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Bacchanalian
2014-07-18, 12:23 AM
Hey guys! I just registered here after lurking for several weeks using lots of old threads for some inspiration as I'm about to start playing a 3.5 game with my wife and some guys I met online and haven't played in probably 20 years since I was a teenager playing 2e. One of my favorite threads was a Cool Character Concept thread, and since the rules forbid necroing old threads, I wanted to start a new one to see if there are any other cool ideas people are playing with (and to share mine)!

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?184416-Cool-Character-Concepts

That's the old one.

So my DM specified that he wants us to play characters with some sort of flaw. The more drastic the flaw, the more he'll give the character some leeway, perhaps extra XP gain, something to offset the flaw in the interest of keeping the story interesting. I had my heart set on some sort of Bard, and really was leaning towards a Chaotic Neutral Bard that was a bit of a pain in the rear end, but I've read on here that CN is generally frowned upon and the cause of a lot of party drama, so I'm altering that idea.

My bard is some sort of addict. I'm consulting with the DM on his world and what I might be addicted to, but something perhaps like Skooma in Skyrim, a heavier duty, longer lasting tobacco type of thing, something along those lines. Maybe to the extent of a mild opiate addiction or something along the lines of marijuana (sorry if this sort of thing is offensive to anyone) with more addictive properties. Something on which my character is perfectly functional, but without which he is in varying stages of withdrawal. When "normal" (i.e., under the influence), he's Chaotic Good, functional, sharp, witty, etc. In general, his addiction gives him low Constitution, which accounts for his score of 7. His strength is also impacted, so his second lowest stat, 11, is strength. I was lucky enough to roll an 18, so whatever he feels on the substance makes him very confident, which contributes to his 18 charisma. It's not something that impacts his coordination either, so his dex is 14. Rounding him out with my other two rolls, 16 int and 13 wisdom.

Withdrawals, however, make him a very different person. He starts crankier and less "good". More "desperate and out for himself", at which point he starts trending more and more Chaotic Neutral. I'm taking an ability that helps him hide this spiral, Undetectable Alignment, which he'll use along with something else yet to be determined to hide his decline until his next fix (or a complete meltdown when he never finds that fix and starts degenerating into varying stages of psychotic episodes during which he experiences hallucinations, paranoia, and an increasing difficulty in communicating coherently without drawing attention to himself).

This sound like good stuff? My DM really likes to emphasize story and our group agrees that story is more important than numbers and rules-lawyering, so I think with that degree of flexibility I should be able to make this work and the DM should be able to use it for some plot twists and mini-campaigns when my character goes off the reservation because his supply has dried up. I figure he'll also attach some penalties to my stats when experiencing various stages of withdrawal, which will add to the interest as my party is forced more and more to babysit me until I get my fix. I figure I'll make up for this to a degree by being a very support-oriented character that is very valuable to the group when functional.

What've you got? Anything fun and new you're working on or wanting to work on?

Stellar_Magic
2014-07-18, 12:45 AM
I'm sorely tempted to do an old school, back to the Orkney Island and Shetland legends with a female Drow Bard with a fiddle, probably make her CN and very... fey-like with a capricious and unpredictable nature. Maybe even keep some recordings of traditional Shetland 'trowie tunes' and just roll with it.

You know, that's one class that I've never seen anyone use with a Drow... and that's actually what the original myth makes them known for. *Shrugs*

TheThan
2014-07-18, 02:44 PM
I’ve got a mind to play a dwarf earth druid.

He’s focused on earth and stone based spells, earthquake, Wall of stone that sort of magic (spell compendium is a WONDERFUL sourcebook here). Probably has an earth elemental animal companion.
I think he’d be a pretty cool character.