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Lyinginbedmon
2007-10-22, 12:38 PM
Anyone keeping track of Avatar Battle Royale will know that my in-context avatar is in possession of the Lost Citadel of Bis Anu, which contains (among other things) a good many Unseen Servants...with a twist.

The energy-powered magic items that produce them mix Unseen Servant with Awaken Construct and Major Image to produce a visible, intelligent, servant. Most of them are just standardised 1st level Commoners and such with ranks to aid in the Citadel's upkeep, but a few are a bit more complex.

Most notably are Atta, Lazarus, Moa, and Pilot. These are the (revealed so far) high-ranked Seen Servant staff in the Citadel.
Atta is the ranking officer in charge of offensive actions, mostly utilising the Jovocian Missiles of the Citadel to eliminate enemies, but also preparing strategies. In the 0.999=1 argument, Atta believes it is true, and he prefers to use an overwhelming force to ensure victory.
Lazarus is the chief medical officer, something of an EMH, who works in the Infirmary. He sometimes works in conjunction with Atta because of his anatomical knowledge. Oddly, he's been seen to largely use Arcane spells in the Infirmary, rather than Divine spells, which have more Healing effects. He's fond of spell combinations.
Moa is the ranking officer in charge of defensive actions, largely this means activating the Citadel's shielding. She is almost always at odds with Atta, notably in their argument on whether 0.999...=1 is true. She believes it is not true, and prefers to use as little force as necessary to solve issues.
Pilot is rarely activated (She has said it was 4 centuries since she was last on), because she is, literally, the pilot for the Citadel whenever the engines are activated and it takes off like a massive, unwieldy aeroplane. She and Moa are good friends and she has something of an infatuation with Lazarus.

Now, forgetting for a moment the mechanics required behind their Seen Servant races, how would you design them?

My initial thoughts:
Atta - Sor 4/Ftr 6/Abjurant Champion 5/Tempest 5
Atta's primary talent is in two-weapon fighting, but he has his share of spellcasting talent, with up to 4th level Sorcerer spells, which grant him some useful benefits in the Abjuration field.
Lazarus - Wiz 3/Clr 3/Mystic Theurge 10/Combat Medic 4
Lazarus has extreme versatility, with 7th level Arcane and 9th level Divine spells (CL 13 and 17, respectively).
Moa - ?
Moa is a Duskblade, that much I know. I'm not sure how to continue from there
Pilot - ?
Because piloting the Citadel is Dexterity-based, Pilot is primarily an archer. However, she also uses a rapier, so she probably has Weapon Finesse "just in case".

Jasdoif
2007-10-22, 02:05 PM
You might be interested to know that magnificent mansion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/magesMagnificentMansion.htm) has visible "unseen" servants.

Is piloting the Citadel skill-based, or is it just a series of Dexterity checks?

Lyinginbedmon
2007-10-22, 02:32 PM
Piloting the Citadel, I'm not sure on the checks involved. I've been working under the basic assumption of a Dexterity or Dexterity-based skill check to do so. Profession (pilot) may well be the actual issue.

Hmm...if Moa was at least Duskblade 13, she could affect all of her opponents with a Full-Attack with the additional effect of a spell, but that only leaves 7 levels to fill with other classes.

Pilot may very well deal into Order of the Bow Initiate, though I'm sure there are better prestige classes out there for her. She should definitely have some Fighter levels, to ensure she has the feats to acquire the Point-Blank Shot tree.

Threeshades
2007-10-22, 02:40 PM
Piloting the Citadel, I'm not sure on the checks involved. I've been working under the basic assumption of a Dexterity or Dexterity-based skill check to do so. Profession (pilot) may well be the actual issue.

Hmm...if Moa was at least Duskblade 13, she could affect all of her opponents with a Full-Attack with the additional effect of a spell, but that only leaves 7 levels to fill with other classes.

Pilot may very well deal into Order of the Bow Initiate, though I'm sure there are better prestige classes out there for her. She should definitely have some Fighter levels, to ensure she has the feats to acquire the Point-Blank Shot tree.

I think it should be more intelligence based. Because i think piloting almost about everything (from simple tricycles to giant flying buildings) is more a thing of getting used to, than actual dexterity. Only very complicated maneuvers should require something dex based.

Lyinginbedmon
2007-10-22, 02:48 PM
Perhaps something similar to the ship piloting of Stormwrack then?

Jasdoif
2007-10-22, 03:05 PM
Pilot may very well deal into Order of the Bow Initiate, though I'm sure there are better prestige classes out there for her.Might I ask what you think she'd get out of Order of the Bow Initiate?

Lyinginbedmon
2007-10-22, 04:36 PM
Might I ask what you think she'd get out of Order of the Bow Initiate?

My point exactly :smallannoyed:

mostlyharmful
2007-10-22, 04:38 PM
make her a bard to let her wile away the time between piloting sessions, or maybe wizard to let her understand all the arcane dohickies that she has to keep aligned and functional to let her fly the thing when she needs to, and then to use said arcane dohickies in flight.

Lyinginbedmon
2007-10-22, 05:52 PM
Most of the ranged benefit spells (Like Guided Shot and Sniper's Shot) are Sor/Wiz spells, so perhaps she's a Sorcerer. I think she'd do well with some levels in Fighter, to get all the archery feats quickly.

So, right now we're looking at Sor/Ftr for Pilot.

Spellwarp Sniper would be a good backup, so let's say that we go with Sorcerer for 6 levels, and then switch to Rogue for at least 1, then into Spellwarp Sniper for the full 5. That gives us Sor 6/Rog 1+/Spellwarp Sniper 5.

We've got at most 9 levels left, so we can look into something to improve her archery. The important 4 levels of Cragtop Archer leave us with 5, and then we can take Exemplar for the final 5 to improve her skills.

In total:
Pilot - Sor 6/Rog 1/Spellwarp Sniper 5/Cragtop Archer 4/Exemplar 5

How does that look?

kpenguin
2007-10-22, 08:27 PM
Gah. We're statting out ABR characters now?

Lyinginbedmon
2007-10-22, 08:29 PM
Not restrictively, I'm just really bored and have the week off

Lyinginbedmon
2007-10-23, 06:07 AM
Moa we know to be a mix of melee fighter and a spellcaster, and we also know that her profession is the chief defensive officer, so she probably has a great deal invested in protection, both of herself and others.

Let's pop in some versatility, and say that she also has a bit of Miko in her and is mixing a magical melee class and Monk. In this case, it's Duskblade and Monk.

From there, we can look into Enlightened Fist. Duskblade doesn't have many useful ray spells, so we can go up to 6th level in the prestige class and nab Fist of Energy, a nice little surprise for anyone that disarms her. A single level of Monk is enough to qualify.

She can get full 5th level Duskblade casting (The max) and she can use Arcane Channeling on a full-attack action if we can get her to 13 Duskblade levels, which would also allow her to wear Medium armor without any issue of arcane spell failure.

So, how does this look:
Moa - Dsk 13/Mnk 1/Enlightened Fist 6

Lyinginbedmon
2007-10-23, 06:35 PM
So now we have this:
Atta - Sor 4/Ftr 6/Abjurant Champion 5/Tempest 5
Atta's primary talent is in two-weapon fighting, but he has his share of spellcasting talent, with up to 4th level Sorcerer spells, which grant him some useful benefits in the Abjuration field.
Lazarus - Wiz 3/Clr 3/Mystic Theurge 10/Combat Medic 4
Lazarus has extreme versatility, with 7th level Arcane and 9th level Divine spells (CL 13 and 17, respectively).
Moa - Dsk 13/Mnk 1/Enlightened Fist 6
As a Duskblade, Moa combines melee fighting with spellcasting, a trait she continues throughout her progression. At full level, even disarming her won't stop her, but she's primarily built to hold enemies away from other targets, like the healer and archer behind her
Pilot - Sor 6/Rog 1/Spellwarp Sniper 5/Cragtop Archer 4/Exemplar 5
Pilot gets the full Point-Blank Shot tree with room to spare, and she's not bad with spells either. Her skill bonii make her easily the best choice for piloting the Citadel.

why123
2007-11-07, 01:10 AM
You might be interested to know that magnificent mansion has visible "unseen" servants.

Is piloting the Citadel skill-based, or is it just a series of Dexterity checks?

Lyinginbedmon
2007-11-07, 02:23 AM
Why did you just literally copy the second post of this thread? :smallconfused:

Jack Mann
2007-11-07, 02:30 AM
Because it's a spambot.

Lyinginbedmon
2007-11-12, 03:18 AM
New characters! :smallbiggrin: *

Professor Remes - Human Evoker 5/Master Specialist 10/Archmage 5
High Arcana: Arcane Fire, Mastery of Counterspelling, Mastery of Elements, Mastery of Shaping, Spell Power.
With a caster level of 23 and extreme offensive capabilities, Remes is truly perfect to take the place of Professor of Evocation at Wehrnault Mystical Academy. Though he doesn't often use his true capacities, we should probably be glad of it...

Steph(anie) Lawrence - Human Expert 7/Rogue 3
Steph isn't built for combat, but as a reporter she has a few sly tricks up her sleeve.

Oscar(iot) Stonehelm - Dwarf Fighter 6/Expert 4
A specialist with bludgeoning melee weapons, Oscar is an apprentice blacksmith. He can make the weapons and use them to!

Rain Morgan - Human Illusionist 5/Nightmare Spinner 5
Using Able Learner to get the skill ranks, Rain is fanatical about illusions, especially fear effects, and is top of her class (With a distinct negative due to overzealous usage). Fortunately, she's generally far too happy and hyper to put her maverick capabilities to use.

*Small-big-grin has to be an oxymoron...

Lyinginbedmon
2007-11-12, 05:09 AM
Appearing in the next Remember comic:

Hugo Lawrence - Human Bard 6/Lyric Thaumaturge 10
Hugo is a dignitary for Arcania, and Steph's father. Naturally, he isn't too pleased that she hasn't followed in the family's bardic tradition.

Nimhelvin - Moon Elf Rogue 11/Evangelist 5
Nimhelvin is Sildyu's cousin and her leading diplomat and messenger. He's been sent to try and negotiate the full unconditional surrender of Arcania. His speciality is making people do what he wants, by sooth or by sword.

Lex Vietmaghn - Human Warlock 3/Sorcerer 4/Eldritch Theurge 3
I can't say much about Lex that isn't portrayed in his build. Suffice it to say, he's going to be very unpopular.

Lyinginbedmon
2007-11-13, 06:00 PM
Arthur Morgan - Diviner 7/Void Disciple 12
If anyone can learn anything about anyone, it's probably Morgan. He knew the Moon Elf Empire was at their doorstep a month before they rang the doorbell.

Haizea Minoblendy - Wizard 6/Sorcerer 3/Ultimate Magus 10
Like her son, Haizea is a generalist spellcaster, she combines spontaneous and prepared arcane casting with a few special tricks that make her arguably one of the most powerful spellcasters in Arcania. Her 17/17 caster levels make her less effective than Professor Remes, but her combination of two spellcasting classes allow her greater versatility (She's well known for using Arcane Fusion). Rumour holds that she is even stronger than virtually any spellcaster in existence, away from her home.

Bedelia Stonehelm - Dwarf Expert 6/Sorcerer7/Earth Dreamer 5
Bedelia was a talented miner even before she met her late husband, and she has honed this talent to a mystical science. Recently, as with other Earth Dreams, she has been working as a first line of defense for the Dwarf settlements inside the Elwind Mountains

Lyinginbedmon
2007-11-13, 07:59 PM
http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/9540/sildyuof1.png
Cleric 3/ Wizard 3/ Mystic Theurge 10/Archmage 4
High Arcana: Arcane Fire, Arcane Reach, Mastery of Counterspelling, Mastery of Elements, Mastery of Shaping

She misses out on some of the more potent divine firepower spells, but Arcane 9th/Divine 7th is certainly nothing to laugh at. Especially from someone with a lot of tactical spellcasting capability.

kpenguin
2007-11-13, 09:32 PM
I, personally, think you're making the characters overpowered.

Anyway, don't forget that Sildyu was able to kill the entire draconic royal family, so with her, I'd make her a tad more powerful.

Lyinginbedmon
2007-11-14, 05:02 AM
I, personally, think you're making the characters overpowered.

Anyway, don't forget that Sildyu was able to kill the entire draconic royal family, so with her, I'd make her a tad more powerful.

So, the other characters are overpowered and Sildyu is underpowered? :smallconfused:

Any suggestions?

Jasdoif
2007-11-14, 02:56 PM
Because it's a spambot.Wait...I've been quoted plagiarized by a spambot? :smallconfused:

Lyinginbedmon
2007-11-15, 07:50 PM
Any new thoughts and ideas? Perhaps someone else would like to try their hand at statting some of the ABR characters

Lyinginbedmon
2007-11-26, 02:02 PM
Blue-eyed (Divine) Immortals - Human Lich Cleric 8/Thaumaturgist 3
They pick up Node Spellcasting (earth) and Metanode Spell, as well as Persistent Spell and Divine Metamagic (persistent spell). You need Flaws for this to get 1 extra feat for Spell Focus (conjuration) to qualify for Thaumaturgist.

The Cleric has far fewer spells than the the Conjurer, because he misses out on Focused Specialist, and he's slower, because he misses out on Rapid Summoning. However, because of the Metanode Spell, he only has to spare 3 turn/rebuke attempts to apply Persistent Spell to his summon, so they last all day.In addition, his summoning spells are automatically Extended thanks to Thaumaturgist, which also makes the undead stronger because of the bonus Augment Summoning feat.

Using Triadspell in their only 6th level slot, they can cast one of their spells three times. Since they don't have room for Twin Spell, it doesn't matter which as long as it's above Summon Undead II, for the bigger returns. The Cleric version can summon 68 Human Warrior skeletons each day, but emphasise the "day" part. If you feel like adding a second Flaw, they can pick up Retrieve Spell and get even more, but the odds say they won't get more than a couple of recastings.
Red-eyed (Arcane) Immortals - Human Lich Conjurer 11
They take Focused Specialist and Rapid Summoning as variant class features. For feats, they take Node Spellcasting (earth) and Metanode Spell in addition to Twin Spell and Arcane Thesis (summon undead IV).

Okay, so we now have our Immortal in the local Earth Node ready to start raising heck. He spends 17 rounds casting 34 spells, all of them Summon Undead. He can use Twin Spell on Summon Undead IV for free, thanks to Arcane Thesis and Metanode Spell, so he fills up on it for his 4-6th level spells. By the end of it, he's got 181 summoned Human Warrior Skeletons, plus himself, for a total of 182 undead.

The downside is that these will rapidly start disappearing before he's even summoned all of them, because they only last 11 rounds a spell. By the time he gets to the 13th spell, his first one has run out, and he's then just replacing the ones he started with. If you add Flaws, he can pick up Extend Spell and apply it for free, thanks to the Node, but that's an added step. You can switch Twin Spell for Extend, but you lose 39 skeletons in exchange for keeping the rest for 7 rounds.
Skyriders - Human Sorcerer 6/Ninja 1/Spellwarp Sniper 4
As is the norm with Arcanian troops, Node Spellcasting (earth) and Metanode Spell (Like Divine casters they need a flaw to make the numbers). Skyriders also take the Point Blank Shot feat to qualify for Spellwarp Sniper and the Fiery Burst & Rapid Metamagic feats.

Skyriders double as snipers during peacetime, but their primary talent is using skyboards to attack targets at range and get out of the line of fire quickly. 5th level spells, with Spellwarp for 4, and a number of useful Ninja abilities make these airborne foes worthy of worry.

Important Note: Arcania is set on top of overlapping Earth nodes, Class 6.

So assuming that Arcania has 5000 of each Immortal, they have a sum total of 1,255,000 human warrior skeletons at their disposal.

Lyinginbedmon
2007-11-29, 07:27 AM
Anyone else with any ideas on how the characters (Of Remember or ABR or anything similar), feel free to post your thoughts. Critiques would certainly be nice.