Need some character inspiration

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Okay, here goes. I'm going to have to make up a character for a campaign that is focused more on roleplaying and less on combat. The campaign takes place in an elven province where every race in the PHB can be found, except for dwarves. (due to a long war between the elven and dwarven empires) The rulers are mostly the elven mages and thus the arcane academy is pretty influencial.

Now unlike the last campaign we have agreed on what types we each would play, and I got the role of arcane caster. (Which is a change of pace, having played only a meleecleric and a human fighter)

I'm not sure what kind of character to build though. I need some special personality traits. I know our fighterish character is going to be a lawful type (halfling even) so I'm thinking something to balance him out, a counterpart.

I've got some inspiration but it isn't turning out how I'd like. So give me your ideas. Special character traits, a theme or just wacky thoughts (Note: aside from dwarven and psionics, there are no limitations to what's allowed. We start out at clvl 1)

 

Might be a bit cliche (and easily expected coming from me), but how about a dwarf sympathiser? A student of the magic academy, you have managed to form the opinion that the dwarves were treated unjustly in or as a result of the elf/dwarf war - it doesn't matter if the view's correct or not, just that the character has it. This view drives your character to learn more about the situation, but is also extremely dangerous if discovered.

 

Heh, Dwarf sympathiser would be a bad idea. VERY bad The story begins just a week or so before where our previous party's campaign ended. At the brink of war after the dwarves mounted a big attack on the elven empire. Suffice to say, dwarf sympathisers would not be ... appreciated

It's an interesting idea and would cause much controversy, which is good of course. I'll give it some thought. Though I don't know wether the coming war with the dwarfs will be a major storyline in the campaign...

 

Half-surface half-drow. Rich, spoilt, high-handed and *****y (BQ160). Academy head's pet. Chaotic neutral. Female. Need I say more?

 

Halfling Cleric of (choose Luck god).

Luck priests are a whole lot of fun. If your DM will allow the Auspician Prestige Class from Faiths and Pantheons (from the Forgotten Realms setting) I highly suggest it.

If this doesn't suit your fancy, I had a lot of fun once with a 1/2 Orc fighter/barbarian. The character wore a chain shirt (light armor) and used reach weapons. The light armor rarely came into play (reach), and even if I did get hit, I had so many hit points from being a barbarian/fighter. Concentrate on trip attacks if you can. I find "alternative attacking" more fun than straight damage dealing.

 

Another one on the chaotic side - half-elf who looks more elf than human, trying to bluff and cheat your way into elven high society - starting with the mage's academy. If you chose to play a bard(who still is an arcane spellcaster) it would fit well with the bluffing and cheating aspects, but might make certain aspects a bit too challenging?

 

An elf with extreme inferiority complex, and convinced that violence is bad. So a specialed wizard in conjuration(i think that's the one, not sure though). Well, whatever school that prohibits Evocation.
A weak-constitutioned wizard with occasional fits of barbarian rage. And very fond of Tenser's Transformation, and/or shapeshifts into fighting forms.

Even better... a wizard in a wheelchair

In the end just make a mixture of all the ideas here

 

enchanter/diviner in a wheelchair named Elfaviar!

 

An arrogant wizard that's top of their class yet relies on their natural talent rather than studing. Turns out to be a sorcerer.

 

-Elven Necromancer.

-Elven Barbarian.

-Elven Monk.

-Elven Cleric of a not-very-fruity-Elven deity (I know of one campaign with a half-orc Cleric of Corellon.)

-Elven Forsaker.

-Half-elven classes of above.

 

Hmm... an elven mage/berserker who was raised by humans? I've seen it made to work.... youngish, extremely short-tempered, has human traits and a murky past

 

What about a chaotic neautral Half-Orc Barbarian/Sorcerer?

 

Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

An elven werewolf mage. There's a really cool prestige class, elves or hal-elves only. It's basically an uber mage. Can't remember the name off the top of my head, I think it's like Elven Archmage or something. At any rate, it's in Races of Faerun. But regardless, be a werewolf. Werewolves are powerful, and only like a CR of two or three. Werewolves are cool.

It's a really cool PrC. Alternately, consider either a Battlemage (to give your wizard a whole new level of totally offensive power), or an Eldritch Warrior for a sort of Assassin/Mage. All very cool, very powerful, relatively uncommon.

 

Are you going to let us know what you end up deciding upon?

 

Well, the idea didn't come from this thread, (some great ideas though) but I ended up with the following idea. (described below) Because this is a campaign that focuses mostly on roleplaying instead of rollplaying, an illusionist should make for some funny happenings (especially with there being no other mage in the party to spellcraft my spells )

- Gnomish Illusionist
- Stats: STR 11, DEX 15, CON 15, INT 17, WIS 13, CHA 14. (rolled stats with racial mods)
- Alignment: Chaotic (neutral or good)
- Skills: Alchemy 4, Spellcraft 4, Craft 4, Knowledge Arcana 4, Knowledge Local 4.
- Feat: Spell Focus Illusion
- Spells: Shield, Charm Person, SpiderClimb, Change Self, Color Spray and Silent Image. (Plus all the lvl 0 spells)
- Opposing school: Evocation. (so no fireballs)
- Equipment: Gnome sized quarterstaff (1d4 damage), light crossbow with 10 bolts, spellbook, spellcomponent pouch, dagger, parchment&ink&inkpen and a burlap suit.

Characteristics:
- Fireball is his solution to everything. He can't cast fireball yet and will never be able to (forbidden school evocation) without using shadow conjurations, but that's beside the point. Think:

Thief: *picking a lock* "I could use some light over here."
Gnome: "FIREBALL!" *begins casting of a different spell*
Party: "****!" *runs far far away*

- He loves wacky experiments with alchemical substances. Cue random explosions to keep the other partymembers alert
- He solely wears burlap because he's allergic to all other fabrics. He gets irresistable itches when exposed to say ... cotton longer than 2 rounds.
- He attends the Arcane Academy, but most people there dislike him or think he's nuts. Several teachers have banned him from their classes, due to accidents like the following:

Teacher: Everybody, use the spell Mage Hand to lift a small object in front of you.
*Everybody casts Mage Hand
The Gnome casts ColorSpray (an advanced spell, not taught in that class) and knocks half of the class unconcious.
The Gnome: *chuckle* pretty colors!
*The still concious part of the class stares in disbelief at the gnome.
The Gnome happily continues his experiments ignoring the others, both the concious and unconcious ones.
Teacher resists the urge to use a ‘plane shift’ to send the gnome to the plane of poo, though barely.

- He's rather absentminded and forgetfull, sometimes not really aware of his surroundings.
- Most of the above is a mask though, to throw people off foot and have them underestimate him.

 

Told you before: You are one wicked weirdo!
Does your gnome lost points in constitution yet for killing his own familiar during his alchemical experiments?

 

I thought it was almost impossible for a master to kill his familiar...
It doesn't sound like your character's chracteristics match his stats. All of those statictics imply that he is greater than the average in all his chosen fields. I would figure he should have 9 or lower for wisdom given his lack of sanity.

 

Lack of wisdom doesn't always mean insanity, nor the opposite way around, as far as my understanding of it streches atleast. Wisdom is more to describ how intune with ones surroundings someone is, and how.. wise they are. Which I guess would also mean that Faragon's gnome should have lower Wisdom, but then he did say that that is all an act to make people under estimate him.

 

Wisdom doesn't always mean the character turns up with wise and sensible words or good suggestions. Perhaps the gnome understands the minds of others and has rather keen senses...
Since he is easily distracted, he might have bad will saves, but if my calculations are correct, Faragon adjusted the lowest scores to Strength and Wisdom.

I bet Faragon can find a creative way to kill his own familiar...

Beware, your knees are mine!