separately ... this means storing 2-4 spells. Candidates would be (in order) empowered ray of clumsiness, slow, sonicball, and fireball. Signature Weapon: Body (counted for XP costs as x4(?)) It should be noted that our interpretation of Epic Kensai allowing for continued progression of the signature weapon ability easily makes this the most powerful epic class in the game (standard characters gain +1 to attack every two levels, but epic kensais gain three to attack every two levels; a Fighter 24 with a +6 weapon attacks at +28, a Fighter 10/Kensai 14 attacks at +29. A pure warrior-type can only keep pace with a kensai if his weapon gets a further +1 bonus every level, with three levels of slack). With this in mind, when Ravu's attack bonus (BAB+epic+weapon) exceeds that of a pure fighter with a +10 weapon (level 38), he'll start advancing in other classes again. Ravu would then be a Monk/Kensai/Shaman/BladeDancer 11/23/1/3, to which I'd add BladeDancer/Monk +7/+7, then continue kensai/monk for two more levels (to 20/25/1/10, ECL 56). If Ravu is still advancing by this time, something is wrong. He'll take it out on Tiamat (if he hasn't already), and then seek divinity. Further advancement would be sought as acquired templates to hit ECL 60 (like half-dragon, bumped to +4 for altering it to acquired from inherited, Ravu would choose bronze for the electricity); gods love their rounded level numbers. Some of you ought to look at the Epic Skill usages for kooky epic applications. Also note that synergy bonuses recur every 20 ranks (5, 25, 45, etc.). Spot DC 60 will tell you the square an invisible creature is in, for instance (even Superior Invisibility, unless this is explicitly excepted or the bonus to hide is increased from the standard +40). Further items desired by Ravu include: - more teleports/day (a 2-way trip in one day would be nice)
- some sort of bonus to balance (walking on water is DC 90, bonus is currently +51, I need to check the type of bonus granted by Blade Dancer)
- beefing of beholder amulet
- possible adding of rusting to taichi sword
- various goodies for his clan keep
Ravu will certainly ask his companions for assistance in bringing his keep up to a respectable condition. He would soon thereafter start recruiting teachers ... from around the world, and from the Astral plane (since he can travel there freely with his Robe of Stars). Further efforts would be for the benefit of his clan (Eel), friends (Last Warning), and for the glory of Bahamut. Speaking of which, where is he? Ravu will certainly be interested in restoring Bahamut to power, though he wouldn't actively pursue this path, he will inquire about it when given good opportunity, and he'll be sure to keep his relationship with Bahamut's head priest at Kaska fresh with several visits a month. As the Eel clan grows, the lands around the keep will come to see it as somewhat pivotal to their governance (much as Eel used to be, a mediator and, when needed, an ardent and able peace-keeping force). They are more interested in balance and a fair field for individuals to shine than they are in fighting evil for the sake of things good and pure, though as the evil impose tyranny, these are often the same. The kensai class requires an oath ... Ravu's current oath is the restoration of his clan to an honorable and reputable position in the Eastern lands. Upon such completion, his next oath would likely be a total devotion to god (Bahamut) and country (Eel clan holdings and protectorates). Eel clan standard templates (planned to level ~15): - monk 7, kensai 4, monk 4
- monk/fighter 4/4, kensai 4, fighter/kensai +
- monk/cleric 3/3, sacred-fist/kensai +
- rogue/monk 4/4, kensai/rogue +
- rogue/wizard 5/5, arcane trickster +
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Post by Cuthbert on Jul 24, 2007 22:57:31 GMT -5
I took Cuthbert's last level in Dragon Disciple, despite the fact that it in fact gives him nothing useful, just for old time's sake. He gains a breath weapon a million times weaker than the one he already has, some good saves, and I went ahead and rolled his hit points, figuring it wouldn't much matter at this point, and rolled a 5. I took alchemy (again for old time's sake, and because bluff isn't a DD class skill) and his last language was Drow, which I had somehow managed to miss, up until that point. Caster level still goes up, because I still have levels left on practiced spellcaster.
For awhile, you'd be able to find Cuthbert at the research center he'd set up in the Elven Kingdom if you ever wanted to remenisce, and he might even leave once or twice to do something specific, although it would take some convincing. He would seem more and more distant and distracted as time went on, and eventually, anyone from Last Warning seeking to find him would discover that he'd left for another plane, and they would be given a letter that the people at the University were instructed to give to his former traveling companions.
To those who traveled with me:
I have discovered a terrible secret. It is what I have been looking for all this time.
I would tell you how I finally discovered who I was and what drove this self-perpetuating search, but I worry that the truth of it might flummox Vasec's steel-trapped mind and break Kyven's stone heart. It is knowledge that presents problems to which Orphen will have no solution, obstacles Ravu cannot vault over.
What I know is this:
We are all of us clouds made of nothing. We're haunted tunnels filled with air and the distant sound of rushing water. Our cities and kingdoms are dust and whispered breaths in the cold stretch of eternity, our legends forgotten, our heroes buried and decaying in unmarked tombs. Before the eldest of elder brains, our thoughts are the conditioning of animals, while our lives tick by as seconds to the gods and our goodwill is blackened and bloody in the eyes of angels. And even they are erasable dots on the path of forever, mere motes in the winds of fate. Bags of bones.
And our hands cut scars into the faces of the living, guided by quills that would leave the Moirae trembling at the forces of destiny.
But this is okay; this is what elevates us above the highest choir of celestial song, above the darkest Lord of the Abyss, and above the gods themselves: purpose. A singular and personal intention, free from the random edges of Occum's Razor and guided instead by mortal will.
I must go now, and it is likely that I go for good. There are those that would rub at their wounds and rail their fists in vain against the walls of their lives when they catch the light of the Brightest Sun out of the corners of their eyes, and for some, their anger is perhaps justified. It is why I go alone, save for Link, who has known the deeper truths of my discoveries since before I ever thought of searching for them.
I hope all of you find whatever it is you are looking for- all of you were contributors in helping me achieve my goal of goals, and I thank you.
-Cuthbert Zeal
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Post by Dibígo LeMuze on Jul 25, 2007 15:23:28 GMT -5
(I see no reason not to put this in everybody's view) A couple things about Ravu and the eel clan. First, would there be an organizational name? Currently in my notes I have it simply listed as the eel clan. The Eel clan used to be quite large. It was known globally as the "Eel clan" but each locality was named after the area it hailed from. I don't know city names in that region, and it doesn't really matter to me, so I never had a formal name e.g. Unagi-Shenzuei if the city were named Shenzuei. Ravu also has no family name because his family status is unknown (his lack of familial relations likely saved him from being hunted when the Eel clan was annihilated). The newly formed Eel clan would be named for its region, like Unagi-Xengshai. Eel clan specializes in unarmed combat with shock, as explained in Ravu's character description. This used to happen through a specialized tattoo on the body that may be activated mentally at the cost of a standard action to add shocking to the clansman's body for the next (one) attack. A custom feat would make this consume a single melee attack instead of an entire standard action. It required a unique item creation (-ish) feat and the ability to cast shocking grasp and may be imbued on others so long as they are trained in the Eel clan's fighting techniques. Creation costs should be equivalent to that of a wand. There are three charges for each caster level of the imbuer, up to a maximum of 30. Ravu has no idea of tattoos in his clan, though if he borrows some of Vassec's time, it is not difficult to determine. Ravu's old gloves acted as a substitute for the tattoo, fading after the charges ran out. Since this ability is lost or hard to recover, it will surface around 10th level, when most Eel clansmen get their second kensai level (see above templates). Until then, they will use unarmed attacks just like Ravu. A few of them will have an Amulet of Mighty Fists with shock and a bonus of some sort. Those who had such amulets and then attain the ability through kensai levels will get monk's belts instead. That tree will be key, plus stunning fist, shocking fist*, improved disarm. Shocking fist would be the ability to use the aforementioned tattoos, assuming the research is done to return that to use. All members of Last Warning are invited to take up personal residence at the keep. Space will be made, more generous to those who promise to spend more time at the keep (or who promise to invest in the keep, see below). Nobody is turned down unless they can't get along. Once the secret to the Eel clan's shock ability is revealed, there will be a "rogue/wizard 5/5, arcane trickster 5" template added to the above list (and Orphan will be invited to teach them). Assuming his divine powers get restored, he'll be able to cast Wind Walk, thus moving 60mph in the sky ... which might take more than a few hours, depending on the size of the world. That said, any time he pops in would be met warmly. Ravu would certainly appreciate more teleports per day and an alternate body with his stats to morph into when he wants to be low-key. Many of his visits to Kaazka would utilize this form (though he'd limit the number of people who know it is him ... likely just the high priest of Bahamut). My character sheet actually does mention the reflected spells. I assume Ravu gets to dictate which to reflect, and that adding another spell level would be prohibitively expensive. As mentioned above, an assortment of Amulets of Mighty Fists +1 shocking and Monk's Belts would be useful for the clansmen. The keep already has a chandelier made of a stuffed Aspect of Tiamat (each mouth holds a glowing orb of a matching color, hanging from its tail(s?) with a "Last Warning" sign in its abdomen). Magic mouth alarms by the secret entryways would be desirable, carefully placed at a distance, with tubes by its mouth to carry the noise all over the keep (much like the broken rig at my old Roslindale home). If there are 4th level wizards in the clan, these can be kept up-to-date without needing permanency (especially if they are chained; the second mouth only triggers when the first is expended, etc). Lanterns with continual flame and shutters for rooms, no shutters for hallways. A permanent Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum shaped by Vassec to include just the keep (may require multiple castings), excluding the open-air gardens. This will make the windows appear impenetrably dark and foggy from the outside (only). A permanent teleportation circle to Orphan's shop in Kaska with his permission (likely one in each direction). This circle would be hidden on the underside of a trap door leading somewhere else. The door would have to be stretched such that it is fully opened (a spring requires some effort here), and then stepped on to trigger. A permanent nystul's magic aura ensures it is not magically detectable. If this would get Orphan to take up residency here, it would be a boon for all (he can train, and it would be good for inter-continental trade, etc). Wow, wall of iron is cheap! Ravu would certainly ask for Vassec to reinforce the outer walls and roof of the keep.
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Post by Paul on Jul 25, 2007 16:12:37 GMT -5
Most of the things you asked for would be attainable once you sell the items from the final session which will be done on the board once Alex posts them. As for the tatoo for a shocking attack, there is a feat in PHB2 whihc allows you to expend a stunning fist to make your unarmed attacks do 1d6 fire for one round. We can tweak that feat to do electric instead with the added prereq of the tatoo and eel clan training if you are interested and it would work fine as a second level monk tree feat. (or we could switch it with the 6th level one if you think thats too soon).
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Post by Dibígo LeMuze on Jul 26, 2007 12:04:10 GMT -5
As for the tatoo for a shocking attack, there is a feat in PHB2 whihc allows you to expend a stunning fist to make your unarmed attacks do 1d6 fire for one round. We can tweak that feat to do electric instead [...] (or we could switch it with the 6th level one if you think thats too soon). I'm not sure if that feat is balanced, but it would fit perfectly into the Eel clan when adapted to shock instead of flame. This means I have to modify my templates (note edit above).
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Post by Greg on Jul 30, 2007 8:04:25 GMT -5
First, that feat is balanced, in my humble opinion. For the cost of a feat (Improved Natural Attack), Ravu could up his unarmed damage by between 1.5 and 2.5, depending on what dice his fists are at these days. And that's damage that is significantly tougher to resist than Shock Damage, which he could only do a very limited number of rounds per day.
Second, Kivan would likely attempt to send Cuthbert a reply (leave it at Orfin's shop, perhaps), which would read as follows:
Cuthbert ...Zeal?
Bugger, but I never knew that that was your last name. Did your parents hate you? Or were they Zeal(ots) too. Good job never lettin' me know what it was when we were travelling together, 'cause I never would have let you hear the end of it. Once more, with Zeal! Ha!
The rest of that was lovely too. Shadows and dust, all of that. But when push comes to shove, we shoved better than the other fella. Better than about 10 billion other fellas, actually. Which makes us all kinds of memorable. I mean, in a hundred years, folks're still goin' to be tellin' tales of the Last Warning. Sure, they're going to get them all wrong, but that's half the fun.
I mean, I know I'm going to end up a barbarian in the retelling. Kivan the Red, or somethin, wielding a giant flail, 12 feet tall (thanks for all those Enlarges, by the way. They're gonna do great stuff for me in the stories). The story-Kivan will -certainly- have gotten lucky with the various ladies we met, will get drunk before he goes adventuring explicitly for the purposes of having sufficient urine to void his bladder on each and every enemy that we encounter. He'll drink alchemist's fire just to prove that Resist Energy works on your innards. And heck, he'll probably have a tentacley beard from the time he beheaded an illithid god and tried to eat it. That's the fun of stories!
And lord knows you're all not going to be spared. Vasek is absolutely ending up a shadow elf, from the plane of shadow. They'll tell stories about his unending angst-laden struggle to defy his natural evil heritage. They'll tell about that time he got possessed and choked out, and how he and Kivan were so bored by Lord High I-Misspelled-Dragon-When-I-Went-To-Evil-Wizarding-School-And-Chose-A-Psueodonym that they decided to go play Last Warning (which is like Hangman, but with stabbing) in the ethereal plane, and then go to the Abyss for fun, before returning to whoop on the fellow.
Cuthbert, you yerself are likely to take on epic proportions. You'll breath fire, have more scales, and glowy eyes too. That whole owl think has go to go, though. No epic fingerwiggler has an owl. It'll have to be a pit fiend owl, or something - when you were a young boy, your grandpa was dealing with the devil or some such. He went out to use the loo, and you cut in...and for a piece of your soul, the demon agreed to serve you. But you tricked him and stuffed him inside an owl, and he haunts you to this day. Sounds great!
Ravu's going to end up the Death God of Monkeys. There isn't much doubt about it. As somebody who has seen the otherworld more times, there'll be tales upon tales of how he made his climb check up the neverending stairs from the netherworld...what...four times? five? How he rose from the dead as a zombie monkey, and his friends had to send him back to find his proper path? That's great stuff.
Aaron might need some work, but I'm sure once it's all said and done, he'll be riding a dragon, and he'll be the one who slew everything. These epic stories love paladins. It's all the shiny that does it.
And Gideon might have the best story of anybody. He played dice with the devil in the pale moonlight, and lost his soul, got locked in a hole, much like a mole. It took a terrible toll - they couldn't find him a scrying bowl. That's a story from the plane of shadow, by the by. Always rhyming. Anyhow, Gideon'll be some friendly plant-monster with a heart of...um. Not really gold. Iron? Too strong. Silver? Too pure. Rusty copper. A heart of rusty copper.
See? Stories! So don't fret the existential bits. We'll live on in tale, and people will tell great lies about us! It'll be grand.
-Kivan
P.S. You may wonder how I know all these stories are going to come to be. I own a tavern. And I'm soon gonna own more taverns. By the time I'm through with all of you, you'll be damn near unrecognizable, but you'll have ladies flinging themselves at you from every corner.
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Post by Dibígo LeMuze on Jul 30, 2007 17:35:03 GMT -5
that feat is balanced, in my humble opinion. For the cost of a feat (Improved Natural Attack), Ravu could up his unarmed damage by between 1.5 and 2.5, depending on what dice his fists are at these days. And that's damage that is significantly tougher to resist than Shock Damage, which he could only do a very limited number of rounds per day. Paul's feat in question is Fiery Fist (see excerpt), which requires BAB=8, making it available to monk/fighter-types at 9th level and others at 11th; at this point, they will already have taken two levels of kensai and attained the magic weapon special ability. Greg's feat in question is a monster feat, with mention that monks may take this feat in the official FAQ (see this forum for citations). ... that's a cool application, though a bit odd (the monster feat appears to require making the natural weapons disproportionately large, but a monk uses the entire body, so does anything get larger, or does the monk simply hit as hard as a monk of twice the size would?). With this knowledge, I'll default back to my proposed feats so that there is a good one for second level monks: IMBUE ENERGY TATTOOPrerequisite: Caster level 5th. Benefit: You ink a magical energy tattoo (of flaming, frost, or shock) onto an individual with the Stunning Fist feat. Use the same spells as for adding the magic weapon special ability and the same cost for creating a wand for a first level spell. Upon activation, the tattoo grants the ability to the user for one full round. The tattoo may be activated by a (harmless) stunning fist attack against the recipient (self -- this costs a melee attack and a use of stunning fist). Each tattoo may be used three times per caster level of the imbuer, up to a maximum of 30. IMPROVED ENERGY TATTOOPrerequisite: Stunning Fist. Benefit: You may activate an energy tattoo as a swift action (you still must expend a use of Stunning Fist). Wondrous magic item: Cestus of energy tattoos: These simple cloth strips are wound around the hands, acting as an energy tattoo with no maximum number of charges (so a 15th level wizard would imbue 45 charges). They grant the user the Improved Energy Tattoo feat and the Stunning Fist feat (though only for the purpose of expending daily uses into tattoos). Faint Evocation; CL 5th; Craft Wondrous Item, Imbue Energy Tattoo, and one of {flame blade, flame strike, or fireball} or {chill metal or ice storm} or {call lightning or lightning bolt}; Price 8,000 gp. The preferred monk feat tree would be either Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, or Stunning Fist, Improved Energy Tattoo, Improved Natural Attack.
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Post by Paul on Jul 31, 2007 10:15:27 GMT -5
First of all the full description states that monks of 2nd level who have taken stunning fist may tak the feat even without the prerequisites.
Second. I have no problem with the feats you created but they are very underpowered as it takes two feats if you expect not to throw away an attack and I expect most PC monks would never take those two feats instead of flaming fist if they had heard of it.
As for improved natural attack, I think monks can technically take it but I so not like it and would thus rather not have it a part of the feat trees you teach as it would encourage taking a feat which I would rather PC's not take as this is one feat which when created was not meant to be used for PCs.
You could however take fiery ki defense as a third feat if you are interested substituting for lightning. (I would need to check to be sure that it can be taken eary as a monk feat but I am sure considering the progression that it can be taken by 6th level monks)
As for Kivan's stories, theyre awsome but you left out Orphen although be shrouded in mystery is probably to his liking.
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Post by Dibígo LeMuze on Aug 2, 2007 14:06:17 GMT -5
First of all the full description states that monks of 2nd level who have taken stunning fist may tak the feat even without the prerequisites. Ah, all I had access to was the summary. The imbuing feat would be taken by a spellcaster, that s/he may imbue the rest of the clan as needed. It would be a rare feat, as only one is needed per clan holding, but your first point removes this need. The requirements for Fiery Ki Defense and Ki Blast appear to merely copy those from Fiery Fist and add Fiery Fist to the list. It therefore stands to reason that either could be taken as a bonus monk feat if Fiery Fist had been taken as a previous bonus monk feat. Ki Blast looks preferable to Shocking Ki Defense, though I can't tell what type of energy damage it deals (wtf is "ki energy damage?"). Untyped would be too powerful IMHO, but electric would work quite well in Eel Clan's monk feat tree.
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Post by orphen on Dec 25, 2007 19:27:38 GMT -5
Immediate plans following last session: Dragon treasure! Having single handedly killed the blue dragon Orphen is entitled to a triple share of its treasure and as he is the only one who cares about finding it he is entitled to another quadruple share. Orphen’s going to track down the blue dragons hoard and use it to bolster his shop's profits. The shop will then finance all of Orphen’s interests for the foreseeable future.
Sometime in the immediate future: Orphen is going to make numerous Simulacra of him one of which will man the home store and others will roam the world, disguised, researching various ruins, libraries and records. These don't have to be the max 12th level versions from a 24th level Orphen but will probably range from levels 5 to 10. They will all have instructions to roam a certain region of the globe and return in a predetermined amount of time. The highest level Simulacrum will be sent to the Empire of Izmet to find out what will happen in the power vacuum of us slaying the emperor. If it all possible Orphen would arrange for himself to not to be emperor himself but maybe a duke or earl in the new government.
Post-immediate future: Piracy! Orphen, the real one, is going to take a break from serious adventuring and become a pirate. Not a Pirate Captain at first but after the first few years Orphen would buy, or more appropriately steal the best ship he could find (and even more likely the ship of someone who had slighted him.) While Captain, Orphen is going to use his high sea adventures to set up and hide a number of labs each to house number of clones of himself. Hidden around the world, in ruins and sealed back rooms of pubs, taverns, inns, Orphen is going to have anywhere from 20 to 100 inert clones of himself. From 5 spell slots per day available for Clone and scrolls he can make while sailing it shouldn’t be hard to make many clones. Also while a pirate Orphen is going to modify memory some of his victims to think that he was more devilish, handsome, and maybe a little more insane than he is.
Post-Post Immediate actions: Orphen is going to take Epic Spell Casting and get a Living Vault. It’ll hold his considerable personal fortune, magic items, and maybe a few constructs as personal, summonable guardians. Although when one has his own personal vault with 608 hp that can fight for him one doesn’t need extra help. Granted Orphen likes to be sporting, and assuming Orphen has clones active, and dieing won't put him below epic, Orphen doesn't mind shuffling off his mortal coil (assuming he can come back, track down his opponent, and beat the ever loving snot out of his attacker.)
PPPI Orphen is going to make his own demi-plane through the use of the Level 9 spell Genesis. He is going to set the gravity to higher than earth norm, terrain as a rocky mountain for half of it and a plain as the other. Time will pass at the rate of one week in the demi-plane will equal a day on the Material. But one cannot stay for days in a row. Multiple castings will increase the size. Using his vast magical arsenal he is going to create a castle keep in it through Conjuration spells: wall of iron et al. This is where Orphen is going to train himself and those he deems worthy enough to guard the world with him.
To this end Orphen is going to hold an annual event in which he hosts a hunt in the Beastlands. He will port people to the plane and there will be many different events. There will be races through dense jungle, hunts for exotic animals, and games of strategy. The winners of these events will then be invited to join Orphen’s elite team of global guardians.
The only thing Orphen doesn’t really care about is where the gods went. He isn’t going to try to find them or get them to come back; Orphen is going to use his considerable magical might to protect the world. If they do come back, great. That means magical healing is back in style. If they don’t come back, that’s fine too. Orphen is fully prepared to become the guardian of the earth (or whatever it is that your world is called.)
Orphen is going to take is next couple levels as a Spellsword, or in his case a Spellbow. Although on careful read of the class only melee weapons can be affected by channel spell so Orphen will use whatever he has ready: sword, spear, mace, gnome hooked hammer, what have you. Granted one doesn’t get channel spell until 4th level so we don’t have to worry about that. Also as long as Orphen gets three levels every 200 years, assuming Gray Elves live to be 400, then he can effectively live forever.
Orphen doesn’t really have typical followers since he draws them from all classes through his Beastlands Hunt. From Barbarians to Sorcerers Orphen has them all. Although his shop and researchers will primarily be drawn from spell casters, arcane and divine (read druids) and his soldiers will be primarily melee classes with some battle mages thrown in for good merit and buffs. If asked though I can come up with a few models, be it spell casters, melee-ists, or melee spell casters.
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