[Modified 3.5 D&D gestalt] Mythic Sagas - Setup (Viking/Scandinavian theme)

[bogsnes]

Here is my character:

[spoiler]
Unsure of name at the moment
Human Beguiler//Archivist 1

Medium Humanoid
Hit Dice: 1d6+2 (8Hp)
Initiative: +1 (+1 Dex)
Speed:
Armor Class:  Touch: Flat-footed: 13 (Flat-footed 12, Touch 11)
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/
Attack:
Full Attack:
Space/Reach: 5'x5'/5'
Special Qualities:
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +1, Will +4
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 12
Skills: Bluff +5, Concentration +6, Hide +5, Knowledge (Arcana or The Planes) +7, Knowledge (Nature or Local) +6, Knowledge (any of the other 6) +4, Move Silently +5, Spellcraft +7
Feats: Knowledge Devotion
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Languages Spoken: Common
Level Adjustment: +0

Possessions:

Spells Known (Beguiler) (Per day in paranthesis):
0 (5/day): Dancing Lights, Daze, Detect Magic, Ghost Sound, Message, Open/Close, Read Magic
1 (4/day): Charm Person, Color Spray, Comprehend Languages, Detect Secret Doors, Disguise Self, Expeditious Retreat, Hypnotism,
               Mage Armor, Obscuring Mist, Rouse, Silent Image, Sleep, Undetectable Alignment, Whelm
2 (0/day):
3 (0/day):
4 (0/day):
5 (0/day):
6 (0/day):
7 (0/day):
8 (0/day):
9 (0/day):

Spells prepared (Archivist):
0: Cure Minor Wounds, Detect Magic, Light
1: Bless, Command, Lesser Vigor
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:

Spells known (Archivist):
0: Amanuesis, Create Water, Cure Minor Wounds, Detect Magic, Detect Poisons, Guidance, Inflict Light Wounds, Light, Mending, Purify Food and Drink, Read Magic, Resistance, Summon Holy Symbol, Virtue
1: Bless, Command, Lesser Vigor, Resurgence, Sanctuary, Shield of Faith
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:

Character background:[/spoiler]

[ksbsnowowl]

I'm thinking something like Beguiler\\Ranger/Fighter/Barbarian.  I'll have to think about the warrior side, but definitely Beguiler.

Is the worship of Loki allowed?

In a small way he is "worshipped" by everyone, in the sense that everyone reveres the entirety of the Asgardian pantheon to some extent.  But at this point in time he is clearly evil and has likely already been bound.  Open worship of him as your patron would be met with... distaste, at the very least.

From the Rashemi perspective, Loki is the god worshipped by evil Lapp wizards who assume the form of wolves to terrorize peaceful folk and eat children.  So I'm sure you can get a good mental picture of their opinion of someone who worships him.

[Straw_Man]

  So if Loke is off the list as godly trickster, who do the bards and good aligned rogues worship? Odin has a history of sneaking and plotting, but the rest of the cast is fairly upfront about their mayhem.

[bogsnes]

Is Bardic Knack allowed?

[ksbsnowowl]

  So if Loke is off the list as godly trickster, who do the bards and good aligned rogues worship? Odin has a history of sneaking and plotting, but the rest of the cast is fairly upfront about their mayhem.

Balder is still venerated by Bards and some rogues, despite living in Helheim (as he is dead).

Being forthright and honest in viking society was important and expected.  Remember that thieves are typically killed, because if they are reduced to stealing, then they obviously don't have enough wealth to pay a fine, and the only thing with which they have to pay is their life.  In Rasheman they are a bit more lenient; they merely have EVERYTHING they own confiscated, assuming they own enough to recompense the act of thievery.  If not, they may well be killed, or banished (which is pretty much a death sentence).  That's rare in Rasheman, but it might happen.

More about the forthrightness of manhood - things like the Craven feat will get you ridiculed mercilessly if anyone sees you fail a save vs. fear.  Cowardice is not looked well upon.

[ksbsnowowl]

Is Bardic Knack allowed?

The PHBII alternate class feature?  Should be fine.  What is the Jack of All Trades ability you indicated you wanted to combine it with?

[bogsnes]

It is a feat that lets me make untrained checks for any skill without having ranks in it (prereqs are Int 13), I think it is from Complete Scoundrel...

Also, I am thinking of using Sublime Chord at higher levels, if I do, can I swap his Bardic Knowledge too?
I think I'll be a Archivist//Bard/Sublime Chord (maybe more PrCs, but I don't think I'll take any more on the Archivist side, at least not after level 10)

[bogsnes]

I have changed so my character is at the top of this page (page 6)

[Straw_Man]

  Are we following the rule (may just be a common houserule) that a barbarian becomes literate when she takes another class? For flavour, I want my character to be completely illiterate and have a wonder of rune-readers.

[bogsnes]

One question:
Will Gather Info help me getting scrolls so I can learn spells, or is the amount of trading so low that not even that helps?

[ksbsnowowl]

Re: Bardic Knack and Jack of All Trades:

Bardic Knack and Jack of All Trades isn't going to interact as you were hoping it would.  Jack of All Trades makes you count as having 1/2 rank (and thus trained) in all skills that require you to be trained to make a check with them.  Bardic Knack specifies that to use BK with a skill that cannot be used untrained, you must have at least "1 actual rank" in such a skill.  Even disregarding the "actual" part of that statement, you are only treated as having 1/2 rank, not 1 rank.

Now, you can certainly have both, and thus be able to use those skills untrained, but you will not get your Bardic Knack ability unless you invest skill points sufficient to have 1 rank in those skills.

Bardic Knack will stay with the bard, not other classes that also grant bardic knowledge.  Think of it like the Strength Domain - it only works with cleric levels, not PrC's you might enter into.

We are following the rule that a Barbarian becomes literate when he takes another class, and thus all characters will by default be able to be literate.  That said, if you want to retain your illiteracy, feel free to do so. (Many NPC's in the realms outside of Rasheman will do the same).

The Hathran are extremely free with sharing spells from their spellbooks among themselves, and this would include Hathran who are archivists.  The Hathran would be unlikely to share arcane spells with male wizards, even if they are Rashemi, unless it was because they wanted a specific item made by a specific individual.  That pretty much means the chance of a male wizard getting to copy a spell from a Hathran's spellbook is pretty low; the Hathran require the one magic item from males each year, and apart from that they are hands-off with the male mages.  Male hedge-wizards are more likely to share spells amongst themselves, but they would do it through spellbook copying; rarely would they waste a scroll for such a purpose.  Expect hedge-wizard spellbook sharing to be on par with "typical" D&D; ie - you'll probably need to do them a favor of some sort, or pay them well, in addition to gaining their trust enough that they know you won't then use the spell against them.

That said, Hathran are a little more likely to allow a male archivist to copy from an archivist Hathran's prayerbook, though I wouldn't call it common.  She would want to know why you want and need the spell, and what you intend to do with it.  Male archivists are going to be similar to male wizards as far as prayerbook copying.  Recruiting a male paladin or druid for a few days to have them provide the spell for you to craft the scroll wouldn't be all that hard though.  That's going to be the way most non-cleric spells will get into one's prayerbook, unless you find a willing archivist who already has such a spell in his prayerbook.

Here is a little hint about the start of the campaign:  We will begin play on the last day of the Rashemi Althing, on the day of the summer solstice.  An Althing was just as much about commerce as it was about law and judicial rulings.  It would be quite common for male archivists and wizards to be haggling over exchanging the opportunity to copy spells from another's book.

So, to answer your question about Gather Info:  It won't help you directly, but it will help you locate individuals who would be amenable to exchanging spells or working with you so you can make a scroll.

All that said, even with the scarcity of magic items, scrolls are the most common form of magic item.  You could haggle with an individual for one of his scrolls, but there are not going to be shops set up to sell such things.

[ksbsnowowl]

The comment in the last post about illiteracy reminded me of something I should point out.

There are 5 calibre of people in this world:

• Children:  Commoner NPC class; typically only one HD - upon becoming an adult such a person trades their level of commoner for one of the following options (depending on the calibre of person they are).
• Adult Commoners/non-heroics:  Any NPC class other than Commoner. What most conscripts would be (warriors).
• Non-gestalt semi-heroes:  Built like a standard D&D character.  These would be common professional soldiers in an army, for example.
• Lesser Gestalt:  Gestalt characters that use an NPC class on one side.  A Rogue//Warrior, for example.
• Heroic Gestalt:  High-calibre heroes, such as the PC's.  Almost all Hathran will fall into this category.

This gives me the ability to easily and realistically give stats to children, and it allows me to set you vs. a large army of people (Warrior NPC class) without having to resort to strange rules acrobatics to accomplish it, and without making the encounter too challenging.  Face it, a 5th level warrior isn't as hard to beat as a 5th level fighter or barbarian, or a Barbarian//Rogue.

[bogsnes]

then I think I'll be a Beguiler instead of a Bard to reduce my MAD and multi-skill dependancy...

[bogsnes]

and also, is there any creture types that it will be more/less than normal of in this campaign?

[ksbsnowowl]

and also, is there any creture types that it will be more/less than normal of in this campaign?

Animals will be very common, as will fey, elementals, and giants.  Some Monstrous Humanoids.  And Humanoids, obviously.  Undead aren't all that common, though they do exist.  Outsiders (demons, etc) are present as well, though usually they are bound in some way.

[bogsnes]

what about oozes and abberations?
I need to know cuz my 40 SP is empty, and there is lots of skills left I want...

[ksbsnowowl]

Flavor wise, this character probably worships either Odin or Freya. She'll be crusading to basically spread the justice of Freya/Odin and protect him/her from his/her enemies. I'm thinking I want to play her like a Dragoon from Final Fantasy Tactics, but I can't figure a way to get pounce without taking Barbarian levels, and Paladins have to be lawful good.

Do you have "Champions of Valor?"  There is a paladin substitution level named "*Some FR goddess* Valkyrie."  It is the very first substitution level option listed in that section.  The class is built around some dwarven goddess, and requires you to be a (female?) dwarven paladin of that god.

I'm more than willing to take that and change the prereqs to a Human female for who worships Odin (or maybe Freya - I think she had Valkyrie too, but let me double check that).  I forget what the other sub levels do, so I won't rubber-stamp them yet, but the 4th level sub level allows you to trade out turn undead for a "coming to the rescue" themed pounce ability that functions as pounce, but only when the target of your pounce is threatening one of your allies.  You also gain the effect of the mobility feat while making said charge.  It might be limited to 3 times per day, though (can't remember).

[ksbsnowowl]

what about oozes and abberations?

I'm not going to say they won't be there ever, but it's not something you will need to worry about on a routine basis.  This isn't the kind of world where you go exploring dungeons on a regular basis.  A natural cavern would be much more likely to be explored than a dungeon, but then again, there just aren't that many abberation type creatures in Norse myth.

[bogsnes]

I think I'll spend 4 points in each of Know Arcana and The Planes, 1 in each of Religion and Dungeoneering, and 3 in Local and Nature...
Does that seem logical?
I am going to have Knowledge Devotion, but I don't know yet my other feat...

[bogsnes]

I am making my sheet at Myth-weavers, and will update here once in a while...

I've just decided to remove UMD to gain enough SP to have at least one rank in each of them...