[dungeoncrawl] Re: Character stats
- From: Johnathan Detrick <jdetrick@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: dungeoncrawl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 15:27:12 -0400
My goal with first level spells is to usually avoid damaging spells, as they
become useless at the levels we play at. I go for things like Spider Climb.
Quincy is 12th level, and just barely that. He won't be going up for some
time.
Damon Kline wrote:
> What level is Quincy? I think you mentioned it on Wednesday night, but I
> can't remember. First level is usually tough, although 3rd edition doesn't
> seem as bad as 2nd edition when it comes to picking spells at certain
> levels. I remember 2nd level being a pain in the butt to try and find
> spells in 2nd edition.
>
> My problem with low level spells is usually that most of them are the kind
> of spell that really isn't that useful, but you never know when you might
> need something like it. Then I end up with too many choices, trying to
> figure out what type of situation we might run into that would require
> certain spells and that sort of thing.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Johnathan Detrick [mailto:jdetrick@xxxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Friday, August 30, 2002 3:17 PM
> To: dungeoncrawl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [dungeoncrawl] Re: Character stats
>
> Quincy has four metamagic feats (Empower, Extend, Maximize and Quicken).
> I
> hope to use them more and more as he increases in level. I'm giving the
> current
> spell list a trial period of a few adventures. Then I'll go through and
> rearrange it. My only problem is first level. I have some spell slots I'm
> less
> than happy with, but I don't know what to do with them, since I can't use
> any
> metamagic feats at that level.
>
> Damon Kline wrote:
>
> > I must admit to being pretty excited to see what these guys can do. At
> > every spell level for Sinjen, I tried to do an equal mix of combat versus
> > non-combat spells. However, the non-combat spells are mostly personal
> > protection spells or things that can help him specifically. I felt that
> > better suited his personality.
> >
> > Kilian on the other hand took mostly spells that could help the party.
> > Either healing, summoning or other spells that could affect either the
> party
> > or their enemies. I don't know if I took any spells that he could cast
> only
> > on himself.
> >
> > A maximized Vampiric Touch is a great idea. I haven't assigned any of
> > Sinjen's Spell Secrets yet. He only gets two, but I haven't decided on
> > either one. I'm thinking of using the Extended Spell feat on a personal
> > defense spell like Stoneskin or Lizardskin (oriental spell). That way it
> > would last twice as long.
> >
> > I was also thinking, as he goes up in level, of giving him the Quicken
> Spell
> > feat, which allows you to cast a spell as a free action. That would be
> cool
> > to have a fireball memorized that way, because you could theoretically
> cast
> > two fireballs in the same round! Cool!
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Johnathan Detrick [mailto:jdetrick@xxxxxxxxxxx]
> > Sent: Friday, August 30, 2002 12:03 PM
> > To: dungeoncrawl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: [dungeoncrawl] Re: Character stats
> >
> > Isn't it fun to see what your characters are capable of? I had some
> of
> > the
> > most ludicrous spells for Quincy; who the hell would cast some of the
> things
> > he
> > took? I'm hoping that I have a nice mix of combat and non-combat. He
> does
> > use
> > some meta-magic feats, although not too many. Usually, I find a level
> where
> > I
> > only have stupid spells, and see what lower level spells I can replace the
> > stupid ones with. In his case, I maximized a vampiric touch, since the
> > health
> > could save his life at some time.
> > That was a great idea that Jim had, using a separate character sheet
> for
> > Kilian when in super-hero mode. :) It should make it a lot easier for
> you.
> > I
> > think these five will be pretty effective. Separately they are flawed and
> > wussy, but together, they are mighty!
> >
> > Damon Kline wrote:
> >
> > > Great minds must think alike, as I have been working on my characters as
> > > well. Sinjen just went up a level, which makes him a 7th level Wu
> Jen/4th
> > > level Monk. This gave him one extra 1st level spell and a 4th level
> > spell,
> > > plus his bonus spell at 4th level, which gives him two.
> > >
> > > However, one thing I have not done much with when using Wizards are the
> > > metamagic feats. Sinjen only has one, but I'm trying to find a way to
> use
> > > it. At this point, he can't, because it would only allow him to
> maximize
> > a
> > > 1st level spell because it requires it to be 3 levels higher. He
> doesn't
> > > want to give up a 4th level slot just yet, since he just got them. But,
> > as
> > > a Wu Jen, he has a cool ability. At 3rd level and every 3 levels after
> > > that, he can use Spell Secret. He can choose any spell that he knows
> and
> > > apply one of four metamagic feats to it permanently. Those are Enlarge
> > > spell, Extend spell, Silent spell and Still spell. They do not require
> > you
> > > to memorize the spell at one level higher as is normally the case and
> the
> > > effect is permanent for that spell. So, if he chooses to apply the
> silent
> > > feat to a magic missile, then any time he memorizes a magic missile
> spell,
> > > it is silent. I also revamped his spell list to give him more of an
> > > oriental feel, using some of their unique spells. I don't know that
> this
> > > will do much, since most of their spells require you to hit and the
> target
> > > gets a save, but it will look cool. This character is always about
> style.
> > > :)
> > >
> > > I took Jim's advice and used a separate character sheet to make up
> Kilian
> > as
> > > a 20th level druid for when he "summons the power of his father". I'm
> > still
> > > in the process of picking spells, but so far he should be pretty kick
> ass
> > > when he does this! I also changed his normal spell selection around.
> > I've
> > > wanted him to call upon nature's help by summoning animals, but they
> > always
> > > seem so useless against what we normally fight. However, I found spells
> > > that I always overlooked because I couldn't figure out why you would use
> > > them. The two that I found in particular were Greater Magic Fang and
> > Animal
> > > Growth. So as a tactic, Kilian could use Summon Nature's Ally V to
> summon
> > a
> > > Dire Lion, which is a decent animal to have around, but not overly
> > > threatening. Then he could cast Animal Growth on it which doubles its
> > size
> > > and hit dice. This increases its strength and it's base attack bonus
> and
> > > it's damage done. It increases its hit points and armor class as well.
> > > Very useful spell. Then, Greater Magic Fang grants one natural attack
> of
> > a
> > > creature a +1 for every 3 levels of the caster. Effectively making the
> > > creature able to increase its ability to hit and do damage and override
> > > damage reduction if the bonus is high enough.
> > >
> > > Now the downside to all of this, is that it would take him 3 rounds to
> get
> > > this in place. Since he is the party's main fighter at this point, that
> > > might be a problem. But, we'll see how it goes.
> > >
> > > I am definitely excited to play these guys!!
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Johnathan Detrick [mailto:jdetrick@xxxxxxxxxxx]
> > > Sent: Friday, August 30, 2002 11:31 AM
> > > To: Riders II
> > > Subject: [dungeoncrawl] Character stats
> > >
> > > I have spent the last few mornings before work going over Magnus,
> > > Quincy and Ilana, since they are the current active characters I have.
> > > I wanted to let Jim know what changed, since he is DMing. I also wanted
> > > to show that I have accomplished all of the following, in time spurts of
> > > 15 minutes each, in just a few days. Now, I love to create and fiddle
> > > with characters; its one of my favorite parts of the game. But I have
> > > always believed it leads me to enjoy the game more; when my characters
> > > are at their best and everything is organized, I can play for hours.
> > > And it's not about making them the most powerful character I can; it's
> > > about choosing feats, skills and spells that fit their personality. In
> > > the end, though, this does make them more effective, so the results are
> > > still positive.
> > > Ilana is now an 8th level cleric. I made no real changes here. One
> > > of the things I decided for her was to make her a utility cleric. Since
> > > she won't attack, I can forget all of the offensive cleric spells.
> > > Instead, I'm trying to give her spells to allow her to aid the group in
> > > any situation. Spells like Water Breathing, Freedom of Movement,
> > > Neutralize Poison, Remove Disease, Dispel Magic, Restoration and the
> > > like should enable her to help out in a variety of areas. I had pretty
> > > much decided on that direction for her when I created her, and it's
> > > helped me to give her purpose, and it helps me to know what to do with
> > > her in combat. And it fits her personality perfectly.
> > > Magnus isn't quite done yet, but as expected, he is now 21st level.
> > > I've begun to raise him in level with the epic level book. Sadly, he
> > > gets very little. I need to pick an epic feat for him and I am done.
> > > I'll let Jim know what I choose.
> > > Quincy took the most work (although it was still only about 30
> > > minutes). He is one of those characters that I created a long time ago
> > > with a strong idea, and then completely forgot about. I see him a lot
> > > as Giles on Buffy. He's extremely intelligent and very inquisitive. He
> > > is absolutely fascinated by undead and their like, but he doesn't use
> > > undead, and he doesn't support them. He has some elements of Thaylone,
> > > in that he is looking for a group to belong to and acceptance, but he's
> > > not as concerned as Thaylone is about it. He's not a bad guy, but he
> > > can be a little ruthless. Combine the love of knowledge from Zolkiir,
> > > with the pragmatism of D'Alleva and the quest for acceptance of
> > > Thaylone, throw in a little of Quent's cowardice, and a dash of
> > > prissiness, and there you have him.
> > > I had to completely overhaul his spell list. As some of you may be
> > > aware, Necromancy (in my opinion) has some of the most useless spells
> > > out there! Yeesh! It's even harder when you remove those spells that
> > > animate undead. However, I decided to make up my own type of necromancy
> > > spell list. Besides those spells that are actually necromantic spells,
> > > I loaded him up with cold spells. To my mind, cold is the element most
> > > associated with the dead (and please, let me know if you think I'm off
> > > base), so I removed all fire spells and now all of his offensive spells
> > > are cold. To me, he seems pretty cool, and I think his new spell list
> > > will be very helpful! I can't wait to use him!
> > > So that's where my characters stand, ready to go for next week. I
> > > can't wait!
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