Planning Your Character Arc

Marit has a letter from his only fan, he got it shortly after breaking out of the Gladiator's Feast in his honor after winning a tournament. He found it laying on his hat when he woke up in a barn he had been hiding in after a night of quietly playing songs to drift to sleep. The Letter: "Big Greenie, I heard you in my barn. People say Orc's are scary but you're only a little scary. That song was nice, so I wanted to say that. Do you play a lot of songs? If you played my favorite song, I bet you'd get lots of fans. My favorite song is---" That's the end of the letter, the bottom part was ripped away, so Merit travels looking for the perfect song to gain his fandom and to thank his original fan.

Chris Garrett said: Marit has a letter from his only fan, he got it shortly after breaking out of the Gladiator's Feast in his honor after winning a tournament. He found it laying on his hat when he woke up in a barn he had been hiding in after a night of quietly playing songs to drift to sleep. The Letter: "Big Greenie, I heard you in my barn. People say Orc's are scary but you're only a little scary. That song was nice, so I wanted to say that. Do you play a lot of songs? If you played my favorite song, I bet you'd get lots of fans. My favorite song is---" That's the end of the letter, the bottom part was ripped away, so Merit travels looking for the perfect song to gain his fandom and to thank his original fan. That's really friggin' cute haha. "Big Greenie" should be your solo act name Marit the Big Greenie Bard of Valor

Rob, when I was caught in Linber Wall by Kassa Lethen, who caught me? Was it Kassa? Did he catch me single-handedly or did he have backup?

I imagined it as you heard Kassa Lethen was in that area, perhaps in a specific segment of the ruins there, hiding out. Orryn, unknowing of the strength of such a creature, ventured into that area to retrieve this fabled wand of invisibility (which supposedly, has other secret powers as well). He didn't even get far before setting off a ward and being surrounded by some of Kassa Lethen's troll thralls. So he never saw Kassa directly.

Trolls!

Here's the final drawn draft of Singing Shadow before it goes into 3d rendering.

Super super badass!!

Marco, do you see Tarnach eventually taking some levels in Cleric (Shadow Monk / Cleric of Hermod)?

I was actually considering multi-tasking into cleric. I still have to decide though. If I did, it would definitely be after level 6 cause I wanna get my teleport ASAP. If I went cleric though, it'd definitely be as trickster. But I'm just not sure yet. I could only take like an extra level in it because what monks get at level 20 isn't as big a deal as the stuff they get at 19 and lower. Why do you ask?

DM Rob said: Marco, do you see Tarnach eventually taking some levels in Cleric (Shadow Monk / Cleric of Hermod)? I just pictured Tarnach as Erevis Cale. My hype thrusters have now activated.

Belanor (Tam) said: DM Rob said: Marco, do you see Tarnach eventually taking some levels in Cleric (Shadow Monk / Cleric of Hermod)? I just pictured Tarnach as Erevis Cale. My hype thrusters have now activated. Haha-yes, except Hermod would have much different intentions for his followers than Mask would... And Marco, I only ask because Tarnach is already so interested in Hermod (prays to him, talks to Stone Giants about him, plans to get body art related to him) so it would make sense I think. Hermod's symbol is a scroll with wings btw

Yeah I've spent the better part of the last few days trying to find viable combinations that can work, including what the level balance is and such.

And here is the final, completed, and rendered version of Singing Shadow

For Trace, here's some reference points for Gnomes. Short stature, long limbs. wild hair. Like I said, Gnomes are to Elves as Halflings are to Humans.

Marco G. said: And here is the final, completed, and rendered version of Singing Shadow I don't see anything?

<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwlroXKZ-lLgSnVfR" rel="nofollow">https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwlroXKZ-lLgSnVfR</a>... There's the link. Hyperlink is messing with me right now.

Yeah I was trying to upload the photo but I think it might exceed roll20's file size limitations because I left it uploading for over an hour and nothing happened.

There we go. It is sooooo fucking awesome. Who did it? Who designed it? It's really top-notch art. I must say it looks like a longsword though not a shortsword.

The chinese used a sword that was affectionately labeled the gentleman's sword, so called because it was usually hidden inside of a cane and it was light enough for even a nobleman to carry around all day and defend himself. The western equivalent would the something like a marine corps cavalry saber. If you've seen pirates of the carribean, a good example is Commodore Norrington's sword. Though in truth, these are categorized as small swords, there was no such sword in the PHB and a small sword seemed like the most likely. A rapier is the predecessor of the small sword, but was heavier and longer, so the only blade that seemed to fit those stats was the weaker and lighter short sword. If you want, you can make a stat block for the sword by itself. And the sword was designed by myself, and drawn and rendered in 3d by Dale Ziemianski from deviant art. He was working on commission, which after multiple attempts at getting the sword drawn for free, I realized was simply the best way to get the art exactly how I wanted it. <a href="http://daleziemianski.deviantart.com/" rel="nofollow">http://daleziemianski.deviantart.com/</a> There's a link to his deviantart portfolio. I was actually thinking that it might be a good idea to keep his contact information, in case the need arrises to have something drawn and designed in 3d. For example if we get into a full scale, all out battle with multiple armies between kheir and jixia.

Very awesome. How much did you pay for it? Love that you are so invested in Tarnach. It'll be a shame if he should die ≖◡ಎ≖ d6 damage. Slashing or piercing, Marco? 2 lbs. Monk keyword. Also Tam, is Belanor proficient with the Herbalism kit? Does he have one?

I've had a question about that. Can't the nature of an attack change as the character targets with it? For example, most piercing weapons like rapiers and daggers can also be used to slash, so couldn't they be either piercing or slashing? And it's primarily piercing. And I paid him 100 dollars for the artwork.

Wow that's not cheap by any means. But it is great work. Make sure you save it, even print it/have it framed for that price. If it's a piercing weapon but you slash with it, it would become an improvised weapon and so become 1d4 dmg

Ahh I see. I always wondered why they never added modular damage types like that on weapons that make sense.

Should I make a separate thread for my doodles? Anyway here is my Belanor 1.4. Working on Orryn next.

and here is a different take on Oryyn .... notice the dark vision eyes; closer to what you like Rob?

This is pretty cool, how did you get that effect in his eyes?

DM Rob said: Very awesome. How much did you pay for it? Love that you are so invested in Tarnach. It'll be a shame if he should die ≖◡ಎ≖ d6 damage. Slashing or piercing, Marco? 2 lbs. Monk keyword. Also Tam, is Belanor proficient with the Herbalism kit? Does he have one? Yes and Yes Trace K. said: Should I make a separate thread for my doodles? Anyway here is my Belanor 1.4. Working on Orryn next. Oh My God.Yes

Trace K. said: Should I make a separate thread for my doodles? Anyway here is my Belanor 1.4. Working on Orryn next. Sick!! Definitely brings out the "blood lust" that Belanor's past was rife with.

Trace K. said: and here is a different take on Oryyn .... notice the dark vision eyes; closer to what you like Rob? To me this is a perfect blend of gnome, the beard is exactly how I picture Orryn. The hood is on point. I love it. Trace you are awesome man!

Yes, but I really wan to wow Rob, can't wait to hear from him so I can keep tweaking it until it's token worthy.

Oh, sorry Trace! my reply got buried in a bunch of big posts. I think its awesome. If I may make 1 tiny change, I have always liked this style of Vandyke beard. I imagine Orryn keeping it maintained by casually trimming it with a dagger during restful times. The hair, the ears, the face, everything else is perfect!

Now that Marit has the 'Magic Mouth' spell, he's going to use any left over spell slots he can to cast it before resting and use them as business cards! It says it can contain "25 words or less, but they can be delivered over as long as 10 minutes." Can I record an introduction and then a song? Since a song isn't words, I didn't know if this would be possible or not. I can set up a trigger for it to activate. I think that trigger is going to be whenever somebody expresses boredom. within audible range of the carving. (I'm going to hire somebody to carve several trinkets of me, these trinkets will be what sing my business card!)

I love that idea! I'm thinking you can record up to a 10 minute song, with as many as 25 words (either an introduction taking up part of the beginning, or 25 lyrics) It's a relatively inexpensive way to spread your reknown in a noticeable way! Go Marit!

I want to make sure that you guys are aware that each magic item I introduce can shift the balance of the power from one character to another. In D&D Encounters there is a rule that no 1 gets a 2nd magic item until everyone in the party has 1. Just be careful to balance accordingly amongst yourselves as magic items are given out. That's all! :)

Awesome, I'm thinking it's going to be a jingle like you hear for a car commercial. If your inn's at a low, or your tavern's business be slow, Maybe an adventurer to lighten your gold? Then you need Marit (and company) Followed by 10 minutes of amazing music.

So what magic items do we have? Staff that turns into a giant poisonous snake (Tarnach?) Broom of flying (Vetari?) Magic Hide armor (Marit?)

That's as far as I can remember. I can't remember what the hide armor did though.

Rob said: So what magic items do we have? Staff that turns into a giant poisonous snake (Tarnach?) Broom of flying (Vetari?) Magic Hide armor (Marit?) Marit's hide armor is +1 armor the broom of flying is also in Marit's possession but it can be passed around (doesn't require attunement) the staff that tarnach has requires attunement. Scroll of locate object (vetari has) Drowning Devils / Half-Deads cloths Voidbrella (broken - needs fixing) I believe there is also still two potions of superior healing remaining.

I also have a sleep scroll I've been holding onto, as awesome as the broom is somebody else without a magic item should take it.

Well like Rob said, the broom is more of a group utility item. It doesn't require attunement, and is helpful to everyone. The way I see it, the two actual Magic equipments are the hide armor, and the serpent staff. The rest are more of a group possession. For example, if I die at the start of a boss battle, we wouldn't use a healing kit, we'd use a potion to keep me in the battle. The potions and broom are usable by anyone, whereas the armor and staff only have one owner.

I wanted to post my plans for Tarnach's growth, now that I've got a plan set up. At level 8, I will be switching from monk to fighter, and I'll stay in that class for 4 levels, then switch back to monk for my final levels. This will give me 16 monk/4 fighter levels. I think this is something that will combo well with many of my monk features, and also give me additional survivability and offensive capabilities on behalf of the fighter. While I'm not sure how I'll play things, what I'd like to do with this is to have 2 different builds for combat. One "fighter" build, which will emphasize armor and survivability while still maintaining decent damage. The second build is the same one I've been using, albeit with the addition of fighter features like the action surge and so on. Just figured I'd post this so I could keep my teammates informed. And of course, to give DM Rob some insider tips into how to take down my character lol.

DM Rob said: Rob said: So what magic items do we have? ... I also have the Bloodcrows cloth I took off Urg Strongmaw. Marco G. said: ... While I'm not sure how I'll play things, what I'd like to do with this is to have 2 different builds for combat. One "fighter" build, which will emphasize armor and survivability while still maintaining decent damage. The second build is the same one I've been using, albeit with the addition of fighter features like the action surge and so on. ... Armour and shield clashes with Monk's unarmored defense, their ability to do hit/dmg via DEX and their extra damage via unarmed attacks. PHB 78. So I don't think your first build would work, but you can still go fighter for the additional combat abilities/weapon fighting styles/battlemaster. Alternatively, if you have a good STR stat, you could go Barbarian instead. If you have a good STR stat, you could attack with monk weapons using STR and then add dmg bonuses via rage. The Totem Warrior path and Barb's ridiculous d12 hit dice could help if you want to emphasize survivability.

I'm aware they don't stack, but that's the point. Doing my monk moves will give me the best damage output, so that's the build I'll be using for boss encounters and such. The fighter loadout would be used for average fights, that way I'm not losing tons of HP against ogres and minotaurs when I'm about to fight hags.

Glad to see you guys thinking about everything in depth!

Question for DM Rob. I've been playing the Ranger, and enjoying him, as much more archery focused than the melee focused build I initially thought. I think I want to keep with the more archery focused (albeit in a neat way once I get my feat shortly). I was wondering if, at next level up I could switch my fighting style to Archery (from Defense). If not, no worries! Thanks!

Darvin (Christopher D.) said: Question for DM Rob. I've been playing the Ranger, and enjoying him, as much more archery focused than the melee focused build I initially thought. I think I want to keep with the more archery focused (albeit in a neat way once I get my feat shortly). I was wondering if, at next level up I could switch my fighting style to Archery (from Defense). If not, no worries! Thanks! Allowing retconning in these sorts of things is a slippery slope, and because I've ruled no in the past, I have to stick with it. Sure,Darvin now is more interested in archery, but when he chose his fighting style at first, he was more interested in defense. So no changing, everyone (at this point) has made choices and it makes your character more unique. Just take more archery feats and other archery related things from here on out !

No worries, just an ask. Looking forward to tomorrow's game!

I'd like to create an object that I can use as a target for my darkness spell, now that I can shadow teleport. Once I get a chance to chill back at Fort lightning, I'm basically imagining something like a solid metal weight(looking pretty of course) that's attached to a fine chain that I can use to maneuver it and give myself pockets of darkness to teleport to as needed. Is that something we can rig up? It would be pure metal so I should be able to make it with smithing right Rob?

All you need is a solid metal weight attached to a chain?

Yep essentially just like that. The ball would basically be a pound at most. Enough to throw it accurately but not too heavy. Then a fine sturdy chain like 50 feet long. Or maybe silk rope. I'd have to check the PHB stats on each.