Looking for Character Concepts. You bring 'em, I build 'em. #2

[Rizban]

I originally posted this thread almost two years ago, just before I got married. I, of course, quickly ran out of time to spend on the forums to participate. However, I'm back and really want to revive the thread and give it another go. So that said, onward to the insanity.

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As the title says, I'm looking for some interesting character concepts. Not builds, concepts. I've become rather overly comfortable with building only one or two particular types of characters and would like some prompts to build new, interesting characters. To that end, I'm turning to the Playground for their ideas. I'd like some challenging character that aren't just a straightforward idea, but I'm mostly interested in developing quirky, unique characters.

So, here's the deal. Post up a fairly basic character idea, and I'll build it in 3.5, flesh out the character and its background, and post it here. I'll build with specific effort towards making a character that has good character depth, is fun to play, and is effective in a moderately optimized group. Give as much information as you want, but please leave me a fair amount of room to play with the build. I'd prefer not to have actual class/feat suggestions, but if your concept is for a particular prestige class, then that's fine. Also, please don't suggest D&D versions of characters from books or movies or ask for build suggestions on a build you're already using. I reserve the right to only flesh out characters that I find interesting and/or challenging to create. Essentially, I'm looking for short creative writing prompts that lead to viable D&D 3.5 characters.

Notes:

• Unless specified otherwise, I will usually assume 28 point buy, flaws and traits are allowed, and all official sources are available (books, errata, WotC web articles, adventures, etc.).
• Most characters will probably ignore or repurpose fluff-only requirements of prestige classes, feats, and other options, such as needing to worship a specific deity, belong to a specific organization, or be born in a specific region.
• I tend to make fairly liberal use of alternate class features and substitution levels and always assume that they are compatible with one another as long as they exchange different features. However, I will never chain alternate class features. This means that I will never trade class feature A for B then trade class feature B for C.
  For example, I might make use of the Elf Paladin, Harmonious Knight, Lion Legionnaire, and Ruby Rose Knight substitution levels for Paladin on the same character, at least at the levels where they don't conflict.
• I use the official Adaptation sections of many prestige classes if it fits the character concept to do so. This is technically homebrew, even if officially sanctioned, so I will always make note of it.
• I avoid other homebrew, but I will include it at my discretion if I deem its use reasonable and/or necessary, generally limited to such things as "This specifies only Situation X; however Situation Y is from a different/later source book, is virtually identical, and really should be covered." I will always note such inclusions as needing to be DM approved before using. Most often, I will use an official option and suggest a homebrew alternative in the description.
  An example of this is Ral'Tik-Deja'raluk where I update the Improved Multiweapon Fighting prerequisites to match the ITWF prereqs in 3.5, because IMWF was never officially updated.
• Finally, I tend to constrain myself to the build restrictions given in the Aldhaven Consolidated Rules thread, but I don't do so very strictly. It's really more guidelines than rules.

Example
Character Name: Doran Galbitter
Brief Concept: Doran is fascinated by alchemy and natural philosophy. A former member of a naturalist guild, he was kicked out for just generally being a nasty old man that none of them could stand.
Abilities: Can craft wide range of potions and alchemical items. Has several strong animal allies.
Limitations: Charisma <10, no social skills, and limited spellcasting.

[Rizban]

Completed Characters

The following are complete characters with backgrounds and complete or mostly complete mechanical builds with some level of explanation or break down of the build, what it can do, and the reasons behind it. The full entries for these characters and more can be found at Rizban's Character Repository

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Radislav Pasternak the Inebriated
A lazy drunken dwarf with a chip on his shoulder inherits his father's cursed sword and uses it to get free beer.

Spoiler: Requested by Uncle Pine

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Radislav Pasternak the Inebriated
Gold Dwarf Commoner 1/Barbarian (Bear Totem/City Brawler) 5/Battlerager 4/Legacy Champion 10

Character Name: Radislav
Brief Concept: Radislav is a simple man. Even though one of his ancestors was a wizard, he is a farmer and a humble servant of the Gods, as was his father, his grandfather and many others before them. Radislav also owns a sword, a cursed sword that has been passed down for generations since the aforementioned wizard cursed his own legacy for unknown reasons, and befriended a big female bear (named Nesti) when he was just a little kid.
Abilities: Has phenomenal Commoner power and at least an animal ally.
Limitations: Int 14+, 1+ Commoner levels, -2 cursed sword, no spellcasting.


EDIT: I'm sorry for editing a pending request, but I figured that a smart Commoner would be more enjoyable to play due to the better tactics he could employ than a dull and dumb Commoner.

Alvin Buckle
Alvin Buckle is a former slave who escaped, trained, and returned to free his kin. He now woks to undermine his former masters' society and release the slaves, by any means at his disposal.

Spoiler: Requested by Occasional Sage

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Alvin Buckle
Whisper Gnome Psychic Rogue 4/Fighter (Hit and Run Tactics) 1/Elocator 4/Shadowmind 3/Mindbender (psionic) 1

Character Name: Alvin Buckle
Brief Concept: Alvin is a former slave who escaped, trained, and returned to free his family. He now belongs to an organization which undermines slave-owning societies and releases the slaves, by any means at their disposal.
Abilities: Long cons and false-facing for recon and infiltration; safely leading (large?) parties of noncombatants through cities and wilderness when being tracked; wuxia when stealth and bluffing fails.
Limitations: Halfling, or other Small race; not reliant on spellcasting, and no primary casting class levels.

Mirala
A goblin druid priestess in tune with her inner beast.

Spoiler: Requested by Blu

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Mirala
Forestkith Goblin Druid 5/Totemist^MoI 3/Totem Rager^MoI 10/Level Adjustment 1

Note that I had Mirala pretty well finished before I saw the edit that added the 4 arms and dual greatswords... So, just ignore that part of the request.

Character name: Mirala
Brief Concept: Mirala lives isolated in a dense forest since birth, she barely knows any common. Throughout her life, she developed a strong spiritual connection to the forest, becoming her guardian and fighting with nails and teeths if necessary to defend it. But what highlights Mirala is her weapons of choice: two greatswords with she wields with 4 hands.
Abilities: Brute force and resilience
Limitations: Zero social skills, not very smart

Shrift the Mighty
A little kobold who can give his friends and enemies a helping hand.

Spoiler: Requested by unseenmage

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Shrift the Mighty
Earth Kobold Monk 1/Psychic Warrior 6/Fighter 2

An old concept I never could get to work well enough to be viable.

Character Name: Shrift the Mighty
Brief Concept: A small Kobold who wields oversize gauntlets. He's strong enough to hold a passage or a door against larger or more numerous foes.
Abilities: Knockback would be nice. Triggering saves against massive damage would be sweet.
Limitations: Small creature. Large or larger creature's gauntlets as primary weapon.

Just love the idea of a small normally insignificant creature who, without enlarging magic, can pummel the knees and ankles of larger enemies and topple them.

[Rizban]

Build Stubs

The following are incomplete rough build stubs for characters made either at the behest of the person making the request, made for an existing character with an existing story, or for a requested concept I did not fully understand and was hesitant to complete. These stubs may or may not eventually grow into full characters and moved to the above post

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Spoiler: In'Dreg Trueblood - Requested by danzibr

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In'Dreg Trueblood
Sometype Shifter Wilder 5/Cerebral Rager 10 [Hyperconscious]/Master of the Unseen Hand X (reworked for psionics) or
Dreamsight Shifter Barbarian (Ferocity) 1/Psychic Warrior 7/Cerebral Rager 10/Master of the Unseen Hand X (reworked for psionics)

Character Name: In'Dreg Trueblood
Brief Concept: He's from a book. He's not human, but appears to be. He's of a race (actually, a hybrid of two races) which ages slowly. Looks ~20, really ~90. He has the ability to use magic, but hasn't learned how. He's not very serious, but is big on protecting people. Keeps several swords on his person, fights with two at a time, pretty much all longswords. Kind of strong, but more dextrous/skillful.
Abilities: Good at TWF. Due to lots of training, can seem to slow time. Due to being a hybrid of two races, can berserk, and when he does so, can use magic. Can also use telekinesis but only with his swords, and can teleport himself short distances, like within sight (actually, there are 3 levels of his berserking, but that's a bit much). Also resilient to offensive magic which he's already been exposed to. Oh, and the magic is lightning-themed.
Limitations: Nothing crunchy, but has a weak mind. Like... he's gotten amnesia twice due to injuries, then more times due to people magically wiping his mind.

Well, he's one of the protagonists of a story I'm writing.

Ah, in that case, I'm sure you've got a pretty solid idea for your character concept already. I wouldn't feel right doing a full write up for him as I did for Radislav. I was initially thinking of something along the lines of refluffed Dreamsight Shifter (gets +2 Wis while shifting) Barbarian (Ferocity ACF) 1-2/Wilder 2-3 then going into Cerebral Rager (3rd party book Hyperconscious, but widely accepted due to being written by Bruce R. Cordell, the same guy who made the official XPH and generally just being a darn good book). Top it off with a few levels in Master of the Unseen Hand modified for psionics for telekinetic weapons. Pick telekinetic powers and energy powers, using the electric damage versions.

Spoiler: Hadozee Scout - Requested by Swaoeaeieu

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Psychic Rogue 1 (TWF)/Scout 1/Cl. Cleric 1 (Knowledge Devotion+Travel Dev.)/Scout +2/Psychic Rogue +1 (Swift Ambusher)

Maybe you can help.
One of my players has a Hadozee Scout. He wants to specialize in high mobility for skirmish and Two Weapon fighting with Thrown weapons... I cant really make it work without him falling behind to the ranger, psiwar and barbarian, let alone the blaster sorceres...

We are experimenting some with swift hunter and ranger dips. Swift ambusher and martial rogue for more feats, but i just cant figure out something satisfying. Do you have any ideas for this? or am i using this thread wrong now?

Hadozee doesn't really have much unique going for it, so that's not much of an inspiration point for a build.
The biggest problem I'm seeing is Swift Ambusher and Martial Rogue. The two may or may not work together well, since Martial Rogue gives up Sneak Attack, and precision damage is basically your main shtick. Also +1d6 SA is needed just to take the feat.

You're already using psionics in your campaign, so I would suggest Psychic Rogue. The powers aren't as flashy as a psywar, but they're incredibly useful to a sneaky character. It also opens up a lot of psionic tricks.

He'll be gaining trapfinding twice, which is a waste, so I highly recommend using an ACF like Poison Use^DotU or Mimic^EoE. Mimic is really nice, as it makes you kind of a mini changeling. Disruptive Attack^PHB2 is also very, very useful for a TWF build, as he can use his first attack to impose an AC penalty against the target for his follow up attacks.

Finally, I'd suggest a one level Cloistered Cleric^UA dip. Trade the bonus Knowledge domain for Knowledge Devotion^CC. He'll have the skill points to support the knowledge checks, and the extra bonuses it grants are great. Also, take Travel Devotion, which gives the ability to move as a swift action, allowing for a full attack when he reaches his target. Each activation lasts for 1 minute (10 rounds), and he'll have the turn undead uses to make use of the feat multiple times per day. Alternatively, he could take a dip in Barbarian with the Lion Totem ACF^CC to just gain pounce. Personally, I prefer the cleric method, as you can full attack before or after moving, and pounce requires a charge. Either way works, and Barb has superior HD and BAB plus other nice features (maybe Whirling Frenzy ACF^UA for extra attack).

As a build stub, I'd suggest Psychic Rogue 1 (TWF)/Scout 1/Cl. Cleric 1 (Knowledge Devotion+Travel Dev.)/Scout +2/Psychic Rogue +1 (Swift Ambusher). That gets you up to level 6. From there, just keep leveling in Psychic Rogue. Imp.TWF can be picked up with an item (Gloves of the Balanced Hand^MIC), so don't let him waste a feat slot on it, and GTWF isn't really worth taking for this type of build.

For psionic powers, I suggest things like Entangling Ectoplasm and Force Screen, which will always be useful, and (Greater) Concealing Amorpha is priceless, granting you concealment for a miss chance and easy Hide checks for more sneak attack chances.

Just remember that this type of build is always going to be a support character. Have him focus his character's extra skill points on skills useful outside of combat and give him opportunities to use them so he has a time to shine too.

Spoiler: Wild Shaper - Requested by nijineko

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Concept suggestion:

A young lad with strong mental abilities who is determined to learn how to shapeshift, but is determined to learn it his own way. (He won't take a druidic oath, follow the ranger's path, or learn spellcasting of any kind for certain reasons - should i provide backstory, or did you want to have fun with that too).

In effect, he wants his profession (character class) to BE shapeshifter, primarily; so he will need a method of acquiring wild shape without being a druid or ranger or high ECL race. I would like to stick with races without ECL or with only a very low ECL. The more capable and flexible the shape shifting, the better.

This is move of a build stub than anything... I've been really busy and not had a lot of time to get much done on this, but I wanted to get something posted.

Kobold Rogue 7/Shapeshifter^OA 1/Master of Many Forms^CAd 10

Alternate Class Feature: Mimic^EoE – Gain disguise self as SLA, lose trapfinding. CL = class level.
CL5 is needed to qualify for the Alternate Form feat, which grants access to the Shapeshifter PrC. (You did say he wanted "Shapeshifter" to be his class. )

Spoiler: Archimedes - Requested by Gandariel

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Archimedes
Human Artificer^ECS 5/Renegade Mastermaker^MoE 10

So, I see you have a lot on your plate already, but i'd be happy if you could whip something up for me:

Character Name: Archimedes

Brief Concept: He is the leader of a small world-building project i've been working on: Camp Archimedes, which you can find in my sig.

You can read the whole thing if you want, but here is a short version: Archimedes is an engineer/artificer/mad scientist type, I peg him as Evil (LE?) and around CR 15, but these aren't strict. Race and age are also up in the air, but my first guess would be Old Human.

When he was young (perhaps after being rejected from society/the engineer guild/???) he entered in contact with a disorganised and ragtag band of bandits.
Through his engineering genius/tactical mind/charisma he was able to become the leader and organise them into a powerful mercenary army, outfitted with lots of equipment he invented: Gloves that shoot fire, grenade/smokebomb launchers, Steam golems. (Again, everything is in my sig)
Has no problem doing evil things to further his research (enslaved fire elemental = free furnace!)

Abilities: has to be able to craft a lot of stuff. Not a fighter, not meant to be good at it.

[Rizban]

[Extra reserved post, just in case.]

[Blu]

Character name: Mirala
Brief Concept: Mirala lives isolated in a dense forest since birth, she barely knows any common. Throughout her life, she developed a strong spiritual connection to the forest, becoming her guardian and fighting with nails and teeths if necessary to defend it. But what highlights Mirala is her weapons of choice: two greatswords with she wields with 4 hands.
Abilities: Brute force and resilience
Limitations: Zero social skills, not very smart

Hope you liked it :)

[GilesTheCleric]

What a neat idea! Thank you for reintroducing the thread. I'll try pitching one for you:

Name: Lance
Brief Concept: Ever inquisitive, Lance always intrudes where he's not wanted in order to learn more about people and the world. His youth led him to think himself quite good at learning things, until one day while (literally) eavesdropping, he fell from his perch, mangling both his legs. The embarassment, heightened by his fragile adolescent ego, led him to improve himself physically as best he could, despite his impediment.
Abilities: A great climber and researcher
Limitations: No casting classes, no mount. He's too proud for that.

Lance is a character I feature in many of my games (Each of the members of one particular faction in my games has a severe limitation -- broken legs, blindness, sun allergy, missing arm, etc), and I'd like to see how someone else thinks he might have made it through the world.

Anyway, if that's not interesting for you to build, no worries.

[Uncle Pine]

Hey Rizban! I don't actually have a character concept on hand right now, but I wanted to say that I loved this thread at the time and that I'm glad to see it back. Hope you spent two lovely years, too.

[Rizban]

Character name: Mirala
Brief Concept: Mirala lives isolated in a dense forest since birth, she barely knows any common. Throughout her life, she developed a strong spiritual connection to the forest, becoming her guardian and fighting with nails and teeths if necessary to defend it. But what highlights Mirala is her weapons of choice: two greatswords with she wields with 4 hands.
Abilities: Brute force and resilience
Limitations: Zero social skills, not very smart

Hope you liked it :)

I've got an idea for this already. Got the build finished, except for a few feat choices, and will get the write up finished ASAP.

What a neat idea! Thank you for reintroducing the thread. I'll try pitching one for you:

Name: Lance
Brief Concept: Ever inquisitive, Lance always intrudes where he's not wanted in order to learn more about people and the world. His youth led him to think himself quite good at learning things, until one day while (literally) eavesdropping, he fell from his perch, mangling both his legs. The embarassment, heightened by his fragile adolescent ego, led him to improve himself physically as best he could, despite his impediment.
Abilities: A great climber and researcher
Limitations: No casting classes, no mount. He's too proud for that.

Lance is a character I feature in many of my games (Each of the members of one particular faction in my games has a severe limitation -- broken legs, blindness, sun allergy, missing arm, etc), and I'd like to see how someone else thinks he might have made it through the world.

Anyway, if that's not interesting for you to build, no worries.

Interesting. My one concern is that I'm not entirely certain how to represent crippled legs mechanically. Any suggestions?

Hey Rizban! I don't actually have a character concept on hand right now, but I wanted to say that I loved this thread at the time and that I'm glad to see it back. Hope you spent two lovely years, too.

Hey! It's good to see you.

Thanks, they've been some of the best years of my life. Married life has been absolutely wonderful.

[Uncle Pine]

The Slow flaw halves your speed, which is harsh enough as a penalty that it could work.

[GilesTheCleric]

Interesting. My one concern is that I'm not entirely certain how to represent crippled legs mechanically. Any suggestions?

I run him with a 5' base speed myself, no running allowed.

The Slow flaw halves your speed, which is harsh enough as a penalty that it could work.

Yup, that's a good (mechanically-supported) idea.

[Rizban]

Mirala
A goblin priestess in tune with her inner beast.

Spoiler: Stat Block (ECL 19)

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Female Forestkith GoblinMM3 Druid 5/TotemistMoI 3/Totem RagerMoI 10/Level Adjustment 1 CN Small Humanoid (goblin) Initiative +3; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +2; Spot +2 Languages Goblin AC 17 T 15 FF 14; Fort +18 Ref +14 Will +15 hp 167 (18 HD) DR 5/— 50% fortification, 50% chance to ignore stun Speed 45 ft. BAB +12 Grp +15 Attack Options Discordant frenzy, Totem Rage 4/day†, Favored Enemy (Elves) +4, Favored Enemy (Humans) +2 † This ability is currently active. Special Actions Wild Empathy, Voice of the CityCity (web) Combat Gear Strength 22 (+6) Dexterity 16 (+3) Constitution 18 (+4) Intelligence 6 (-2) Wisdom 14 (+2) Charisma 10 (+0) Special Qualities Light sensitivity, tree shape, resist nature's lure, totem’s protection Feats HD1 – Cobalt RageMoI, Dru1 – Track, HD3 – Intimidating RageCW, HD6 – ???, HD9 – Elemental GrafterMoE, HD12 – ???, HD15 – ???, HD18 – ??? Possessions combat gear plus Earth Grafts: earth glider, elemental flesh (earth), stony plating, tremor graft

Skill Total Ranks Climb +14 0 Hide +11 0 Intimidate +18 18 Jump +12 0 Listen +2 0 Move Silently +7 0 Spot +2 0 Survival +12 10 Unspent Skill Points - 16

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Deep in the Baladron Wood live the Zdateg, a primitive tribe of forestkith goblins. Though naturally skittish, they are well known for their feral lifestyle and violent reactions when their territory is invaded. One summer night, when a portentous moon was in the sky and the planes were aligned with the stars, a small kith girl was born to the chief of the tribe. Her faintly glowing blue eyes set her apart from the rest of her tribe from the moment she first looked upon the world.

Blessed from an early age, Mirala as she was named, was raised in the druidic ways of a priestess of the tribe; however, she did not readily take to the passive ways common to the druids of her tribe. Mirala had a great love and admiration of her father, the chief by virtue of being the biggest, strongest goblin in the tribe, and she desired greatly to be like him. Taking the teachings of the druids, she learned to harness the power of nature into a mighty fury, much like that of her barbaric father.

Though she loved the ways of the druids, she couldn't ignore her respect for her father and desire to follow in his path, despite the anger it caused her mentor. Abandoned by her druidic instructor as hopeless, Mirala began to try to each herself the magics druids that had been so tantalizingly waved before her to little avail. Though she spent many hours wandering the woods or transformed into a small tree, she grew no closer to the raw power of nature than she already was, having mastered only the most basic of cantrips. This held true until the day she stumbled into her true power.

Accompanying her father's hunting party as it left to track a pride of krenshar, Mirala could hardly contain her excitement. The pride had been harassing the kith for several weeks, and it was time to put down the predators to protect their people. The hunt went well enough, for they lost but a single warrior, and that to carelessness on his part, but slew several of the krenshar. Surely this would teach them not to hunt goblin. Mirala approached one of the krenshar as it lay dying, fascinated as it gasped its last in the throes of death. As its spirit wrenched free of its mortal form, it flew toward Mirala and bound itself to her face, forming a gruesome mask. Mirala had formed her first soulmeld.

Spoiler: ECL 1-3

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Mirala starts as a druid/totemist. Honestly, I think 3rd level is where she'd be the most fun to play. She's got some neat tricks going and is rather potent with the ability to bring a few different abilities to bear. Of course, I usually tend to enjoy low-level play better than higher level.

	Class	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Feats	Special
1	Druid 1	+0	+2	+0	+2	HD1 – Cobalt RageMoI Dru1 – Track	AC bonus, Fast movement (barb), 1st favored enemy, nature sense, rage 1/day, Track, voice of the city
2	Totemist 1	+0	+4	+2	+2		Wild empathy, illiteracy
3	Totemist 2	+1	+5	+3	+2	HD3 – Intimidating RageCW	Totem chakra bind (+1 capacity)

Mirala begins play as a druid, but not your average druid. She takes three alternate class features: Druidic Avenger, Deadly Hunter, and Voice of the City.

• Druidic Avenger^SRD trades away her animal companion and spontaneous summoning to gain barbarian rage and fast movement.
• Deadly Hunter^SRD trades away wild shape for AC bonus and fast movement as a monk and the favored enemy, swift tracker, and Track feat of a Ranger.
• Voice of the City^{City (web)} trades away wild empathy for the ability to communicate with people who don't speak your language. Since Mirala only speaks goblin, this is going to be helpful for her later.

At second level, Mirala goes into totemist, picking up the wild empathy she just traded away and the ability to shape soulmelds. At 3rd level, she gets her totem bind, which gives her plenty of fun options. Recommended soulmelds for this level are the Kruthik Claws for the Hide/Move Silently bonuses, Ankheg Breastplate for the AC bonus, and either Sphinx Claws or Girallon Arms (bound to totem) for the natural claw attacks.

Cobalt Rage is taken at 1st, because it's convenient and the +1 to damage and Will saves it gives is actually useful at this level. It's also a prerequisite for her PrC later.

Intimidating Rage isn't wonderful, but it seemed appropriate to her character. Another alternative would be Azure Enmity for additional bonuses against favored enemies and another point of essentia.

Her newfound power coursing through her very soul, Mirala returned triumphant to her tribe, the hunting party following behind her in awe of the unknown magics. Seeking out to the mentor that once cast her aside, Mirala unsheathed her powerful sphinx claws and struck her down, declaring herself the new spiritual leader for the tribe.

Fearful for their lives and in awe of her seemingly unique powers, the two acolytes under the former priestess did all they could to teach Mirala the secrets of their druidic heritage. Though Mirala never mastered all the arts they tried to teach her, for even they did not know all the secrets, she learned what she could while following her own spiritual path.

Spoiler: ECL 4-8

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Mirala picks up another level of totemist and then takes several more levels of druid.

	Class	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Feats	Special
4	Totemist 3	+2	+5	+3	+3		Totem’s protection
5	Druid 2	+3	+6	+3	+4		Woodland stride
6	Druid 3	+4	+6	+4	+4	HD6 – ???	Fast movement (monk), trackless step
7	Druid 4	+5	+7	+4	+5		Resist nature's lure
8	Druid 5	+5	+7	+4	+5		2nd favored enemy, rage 2/day

These levels give Mirala a few more defensive bonuses, some movement stuff, and a 2nd favored enemy and use of rage. I primarily chose 5 levels of druid, because the monster entry for forestkith goblins in MM3 specifies that the elder of the tribe is a 5th-level druid.

The 6th-level feat is wide open to anything that you think would be good; however, I strongly recommend Bonus Essentia for the 2 extra essentia it grants. It will be less vital in a few levels, but more essentia is always important.

Learning to combine the raging spirit within her and the powerful soul magic she was beginning to master, Mirala takes a new step seeking a new path. To accomplish this, she takes a journey through the Wood alone. On this journey she encounters a powerful earth spirit.

Though she approaches it reverently, mostly out of fear, the spirit becomes hostile and attacks. After a brief battle, Mirala is defeated, but the earth spirit is appeased and takes pity on her. Though unable to speak, Mirala uses her crude communication abilities to find common ground, and the spirit teaches her how to call upon it and its ilk for power and guidance in ways similar to the way she calls upon the souls of magical beasts. Taking the powers of earth spirits into herself, Mirala returns to her tribe and challenges her father for leadership of the tribe.

Mirala's father's final words as he lay her feet were only of pride in his daughter, dying in a pool of blood, a smile of contentment on his face. That day, Mirala became chief and priestess of her tribe, a feat none had ever before achieved.

Spoiler: ECL 9-18

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From here, Mirala goes into Totem Rager and finishes it out. She does have a +1 LA, so she's got one free level to play with at 20th. If you play with LA buy off, then she's got 2 open levels.

	Class	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Feats	Special
9	Totem Rager 1	+5	+9	+6	+5	HD9 – Elemental GrafterMoE	Totem rage, wild empathy
10	Totem Rager 2	+6+1	+10	+7	+5		Extra rage +1 level of existing meldshaping class
11	Totem Rager 3	+7+2	+10	+7	+6		Damage reduction 1/— +1 level of existing meldshaping class
12	Totem Rager 4	+8+3	+11	+8	+6	HD12 – ???	Chakra binds (crown, feet, hands) +1 level of existing meldshaping class
13	Totem Rager 5	+8+3	+11	+8	+6		Extended rage +1 level of existing meldshaping class
14	Totem Rager 6	+9+4	+12	+9	+7		—
15	Totem Rager 7	+10+5	+12	+9	+7	HD15 – ???	Damage reduction 2/— +1 level of existing meldshaping class
16	Totem Rager 8	+11+6+1	+13	+10	+7		Extra rage +1 level of existing meldshaping class
17	Totem Rager 9	+11+6+1	+13	+10	+8		Chakra binds (arms, brow, shoulders) +1 level of existing meldshaping class
18	Totem Rager 10	+12+7+2	+14	+11	+8	HD18 – ???	Totem chakra bind (+2 capacity) +1 level of existing meldshaping class

Totem Rager gives Mirala a number of nice options. She gets additional rage uses, longer rages, and bonus essentia when raging, all of which are essential to her build. She also progresses her meldshaping, gaining some additional chakra binds that she's been sorely missing until now.

The damage reduction is pretty minor, but the earth elemental grafts boost that a little as well as giving her some other nice options. However, since both sources of her DR explicitly stack with other DR of the same type, getting some additional DR X/— to boost it up should be a priority. If you can get it to 10 or higher, then it'll actually have a bit of an impact.

I also didn't fill in her feats, because they're pretty well open. There are some things that are definitely nice, but nothing is particularly necessary. This is one of the few builds I've made that isn't extremely feat intensive. I do suggest Multiattack and Power Attack slotted in somewhere, but they aren't strictly necessary.

All in all, this is going to be weaker than a straight druid, but I like the way she turned out. I feel like it would be an almost ideal leader for a goblin tribe, particularly the forestkith goblins. Since that was my design goal, I'm pretty happy with the result.

[Rizban]

Note that I had Mirala pretty well finished before I saw the edit that added the 4 arms and dual greatswords... So, I'm just going to ignore that part of the request... *shrug*

[danielxcutter]

Hmmm... How about this?

Name: Johan

Brief concept: In his youth, Johan wished to become a great swordsman. However, while he was by no means frail, it was clear to everyone who knew him that the strength of his body was far weaker than that of his mind.

However, Johan eventually found a way around this.

One day, a pack of Dire Wolves attacked the village, as their usual prey was scarce at that time of year. Those who were capable of fighting the beasts grabbed their tools - or weapons - and joined the village guards in driving them off, Johan included. A cloaked traveler who was passing by also offered his services, although not that of sword and shield.

Unfortunately, the wolves were ravenous and fought back bitterly. The combatants as a whole were holding their ground, but Johan was not as tough as the others, and the wolf he was fighting was one of the largest and ferocious of the pack. While frantically dodging or blocking the beast's assault, Johan tripped over a rock and dropped his weapon.

However, before the savage wolf could rip out the defenseless Johan's throat, a large boulder slammed into the side of it's head.

Bewildered, Johan looked around and saw the traveler, who was looking in his direction. The cloaked man smiled at Johan, pointed at the blade Johan had dropped in his fumble, and mouthed 'watch this'. With a flick of his wrist, the sword suddenly rose up in the air and decapitated the wolf, as if - no, in truth it *had* been thrown by an invisible force.

The next day, when the cloaked traveler left the village, he had a companion with him.

Five years later, Johan parted ways with his master. As a gift, the man who had saved Johan's life back then gave his student five blades. Johan took his teacher's present, and after some heartfelt words, went to make his way in the world.

And so begins the tale of Johan Steelstorm.

Abilities: uses Telekinetic Thrust or other similar methods to manipulate his swords, though he is capable of wielding them himself.

Limits: while not too squishy, somewhat physically weaker than one would expect from a warrior.


Just an idea I came up with.

[Uncle Pine]

Both Girallon's Blessing (3rd level Druid spell) and the Girallon Arm soulmeld (bound to the totem chakra) are available to Mirala, so she can have her 4 arms just fine.

[EndocrineBandit]

This. This is wonderful. I could probably post things all day here. Actually, I might drop a couple of concepts after I get some more tea in my veins.

[Rizban]

Both Girallon's Blessing (3rd level Druid spell) and the Girallon Arm soulmeld (bound to the totem chakra) are available to Mirala, so she can have her 4 arms just fine.

The soulmeld doesn't let you use the extra arms for wielding weapons. It just gives you extra claw attacks. That said, the main issue is the dual wielding great swords. Not only is she not proficient with them, but the build doesn't do anything to support that playstyle. You'd need the TWF line of feats in there, and most often, you'd be making fewer attacks for less damage than if you just used your natural weapons.

Hmmm... How about this?

Name: Johan

Brief concept: In his youth, Johan wished to become a great swordsman. However, while he was by no means frail, it was clear to everyone who knew him that the strength of his body was far weaker than that of his mind.

However, Johan eventually found a way around this.

One day, a pack of Dire Wolves attacked the village, as their usual prey was scarce at that time of year. Those who were capable of fighting the beasts grabbed their tools - or weapons - and joined the village guards in driving them off, Johan included. A cloaked traveler who was passing by also offered his services, although not that of sword and shield.

Unfortunately, the wolves were ravenous and fought back bitterly. The combatants as a whole were holding their ground, but Johan was not as tough as the others, and the wolf he was fighting was one of the largest and ferocious of the pack. While frantically dodging or blocking the beast's assault, Johan tripped over a rock and dropped his weapon.

However, before the savage wolf could rip out the defenseless Johan's throat, a large boulder slammed into the side of it's head.

Bewildered, Johan looked around and saw the traveler, who was looking in his direction. The cloaked man smiled at Johan, pointed at the blade Johan had dropped in his fumble, and mouthed 'watch this'. With a flick of his wrist, the sword suddenly rose up in the air and decapitated the wolf, as if - no, in truth it *had* been thrown by an invisible force.

The next day, when the cloaked traveler left the village, he had a companion with him.

Five years later, Johan parted ways with his master. As a gift, the man who had saved Johan's life back then gave his student five blades. Johan took his teacher's present, and after some heartfelt words, went to make his way in the world.

And so begins the tale of Johan Steelstorm.

Abilities: uses Telekinetic Thrust or other similar methods to manipulate his swords, though he is capable of wielding them himself.

Limits: while not too squishy, somewhat physically weaker than one would expect from a warrior.


Just an idea I came up with.

That's a bit more developed than I was really hoping for
Also, it seems like it would end up similar to the In'Dreg Trueblood build stub above, as they use the same tactics to accomplish the same goals.

[LordOfCain]

Character Name: Xavier Silverst
Brief Concept: Xavier is a master of manipulating magic, he is capable of stopping almost any attack, magical or mundane, that comes towards him.
Abilities: Lots of counterspelling, typically buffed familiar
Limitations: No crafting ability, Charisma 8 or below, specialized in abjuration

[Uncle Pine]

The soulmeld doesn't let you use the extra arms for wielding weapons. It just gives you extra claw attacks. That said, the main issue is the dual wielding great swords. Not only is she not proficient with them, but the build doesn't do anything to support that playstyle. You'd need the TWF line of feats in there, and most often, you'd be making fewer attacks for less damage than if you just used your natural weapons.

She'd still be running around with four arms. That ought to add some flavour points.

OR she could use both. Would that give Mirala six arms (and therefore six claw attacks)? Talk about being in tune with your inner beast.

[danielxcutter]

The soulmeld doesn't let you use the extra arms for wielding weapons. It just gives you extra claw attacks. That said, the main issue is the dual wielding great swords. Not only is she not proficient with them, but the build doesn't do anything to support that playstyle. You'd need the TWF line of feats in there, and most often, you'd be making fewer attacks for less damage than if you just used your natural weapons.

That's a bit more developed than I was really hoping for
Also, it seems like it would end up similar to the In'Dreg Trueblood build stub above, as they use the same tactics to accomplish the same goals.

Uh, is developed good or bad here? Also I hadn't read the In'Dreg stub yet when I posted Johan I was thinking about building around the "telekinetic swords" thing primarily though.

[Uncle Pine]

D&D adventures and stories in general are great because they're filled with the wildest characters and creatures. Few things are cooler than ninjas, pirates, zombies, robots or any combination thereof. Or dinosaurs. Let's focus on the last one...

Character name: Bob I can't come up with a good halfling name, so I'll leave this up to you.
Brief concept: One of the faithful servants/followers/slaves/cultists of Lord Juraxxus (a fiendish phrenic half-goristro tyrannosaurus), Bob is a halfling that doesn't bother asking questions when a "problem" arises. He is strongly in touch with the more abhorrent powers of this world. Bob also hates gnome spellcasters just as much as his own boss.
Abilities: Some sort of "fiendish" powers, a strong connection with dinosaurs (either a dinosaur mount, a were-dinosaur template, dinosaur-related spells/powers or something else). The hate for gnomes needs not to be mechanically represented.
Limitations: Halfling as a base race, CE alignment.

[Buufreak]

1: Thebus, the holy knight of a deity with the general rule of "things should stay dead, avoid animate dead and/or resurrection spells," but has a bad tendency of dying and being rezzed anyway.

2: As inspired by another thread, a "were-gypsy." Extrapolate whatever you see fit from that, I'm in no way picky. I seriously plan on playing whatever (or whoever) you produce in my next game.

[lylsyly]

Character name: Lylsyly (lil'syly) Female 1/2 Pixie 1/2 Faerie Dragon Full Gestalt (Racial levels on one side)

Brief concept: Played like her name sounds. Played like a true ditz. Comes back from scouting and talks about the flowers, squirrels, ect. and "oh, by the way, there is a war party of ogres coming this way" ... (About the same time the Ogre war party crests the hill).

Abilities: Rogue/ranger swift ambusher with all the powers/abilities of both the pixie and faerie

Limitations: 14 levels of racial class on one side

Played this character but the DM and I had never done the monster class thing and we butchered it pretty badly.

[SoraWolf7]

Character name: Elario Solitayr (Pronounced Solitaire)

Brief concept: A Divine-powered Roguish character who worships Olidammara and prefers to "prank" people to teach them a lesson following Olidammara's "sometimes possessions make you bad" ideal and other tenants, usually though curses or other "gifts" given to those who would want his aid. Much like his deity, he loves his wine and women.

Abilities: Divine magic used to properly "prank" people, as well as rogue-like abilities (stealth, bluff, etc).

Limitations: Chaotic Alignment (bonus points for CN), no gestalt

[bean illus]

Character name: Phoxzcsmapfsox - The Zoo Keeper

Brief concept: Beyond the mountain and over the river, across the valley, in the great forest, it is known that a small man lives in the shadows of the trees. Tales go back for generations of this mysterious person and the numerous times he has saved this small town on the edge of the wilderness. He lives with the animals of the wood, and rarely talks to people. Though the rangers say they occasionally glimpse him, he hasn't been seen in public for 20 years, and many young folks believe that the tales are just stories.

Abilities: Extra Familiar (Dragon 280), Extra Familiar, Improved Familiar, any other animal companion you can squeeze in, and lots of pets. High in Skill Monkey.

Limitations: Probably not enough feats to go around. No armor and likely rather limited in melee, and possibly in Dam. Probably no 9th level spells.

Ps: I know you asked for "no feats", but that's what this concept is. If you don't care to do it because of that, it's fine of course.
The problem with this build, as i see it, is that it's hard to make the thing do anything but limp around. I couldn't quite pull it off.

[TheBrassDuke]

Character name: MeadowSong

Brief concept: Think "the First Dark Faerie" sprung from the Hollows alongside her lighter kin, and over the course of years (after abandoning her home) honed her wicked powers; she essentially goes from being a simple dark faerie to a full-blown Maleficent!

(No, really. But not Angelina Jolie's 'Maley'. I'm talking Mistress of All Evil Maleficent here...)

Spoiler: Done by a friend of mine

Show

I imagine MeadowSong would learn under some wizard/sorcerer (or something) before ultimately killing the master and taking up their mantle on the Forbidden Mountain. Maybe he taught her the power to transform into that dragon..?

Abilities: Fey power; spellcasting; shadow magic; and obviously the power to eventually transform into a dragon!

Oh, and that staff our favorite MoAE usually carries, I've taken to referring to as Faeries' Wrath...

And of course, she's gotta have her trusty sidekick, Diablo.

Limitations: Well she's a fey, and basically Maleficent. Cold Iron vulnerability, her extreme narcissism, she relies heavily on her companion Diablo, etc...

Note: I'm only half-awake, hence the half-***ed concept.

[Morphic tide]

Is Pathfinder okay? Because I have a vague outline of a build, just the core classes and archetypes, and one thing they do with one of those classes beyond the utterly obvious. I will wait for your response to post the idea.

[Rizban]

I've come down with the flu, so I won't be doing this for a few days. I'll be back as soon as I'm feeling better.

Is Pathfinder okay? Because I have a vague outline of a build, just the core classes and archetypes, and one thing they do with one of those classes beyond the utterly obvious. I will wait for your response to post the idea.

I'm really not very familiar with Pathfinder.

[Morphic tide]

I'm really not very familiar with Pathfinder.

Okay then. The setup is heavily rooted in Golarion's setting and almost requires a Pathfinder exclusive class to function, so it literally can't work properly in 3.5 alone.

[TorsteinTheRed]

Excellent thread idea! I've got ideas for these, but I'm curious what your take might be:

Character Name: The Tower
Brief Concept: After being powerless to stop the deaths of those close to him, he devoted his sword training to the protection of those less fortunate. He is very averse to killing, preferring to knock enemies out and bring them to the authorities if at all possible. The single best guy to cover a group's retreat.
Abilities: Heavy focus on wielding a single sword, defending allies from attacks both melee and ranged.
Limitations: Human, good aligned. Gish is fine, but his main tactics should involve the sword.

Character Name: The Huntmaster
Brief Concept: This pirate's god-given task is to bring back beer to the lands of the free! After being sentenced to die in the depths of the pit, he sailed up from the bowels of hell to continue his duty.
Abilities: Wields a tankard of freshly brewed ale, for with the power of ale, he cannot fail.
Limitations: Ale must be a factor, non-evil.
Recommend Listening - Huntmaster by Alestorm

[Uncle Pine]

Rest in peace Awesome Thread #2.