Arelith

xf1313 wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 22, 2022 5:29 am

perseid wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 22, 2022 4:06 am

Fighter 30 and then constantly harp on about how the problem with warriors today is a lack of diverse fundamentals.

I got to reply to this, I can feel the list of feats leaking out of screen, truly.

Thou I wonder if going fighter/divine champion is going to net a bit more ac?

Basically if you take 30 fighter and start trading levels for cot, the more levels you trade the more ac you lose. Fighter gets ac bonuses on lvls 5, 10, 15, 25 and 30 (or 28? but whatever it's the same build-wise). Cot instead gives you divine wrath and a boost to saves and more scaling abilities with charisma for div builds.

Except for my first build, I'd say all my builds have been "RP builds" (with the exception of my commoner, obviously PvP-meta there).
My tactic as the world's worst build creator has been to pick a concept/backstory that I like first, find a build that kinda-sorta reflects it on the vetted build list, then tweak it to better match what I think fits for that concept. I tend to like this approach because it makes me very aware of any glaring weaknesses I'm going to create for the sake of RP flavor.

For example, say I want to make a warlock because I have an idea for pact terms that I think would be really fun to play out. I'd start with one of the four vetted warlock builds for my base -- we'll say my concept is summoner-friendly to keep it simple. I'd think, "do all of these feats mesh with what I envision in my character?" If not, I'll toss it out and sub in something. Then I'll do something similar with skills; that build will allow for seven maxxed skills (concentration and spellcraft being sort of required for a warlock to be moderately functional, discipline for that particular build), so I just need to pick four other skills that mesh with the concept I have in mind. Voila, I have a warlock ready to go.

The main thing with RP builds is that you need to have an RP concept that appeals to you enough to make up for the mechanical suboptimization, which is why I feel like starting with a build before you have a character in mind is not the best bet.

Amateur Hour wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 22, 2022 3:01 pm

Except for my first build, I'd say all my builds have been "RP builds" (with the exception of my commoner, obviously PvP-meta there).
My tactic as the world's worst build creator has been to pick a concept/backstory that I like first, find a build that kinda-sorta reflects it on the vetted build list, then tweak it to better match what I think fits for that concept. I tend to like this approach because it makes me very aware of any glaring weaknesses I'm going to create for the sake of RP flavor.

For example, say I want to make a warlock because I have an idea for pact terms that I think would be really fun to play out. I'd start with one of the four vetted warlock builds for my base -- we'll say my concept is summoner-friendly to keep it simple. I'd think, "do all of these feats mesh with what I envision in my character?" If not, I'll toss it out and sub in something. Then I'll do something similar with skills; that build will allow for seven maxxed skills (concentration and spellcraft being sort of required for a warlock to be moderately functional, discipline for that particular build), so I just need to pick four other skills that mesh with the concept I have in mind. Voila, I have a warlock ready to go.

The main thing with RP builds is that you need to have an RP concept that appeals to you enough to make up for the mechanical suboptimization, which is why I feel like starting with a build before you have a character in mind is not the best bet.

You are very right on the part that I needed a concept, I was running out of ideas (but now I have some outline that I can think about). My lack of imagination is a bane, used to pick class first and develop on that, thou it worked on some characters (for instance, the sd and Druid that I wanted to play for a long time), but it limited my thinking.

Here is the thing that always seems uncertain to me.

What do people mean by 'RP builds'?

Playing something that isn't good mechanically isn't a 'roleplay' build. Because that implies that builds which are more mechanically optimal for specific things aren't somehow based on roleplay.

If my roleplay is that I'm an amazing swordsman for example. My build should reflect that. If it doesn't, I'm roleplaying poorly because my mechanics do not back up what I am trying to be.

It sounds like what you want is a build that isn't good at fighting in PVP or PVE. That doesn't make it more or less applicable for 'Roleplay' it just means your build is good at different things. Just consider what you want to be good at, and build for that. Whatever it might happen to be.

It Came From Beneath The Earth wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 22, 2022 5:44 pm

Here is the thing that always seems uncertain to me.

What do people mean by 'RP builds'?

Playing something that isn't good mechanically isn't a 'roleplay' build. Because that implies that builds which are more mechanically optimal for specific things aren't somehow based on roleplay.

If my roleplay is that I'm an amazing swordsman for example. My build should reflect that. If it doesn't, I'm roleplaying poorly because my mechanics do not back up what I am trying to be.

It sounds like what you want is a build that isn't good at fighting in PVP or PVE. That doesn't make it more or less applicable for 'Roleplay' it just means your build is good at different things. Just consider what you want to be good at, and build for that. Whatever it might happen to be.

I did not imply I wanted a build that is good in battle...did I? Nor do I against it, if there’s an interesting way to present the character.

When I ask for RP build, I want to know how the build is connected to the character story and skill set, how people choose to optimise or unoptimise to serve the character idea. How an advantage as well as a flaw become part of a character. I want to see how others did it and learn, like you mentioned, a good swordsman should be.. something melee, then I get stuck there.

I hope I can express my idea clearly this way.

I can say with certainty that mechanics do not improve your storytelling. Some abilities might be fun to have like the ESF -scry or -teleport, but you do not need these abilities to tell a more convincing story or communicate to the server your character.

Ork wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 23, 2022 12:30 am

I can say with certainty that mechanics do not improve your storytelling. Some abilities might be fun to have like the ESF -scry or -teleport, but you do not need these abilities to tell a more convincing story or communicate to the server your character.

Like make a 6 int 8 wis character but still insists this one is clever and wise ? Or a 4 cha Duerger who is handsome and super charming? I am aware it it not forbidden, but that is not what I made this post for. I want to see what others did and look for inspirations. I would not post and ask if I have tons of ideas really. I think it is more like nudging on friends and ask to read their character sheet before making own character.

No, not like that at all. What makes a character interesting? Concept, flaws, relatability, inclusivity. These are traits divorced from your stats. They're what makes a character come alive.

You could roleplay a crude 4 CHA duergar and still communicate your character in a way that makes others want to interact with them.

So, ultimately what is important is your character's premise, how they breath life into the world, and how they include people to occupy the spotlight. You can do this with any statblock.

So please, do you have a few fun characters you made in the past that you want to share? Your suggestions are surely appreciated. But post on a few builds you made and how you made them fun in their own way would be a more helpful reply, in this case

MRFTW wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 21, 2022 9:41 pm

My personal hell was levelling a wisdom based star/fathomless dual pact spotlock. 125 Spot, 114ish sail, 0 damage capability and I was just over 240hp. I deliberately kept her at 8 AC, just for fun.

Party play was essentially an escort quest for my teammates, with me being the VIP that could do almost anything... Just as long as it wasn't fighting.

My other favourite is "commoner that doesn't know they are a commoner". Heavy armour, shield, spear. Don't ever tell anyone you're a commoner, just pretend both IC and OOC you're a pure ftr. Unbelievably, this was actually the easier of the two to level, although new freelancer writs might make the spotlock a bit easier nowadays.

My friend said that warlock is an investigator in DND world LOL.
Fighter commoner, interesting, I was really confined with the commoner class title and just made mine a local Smith. Guess he can have a bit of adventuring potential. Would make since that this common folk can beat some weak goblin and wolfs on the road, ty!

I value being competent in PvE and the availability of adventurering/exploring in my builds. I also like builds that are competent in PvP. Fighter 25/WM 5, Ranger 27/ Specialist 3, 6 Fighter/4 Cavalier/20 Blackguard are builds I've genuinely enjoyed playing.

Try to come up with a concept that you can easily include others in. That's usually whats worked for me in the past. Come up with a concept first, then come up with a class combination that can mechanically support what you're doing.

10+ years ago, the Arcane Tower was a wierd magical/scientific research hub and we constantly bounced concepts, theories, and ideas off each other before shamelessly stealing them from each other and making our own variants. A lot of the "inventions" were wands, potions, or basin items with unique descriptions to mechanically represent what we were making. This was right around when spell focus feat bonuses and basin name/description customization was introduced, so it was easy to play a golemcraft expert, artifacter, or arcane researcher.

Some idea's i've tossed around but never gotten a chance to do?

An archer that is seeking out other people to create new/unique arrows. Example: arrows with fire/sonic damage or the imbue arrow skill being rped as arrows with a hollow shaft filled with explosives (alchemist fire, smokepowder, etc) and the arrowhead acting as a firing pin that activates the mixture on contact when striking a hard surface.

A fathomeless depth warlock with an emphasis on ocean/sailing/underwater/ice rp. Underwater experts are a rare thing after all.

Go find an alchemist or tinker to help you with new concepts!

Personally i've found rp builds are easier to make on magic builds, as wands/scrolls/potions are an easy creative outlet. And magic tends to be more forgiving than physical builds when it comes to mechanical strength (you can always act as a healer or support)

Going to spitball a few, based on the publicly-available builds...

• Paladin of Siamorphe, sent to Arelith by his/her order. Dedicated to the idea of noblesse oblige (would pair very nicely with noble award)
• Shaman on a spirit quest. Never goes anywhere without his/her older siblings, who are fiercely protective despite the fact the shaman in question is a full-grown adult (you can have a lot of fun RPing with your tribal summons)
• Half-orc raised by his/her particularly brave (some might say foolhardy) human wizard father in predominantly-human genteel society

xf1313 wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 23, 2022 2:04 am

Fighter commoner, interesting, I was really confined with the commoner class title and just made mine a local Smith. Guess he can have a bit of adventuring potential. Would make since that this common folk can beat some weak goblin and wolfs on the road, ty!

Mine was made when Skal was less busy (back when the trogs was the best writ on Skal), and I wanted to make a local craftsman but was struggling to find people to buy materials from, so I (and my character) decided to do it themselves. Not a challenge for the faint hearted, but I managed to kill the minotaur chief solo at level 16 with a genuinely unholy amount of elemental shield scrolls and something like 65 heal skill. EDIT: Oh, and a gonne.

It was really fun, the mistake I made was leaving Skal. The challenge was "Do every writ solo, within level range, but as a commoner." Challenge runs aren't for everyone, but I do them now and again to keep things fresh.

I can also second Ork's suggestion of ftr/cav/BG. Very nice split.

Personally I love my current build. And will do even more after a few slight tweaks. But the build basically allows for awesome minimal cleric RP with consecrating altars and domain powers as well as being a semi-Paladin without being an actual paladin and being decent at damage and defence. Being able to shield 2 people and have an amazing vfx on my weapon? I adore it. It may not be the strongest in PVP but it's great in PVE and allows simply for a huge amount of RP.

FTR/Cleric/Rogue

Illusion wizard with project clone

Assassin Rakashka if you get a major (not sure how to apply. do you need 2 separate apps or just 1 big one?)