Characters

The Dwarven Imperative.
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EvilGenius
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Post by EvilGenius »

NukeHavoc wrote:I have no idea what "shock trooper" does, but no self-respecting dwarf would ever don armor once warn by orcish scum. :twisted:
K, just so you know, Sunder and Improved Sunder cannot be used on an opponent's armor. Weapons and Shields, yes.

From the Hypertext d20:

Sunder
You can use a melee attack with a slashing or bludgeoning weapon to strike a weapon or shield that your opponent is holding. If you’re attempting to sunder a weapon or shield, follow the steps outlined here. (Attacking held objects other than weapons or shields is covered below.)

Step 1
Attack of Opportunity. You provoke an attack of opportunity from the target whose weapon or shield you are trying to sunder. (If you have the Improved Sunder feat, you don’t incur an attack of opportunity for making the attempt.)

Step 2
Opposed Rolls. You and the defender make opposed attack rolls with your respective weapons. The wielder of a two-handed weapon on a sunder attempt gets a +4 bonus on this roll, and the wielder of a light weapon takes a -4 penalty. If the combatants are of different sizes, the larger combatant gets a bonus on the attack roll of +4 per difference in size category.

Step 3
Consequences. If you beat the defender, roll damage and deal it to the weapon or shield. See Table: Common Armor, Weapon, and Shield Hardness and Hit Points to determine how much damage you must deal to destroy the weapon or shield.

If you fail the sunder attempt, you don’t deal any damage.

Sundering a Carried or Worn Object
You don’t use an opposed attack roll to damage a carried or worn object. Instead, just make an attack roll against the object’s AC. A carried or worn object’s AC is equal to 10 + its size modifier + the Dexterity modifier of the carrying or wearing character. Attacking a carried or worn object provokes an attack of opportunity just as attacking a held object does. To attempt to snatch away an item worn by a defender rather than damage it, see Disarm. You can’t sunder armor worn by another character.
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NukeHavoc
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Post by NukeHavoc »

That's fine. Dirty orcish swords and shields should be broken as well. That said, I'll look at someone's Complete Warrior on Friday and check out those feats Jess mentioned. My concern with sunder is less breaking stuff, and more the opportunity to break stuff. If you don't do it much, then it's kind of a waste of a feat.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me. I'll try and be a tad more quiet as I desperately struggle to break free -- and save all creation!" -- Doctor Strange
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EvilGenius
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Post by EvilGenius »

Well, as far as having the opportunity to break things, I think I've got you covered. This is going to be a combat-heavy series of adventures, mostly against humanoids who are going to be wielding weapons and carrying shields.

So if you're keen on breaking weapons/shields, then Sunder is a good thing. :)

There is a Combat Style Feat in Complete Warrior which allows you to make attacks of opportunity after you successfully sunder someone's weapon/shield. I can't remember if that one was Shock Trooper or Combat Brute. You may want to look at those.
NukeHavoc wrote:That's fine. Dirty orcish swords and shields should be broken as well. That said, I'll look at someone's Complete Warrior on Friday and check out those feats Jess mentioned. My concern with sunder is less breaking stuff, and more the opportunity to break stuff. If you don't do it much, then it's kind of a waste of a feat.
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NukeHavoc
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Post by NukeHavoc »

Character-wise, is my guy going to work in the campaign?
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me. I'll try and be a tad more quiet as I desperately struggle to break free -- and save all creation!" -- Doctor Strange
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EvilGenius
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Post by EvilGenius »

NukeHavoc wrote:Character-wise, is my guy going to work in the campaign?
Well, currently we have some VERY lawful types:
Knight class
Cleric/Paladin of Hieroneous

And some Neutral/Mildly Chaotic types (either in character class or in the way the characters are played):
Moraim
Heydrich
Manansi


Your dwarf sounds pretty cool, and he's certainly an appropriate character, but he's going to be strongly chaotic. that's not bad, per se, but it's not going to fit well with the Knight, or the Paladin. Expect there to be arguments about tactics.

A secondary concern is his attitude toward Khelez-Mar. As you may remember from the write up, the dwarves of Khelez-Mar have recruited, reliable, stalwart allies. I'm not sure this dwarf as written would qualify, even though he's a dwarf. And if his attitude towards Khelez-Mar is poor, you'll be cutting yourself off from the main touchstone of the campaign, kind of like the difficulty integrating Sven or Kalib into Blackrazor adventures.

So it's up to you. I think the character is good, and if some of the backstory is tweaked to make him play well with others, then he should do fine.
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NukeHavoc
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Post by NukeHavoc »

EvilGenius wrote:Your dwarf sounds pretty cool, and he's certainly an appropriate character, but he's going to be strongly chaotic. that's not bad, per se, but it's not going to fit well with the Knight, or the Paladin. Expect there to be arguments about tactics.
I'm thinking more fierce than chaoticly insane. :) Expect frustration with too much scheming and planning ... but he'll follow a good one should it present itself.
A secondary concern is his attitude toward Khelez-Mar. As you may remember from the write up, the dwarves of Khelez-Mar have recruited, reliable, stalwart allies. I'm not sure this dwarf as written would qualify, even though he's a dwarf. And if his attitude towards Khelez-Mar is poor, you'll be cutting yourself off from the main touchstone of the campaign, kind of like the difficulty integrating Sven or Kalib into Blackrazor adventures.
I don't mean him to be antagonistic toward Khelez-Mar, just not entirely comfortable with the idea of companionship that talks back yet. He'd probably give "low land" dwarves (those born and raised in OB a harder time) but most of the Khelez-Mar dwarves are from Ulek right, and returning to their birthright? Those he'd be just fine with.

In terms of a hook, among the dwarves few would know the Drachensgrabs better than him, and a lifetime of fighting a solitary war against the orcs, when most others fled, should be enough to get him in the door. :)
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me. I'll try and be a tad more quiet as I desperately struggle to break free -- and save all creation!" -- Doctor Strange
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erilar
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Post by erilar »

EvilGenius wrote: And some Neutral/Mildly Chaotic types
Manansi is very Lawful Neutral, Bob - you tell me what's chaotic about the way he's played. Everyone's entitled to his strict code, even if he has to impress the code upon them... Sort of a Jamaican telepathic Judge Dredd.
"This enemy you cannot kill. You can only drive it back damaged into the depths, and teach your children to watch the waves for its return." - Quellcrist Falconer
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EvilGenius
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Post by EvilGenius »

erilar wrote:
EvilGenius wrote: And some Neutral/Mildly Chaotic types
Manansi is very Lawful Neutral, Bob - you tell me what's chaotic about the way he's played. Everyone's entitled to his strict code, even if he has to impress the code upon them... Sort of a Jamaican telepathic Judge Dredd.
I was thinking of Manansi as the Neutral part of the "Neutral/Mildly Chaotic" description. :)

Heydrick is sort of chaotic, and Moraim is sort of chaotic.
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Lars Porsenna
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Post by Lars Porsenna »

Moraim has never been chaotic. I think you're thinking of other dwarves I played...

Damon.
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EvilGenius
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Post by EvilGenius »

Lars Porsenna wrote:Moraim has never been chaotic. I think you're thinking of other dwarves I played...

Damon.
Maybe not on the sheet, Damon, but it sometimes comes out that way during the game.

Frex, "we don't need the whole body for Raise Dead, so let's just take his hand". Very practical without grasping or caring about the larger social context can often be intrepreted as at least mildly chaotic. ;)
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Lars Porsenna
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Post by Lars Porsenna »

That's not chaotic at all Bob. I'd say that's ultra-lawful, with no weight to either good or evil. The reason that Moraim suggested that is because he is Lawful Neutral, and carrying around a body would only slow us down and take away focus from the mission.

Damon.
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EvilGenius
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Post by EvilGenius »

Lars Porsenna wrote:That's not chaotic at all Bob. I'd say that's ultra-lawful, with no weight to either good or evil. The reason that Moraim suggested that is because he is Lawful Neutral, and carrying around a body would only slow us down and take away focus from the mission.

Damon.
all right, i see that.

So that makes the party very heavily lawful with:

the Knight
the Paladin
Manansi
Moraim

And only very slightly chaotic with:
Heydrich
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NukeHavoc
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Post by NukeHavoc »

EvilGenius wrote:So that makes the party very heavily lawful with:
Clearly, the party needs someone to bring balance to the Force! And by "bring balance" I mean, throw the whole mountain down on top of those stone-cursed orcs and goblins!

Just kidding of course. Kull will fit in one way or another.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me. I'll try and be a tad more quiet as I desperately struggle to break free -- and save all creation!" -- Doctor Strange
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