Character Planning

[Chemus]

Well, you could just turn it off before attacking and restart it - it's a free action, right?...

By the way, with my dragonmark focus and level up I can now dimension door 40' farther than your dog.

If my dog could share the spell with me, I'd be jealous.

[VennDygrem]

Just a head's up for everyone. I know people will be getting busy with the next week. I think it's inevitable that this game won't get off the ground this week. As close as people are getting, we're not quite there yet, and I don't expect everyone to spend time glued to PbP rather than spending it with family, regardless of holidays celebrated. I'm continuing to work on converting aspects to make the adventure work, and trying to figure out how to balance encounters against you guys. I also thought I had someone to round out the second group, but turns out he isn't a huge fan of the PbP concept. Smudgy still seems to be interested, but if he joins in it won't be until a bit later, I'm thinking.

[Chemus]

OK. I hope to play sometime soon though

As to how I'm planning on using a Blink Dog in combat; I now have an Eternal Wand of Benign Transposition. VisaEnniway: Everywhere you want to be. (In case it's not obvious, Ennyway teleports to where you desire to be, and I switch your place and his. I'll not use it lightly for getting you away from enemies, but I will if you're in grave danger. Enniway's fragile, though he does have a 40' move and can turn blink on and off as a free action, as TML so kindly pointed out to me Edit: I'm an idiot sometimes; you want away from enemies, I TP Enniway into your spot, and he comes back as a free action. Duh.)

[Flay Crimsonwind]

Well, does give me a bit of time to solidify my sorcerer. By the way, I think I don't really like the metamagic obsession at this level for mage of the arcane order, so I'm looking to try and switch it out. We've already got ourselves a mind-bender, so no to the charming vampire; I think I'll be focusing entirely on "dark" themed spells, relating to battlefield control as before. So yeah, while I hunt through books for something tasty, any suggestions for what people in my party might benefit from? I'm steering clear of my usual favorite, the illusory-fear route, though if all goes according to plan, this campaign could get to the point where it shines.

Edit: Wow, finally read up on binders, via the anima mage. That looks like fun, but not for this campaign, since it would be Sorc 1 / Vamp 3 / Binder 3, then later going into anima mage. If there's a bind that will give me full casting for my binder levels, then maybe... buuuut Iono anything about binding really....

[PhaedrusXY]

Curse of the Putrid Husk is illusionary fear at its best. I like that theme.

[VennDygrem]

For what it's worth, I think a Vampire Beguiler is fairly thematic and gets just as much mileage, if not more, from MotAO. Then again, I'm a little biased toward Beguilers.

I'd love to try a Binder sometime myself, but there are hardly any good chances. No one else is running any other new PbP games now, anyway, so I've got this game to run and Phaedrus's campaign, and that's it for now. That's down from about 4 games just a few months ago. Gettin' pretty scarce here, but I'm not sure how much I trust joining up in a game on one of those other boards. I'm pretty sure I'm still one of the "new guys" here, let alone having to do that again somewhere else.

Anyway, if you come up with any ideas, feel free to shoot 'em by me. I'm not as good a minmaxer as you guys, so I can't recommend nearly as many obscure or alternative sources for you. Still, I'll always take a fair look at anything.

[Flay Crimsonwind]

True that, the getting here kinda sucks...

Alrighty, hold on..... does this build technically work?
Sorcerer 1 / Vampire Paragon 3 / Anima Mage 3
(1) Penumbral Bloodline
(human) Bind Vestige
(Flaw) Any Metamagic feat
(3) Improved Bind Vestige
(6) Lifesense
I can bind like an 8th level binder (albeit one bind at a time, so one a day), and cast like a 7th level sorcerer? I'm pretty sure that it works, I'm not saying it's smart to incur that wrath of karma this game. But am I correct in assuming that works? If it does, and Venn wont dissect me with meteors, it'd only require a little shifting of my feats and classes. And if it does float, then I'd assumesince I'm only ECL 7 that I'd only bind as a 7th level binder for balances sake (though that statement is kinda funny).

Basically, it fills in the feat requirements, skill requirements, and improved Bind Vestige lets you bind as a 5th level binder, but only one at a time, thus I have 3rd level binds available as per the anima mage's requirement. Wow, just occurs to me someone's probably already figured it out...
And they'd done it better. So I think I'll be going:
Sorcerer 1 / Vampire Paragon 3 / Binder 1 / Anima Mage 2, basically the same feat list with just one freed up for funness. Also, means I don't have to mess with my spells, just need to add binding and such! I know, technically I lose a spellcasting level with binder, but I'd think Anima mage would make up for it, yeah?

[bearsarebrown]

I'm thinking currently of a character focused on Enchantment. Telepath probably. Can I use a psionic variant of Mindbender to pick up telepathy? Same requirements except manifester level 5, and it progresses accordingly?

[VennDygrem]

I suppose there's nothing wrong with that. Mindbender is upgraded to full casting progression for this campaign, by the way. I hate classes that are only good for a one-level dip, and think they ought to be fixed rather than relegated to their role.

[BowenSilverclaw]

True that, the getting here kinda sucks...

Alrighty, hold on..... does this build technically work?
Sorcerer 1 / Vampire Paragon 3 / Anima Mage 3
(1) Penumbral Bloodline
(human) Bind Vestige
(Flaw) Any Metamagic feat
(3) Improved Bind Vestige
(6) Lifesense
I can bind like an 8th level binder (albeit one bind at a time, so one a day), and cast like a 7th level sorcerer? I'm pretty sure that it works, I'm not saying it's smart to incur that wrath of karma this game. But am I correct in assuming that works? If it does, and Venn wont dissect me with meteors, it'd only require a little shifting of my feats and classes. And if it does float, then I'd assumesince I'm only ECL 7 that I'd only bind as a 7th level binder for balances sake (though that statement is kinda funny).

Basically, it fills in the feat requirements, skill requirements, and improved Bind Vestige lets you bind as a 5th level binder, but only one at a time, thus I have 3rd level binds available as per the anima mage's requirement. Wow, just occurs to me someone's probably already figured it out...
And they'd done it better. So I think I'll be going:
Sorcerer 1 / Vampire Paragon 3 / Binder 1 / Anima Mage 2, basically the same feat list with just one freed up for funness. Also, means I don't have to mess with my spells, just need to add binding and such! I know, technically I lose a spellcasting level with binder, but I'd think Anima mage would make up for it, yeah?

Yeah, Anima Mage is awesome

EDIT: By the way, do we have any idea already about who is going to be in which group?

[bearsarebrown]

I suppose there's nothing wrong with that. Mindbender is upgraded to full casting progression for this campaign, by the way. I hate classes that are only good for a one-level dip, and think they ought to be fixed rather than relegated to their role.

I had read that but decided not to go with it on a psionic base, as that heavily steps on the toes of Thrallherd(and does it worse).

Psion 5/Mindbender 1/XXX 1 is the stump right now.... anyone got any ideas?

EDIT: Telepath 5/Mindbender 1/ Incarnate 1 heading into the dual progression psionics/incarnum... Right now my saves seem to be 22 + Int + level.

[Thistledown Thurbertaut]

Merry Holidays everyone!

Not sure if this is the right place to inquire. New to these boards and looking for a 3.5 game to join. Might you have room for one more?

[VennDygrem]

Hmm, technically I've got room for one or two more. I have one other player whom I'm waiting to hear back from, though I haven't heard word from them for some time. If you want to try rolling up a character, be my guest, but there are quite a few houserules flying about and I'm not sure if I've got a consolidated list of them all. The most important points are that we're starting at level 7 and HD are averaged, with full HP at level 1, and 1/2 +1 HD at each level after (3 hp for d4, 4 for d6, and so on), plus an extra 10 hp on top of that. Standard WBL, and everyone's going to be getting a minor artifact to begin with. The default grants flight at base land speed 3/day, 1 minute per character level. It's meant to be enough flight to be useful for most purposes and so no one needs to feel obligated to resorting to trickery or adding templates just to gain a fly speed in combat. I'm also giving the option of trading out that artifact for one with abilities tailored more towards your character. For instance, one player's artifact acts like an Improved Robe of Professions/Hat of Disguise, giving costumes that include custom props to go along with them. One player's effectively turns their mind blade into an item familiar.

Oh, on that note: Penalties for losing familiars is lessened. I'm using the Pathfinder RPG rules on this, meaning that a familiar (or psicrystal) that is killed/destroyed or lost through other means (such as releasing it from service) does not lose its master XP, but in order to gain a new familiar or craft a new psicrystal, they spend a week preparing the special ritual materials and must pay 200 gp per level in caster/manifester classes to fund this ritual.

All levels in casting/manifesting classes and prestige classes count toward familiar abilities. They also gain 1 feat for ever 6 character levels you possess, though the familiar still needs to meet the prerequisites of the feat.

This is set in Eberron, and beyond an idea of where you expect your character build will go (you don't need a solid path, just a general guideline), I'm expecting a good idea of your character's background/personality, what sorts of tactics they might employ in battle (are they a debuffer? A trip-monkey? etc.), and any other important character details you might want to add. Feel free to PM me with any questions you don't want to ask here. I'm willing to take odd requests if they're reasonable and can be made to be balanced or are particularly interesting, including homebrew and third-party content.

The balancing factor is Karma, which I've described under the House Rules section in the interest thread.

[Thistledown Thurbertaut]

I would be very much interested in playing a dashing Pixie turned swashbuckling outlaw.  Would this be acceptable?

[BowenSilverclaw]

As for the Artifact, I have an idea. Would it be acceptable to allow my artifact to function as a sort of Wilding Clasp for all my equipment? That would really help with magic items and whatnot, otherwise I would have to spend an extra 4000 gp per magic item (or a +3 Enhancement for armor) I want to be able to use

[VennDygrem]

I would be very much interested in playing a dashing Pixie turned swashbuckling outlaw.  Would this be acceptable?

Perhaps, but I'm unsure if it's the best idea for you. Those LA are really going to hurt, especially at such low level. Constant invisibility is nice, but it won't keep you undetected by everything, and eventually those low hit points are going to be quite the disadvantage, not to mention the lack of class abilities.
What's your proposed build stub?

As for the Artifact, I have an idea. Would it be acceptable to allow my artifact to function as a sort of Wilding Clasp for all my equipment? That would really help with magic items and whatnot, otherwise I would have to spend an extra 4000 gp per magic item (or a +3 Enhancement for armor) I want to be able to use

Giving it for all items would be kind of a major artifact. I'm going to restrict it to affecting a number of magic items equal to 1/2 your character level.

[BowenSilverclaw]

I would be very much interested in playing a dashing Pixie turned swashbuckling outlaw.  Would this be acceptable?

Perhaps, but I'm unsure if it's the best idea for you. Those LA are really going to hurt, especially at such low level. Constant invisibility is nice, but it won't keep you undetected by everything, and eventually those low hit points are going to be quite the disadvantage, not to mention the lack of class abilities.
What's your proposed build stub?

As for the Artifact, I have an idea. Would it be acceptable to allow my artifact to function as a sort of Wilding Clasp for all my equipment? That would really help with magic items and whatnot, otherwise I would have to spend an extra 4000 gp per magic item (or a +3 Enhancement for armor) I want to be able to use

Giving it for all items would be kind of a major artifact. I'm going to restrict it to affecting a number of magic items equal to 1/2 your character level.

Fair enough

Can I change which items are affected when I get new items?

[VennDygrem]

You can assign them at dawn each day.

[BowenSilverclaw]

Nice

Thanks a lot

[Thistledown Thurbertaut]

But....I love Pixies!   

I've had some people here help me out with build stuff for it, and it seems workable but the idea of a Pixie who decides to become a swashbuckler...I dunno but it just sounds awesome! Darkstalker helps against those foes who would otherwise see him.  As far as I know you mentioned starting at Level 7.  I had one DM who was also concerned about low Pixie Hit Die and we used the Savage Species Progression chart and he just ruled that player characters got 1 racial hit die per racial level.  Perhaps something to consider but I'm not attached to it.

Not sure what a build stub is but you probably mean my proposed level progression.

Assuming a LA Buyoff we would end up with something like Pixie 3, Fighter 1, Swordsage 2, Fighter 1, Battle Dancer 1, and then Rogue and Swashbuckler levels to fill out the rest and a single level dip into cleric a some point along the way.  Do you allow 2 flaws at chargen?