The Player Characters

The Player Characters
You and your companions are among a number of local do-gooders who have come together in the spirit of truth, justice and the (usually) most expedient and (often) violent way to help the people of the Port. Styling itself the Just-Us League, this collection of brave/deluded souls works hard to improve the lot of its fellow citizens, fighting injustice, dangerous monsters, the bureaucracy, the odd failed god and/or his worshippers, and the unfortunate rent collectors sent by the person who owns the warehouse you call your headquarters.

RULES AND MECHANICS

Ability Scores
Use Method 1: Standard Array (PHB 17), assigning the following numbers to your abilities before racial modifiers: 16, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10.

Classes
All the PHB classes are available. More may be added later from other sources.

Races
All the PHB races are available, plus the races from the MM listed in the Racial Traits section.

Level
All PCs start at level 1.

Here are the likely stats for my PC, a human warlord. I've got a couple of ideas floating around for the personality, but I'll make decisions in that area based on the other PCs.


HUMAN WARLORD 1
Initiative +2; Speed 5; HP 25 (Bloodied 12); Healing surges/day 8 (6 hp); AC 18 (+6 scale, +2 heavy shield), Fort 15, Ref 16, Will 13; Longsword +6 (1d8+3); Unaligned; Str 16, Con 13, Dex 10, Int 16, Wis 11, Cha 12

Feats: Action Surge, Shield Proficiency (Heavy)

Special abilities: Combat Leader (you plus allies within 10 squares who see & hear you get +2 initiative); Commanding Presence (Tactical Presence: allies using an action point to attack who can see you gain +1 to hit); Inspiring Word

Languages: Common + 1

Skills: Diplomacy +6, Endurance +3, Heal +5, History +8, Intimidate +6

Equipment: Chainmail, heavy shield, longsword, adventurer’s kit, 20 gp

At-will powers:
Commander’s Strike – Standard, melee weapon (Ally of your choice makes a melee basic attack against the target, gaining +3 to damage)

Viper’s Strike – Standard, melee weapon, Effect (If the target shifts before the start of your next turn, it provokes an opportunity attack from ally of your choice), Str vs. AC (Hit: 1d8+3 damage)

Wolf Pack Tactics – Standard, melee weapon, Special (before you attack, let one ally adjacent to you or to target shift 1 square as a free action), Str vs. AC (Hit: 1d8+3 damage)

Encounter powers:
Inspiring Word (usable 2/encounter, but only 1/rd) – Minor, close burst 5 (you or 1 ally in burst can spend a healing surge and regain an additional 1d6 hit pts)

Warlord’s Favor – Standard, melee weapon, Str vs. AC (Hit: 2d8+3 damage; one ally within 5 squares gains +4 power bonus to attacks vs. the target till the end of your next turn)

Daily powers:
Lead the Attack – Standard, melee weapon, Str vs. AC (Hit: 3d8+3 damage, and you and allies within 5 squares gain a +4 power bonus to attacks vs. the target until end of encounter; Miss: You and allies gain a +1 power bonus instead)

OK, you asked for it...

Sir Yatagan Fracas (pronounced British-style, 'fra-ka') is a poet and paladin living in the Shambles. Like many of his people, he prefers to live in the past. Yatagan does this primarily by writing and performing classic-style Dragonborn love poetry, which is famed for it's combination of lyric romanticism and veiled threats of violence. He's also a poet because frankly, he's not very smart. It was through his 'study' of ancient Dragonborn poetry he discovered the 'Dragon Within', religion, and eventually, to take the oath of paladinhood.

Yatagan is an odd combination of charming and revolting, at least by human and fae standards. While he's very charismatic, literally decked out in shining armor, he's also uncomfortably reptilian. His breath weapon is toxic, bacteria-laden saliva, a la a Komodo dragon. His paladin's 'marking' ability involves him passing his sword under his cloaca, spraying it with his semen, and then flinging it foes. This, naturally, humiliates and enrages them, though it's possible his semen also has some mildly hallucinogenic properties, like the skin of certain frogs. He's also overweight.

Yatagan is in (involuntarily) chaste in love with a 'young' elven woman named Dulsynada. She's a nihilistic waitress (part of the Cult of That-Which-Is-Not).

(I'll post his stats later. This is the important part.)

Amnon is a crotchety old Tiefling who has figured out two things. 1, he's old. he's so old in fact that he is pretty sure that he will be leaving this plane of existance within the next few years. 2, he's wasted his life thus far. armed with this knowledge he has decided to fight back, so to speak and venture out into the "world." too long he has turned his back on his true calling of warlock. from here on out he will make a name for himself. if these are to be the last of his days he will make them memorable and go out with a bang, or at least kicking and screaming.

can someone point out where/if there is a table listing old ages and thier effects?

character stats forthcoming.

Amnon is remarkably similar to the character concept I had in mind, so I'll make another. I may be forced to make an obnoxiously earnest and enthusiastic young fighter, to balance him out. (Sadly, nothing in all of God's creation could ever possibly balance out scott's character).

I don't think there are any rules for aging in 4e. That's the sort of rarely-relevant detail that 4e just handwaves.

Atlatl Jones wrote:

Amnon is remarkably similar to the character concept I had in mind, so I'll make another. I may be forced to make an obnoxiously earnest and enthusiastic young fighter, to balance him out.

I know it's tough with just the PHB, but you've got to find a way to make the DMs go, "Damn, Mike - that's broken!" Otherwise it just wouldn't be the same.

I'm looking forward to seeing the fighter in play. The 4e fighter's got to be (mechanically, at least) the most interesting version of the class in any edition of D&D.

Quote :

(Sadly, nothing in all of God's creation could ever possibly balance out scott's character).

Amen.

Quote :

I don't think there are any rules for aging in 4e. That's the sort of rarely-relevant detail that 4e just handwaves.

What he said, Wayne. If you want the PC's age to result in particular strengths (enlightenment, e.g. high Wis?) and/or weaknesses (poor health, e.g. low Con?), just build him that way.

And now for the crunch... [edited again]

Yatagan Fracas, Dragonborn Paladin 1
Initiative +1; Speed 5; HP 31 (Bloodied 15); Healing surges/day 10 (7 hp); AC 20 (+8 plate, +2 heavy shield), Fort 14, Ref 14, Will 15; Longsword +6 (1d8+3); Good; Str 16, Con 11, Dex 13, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 18

Feats: Toughness

Special abilities: Divine Mettle; Divine Strength; Divine Challenge; Lay on Hands

Racial Abilities: Dragonborn Fury, Draconic Heritage; Breath weapon (STR vs. REF +5/1d6+3)

Languages: Common; Draconic

Skills: Diplomacy (+9), Insight (+6), Intimidate (+11), Religion (+0)

Equipment: longsword, plate armor, heavy shield, adventurer's kit, 10gp

At-will Powers: Enfeebling Strike (CHA vs. AC +7/1d8+4); Valiant Strike (STR vs. AC +6/1d8+3)

Encounter Powers: Piercing Smite (STR vs. REF +6/2d8+3)

Daily Powers: Radiant Delirium (CHA vs. REF +4/3d8+4)

shilsen wrote:

I know it's tough with just the PHB, but you've got to find a way to make the DMs go, "Damn, Mike - that's broken!" Otherwise it just wouldn't be the same.

Well if you insist. It'll be damn tough though. Even the races at the back of the MM are fairly well balanced.

BTW, it gives me great pleasure to point out that you made two mistakes on your character. Your Endurance skill bonus should be +6, and you should have chain for your AC bonus, not scale.

Quote :

I'm looking forward to seeing the fighter in play. The 4e fighter's got to be (mechanically, at least) the most interesting version of the class in any edition of D&D.

Definitely, especially for ones fighting with sword and shield. I'm looking forward to playing one.

Atlatl Jones wrote:

Well if you insist. It'll be damn tough though. Even the races at the back of the MM are fairly well balanced.

True. I think a couple of particular combos (minotaur ranger dual-wielding large bastard swords?) look iffy at first glance, but would actually work out all right in play. Considering that most of the MM races lack really useful racial encounter powers or special abilities, I think many of them will actually be slightly weaker to the PHB races in long-term play.

Quote :

BTW, it gives me great pleasure to point out that you made two mistakes on your character. Your Endurance skill bonus should be +6, and you should have chain for your AC bonus, not scale.

Good catch on the chain. I originally took proficiency in scale and then went with the heavy shield instead. Which is why the Endurance skill bonus is +3, actually. The +6 takes a -1 penalty from chainmail and -2 from the heavy shield.

Quote :

Definitely, especially for ones fighting with sword and shield. I'm looking forward to playing one.

Yup. After sword-and-board being the poor second cousin to two-handers in 3/3.5e, it's nice to see the shield make a good comeback in 4e.

Atlatl Jones wrote:

(Sadly, nothing in all of God's creation could ever possibly balance out scott's character.

Yatagon is not *that* odd, I mean, compared to other things I've come up with.

BTW, my friend Steve took it as a challenge, so he is going to try and balance my paladin. So far he's working on a sort of involuntary avatar of the Goddess of Chastity; a former prostitute who heals through the power of her own restored virginity...

This is the Steve who invented Cowboy Fetus and Yeti Dog, so he's perfectly capable of matching, if not besting, me.

Mallus wrote:

Yatagon is not *that* odd, I mean, compared to other things I've come up with.

He divinely marks enemies by ejaculating on his sword and flinging the semen at them...

Quote :

BTW, my friend Steve took it as a challenge, so he is going to try and balance my paladin. So far he's working on a sort of involuntary avatar of the Goddess of Chastity; a former prostitute who heals through the power of her own restored virginity...

Oh dear god...

shilsen wrote:

True. I think a couple of particular combos (minotaur ranger dual-wielding large bastard swords?) look iffy at first glance, but would actually work out all right in play. Considering that most of the MM races lack really useful racial encounter powers or special abilities, I think many of them will actually be slightly weaker to the PHB races in long-term play.

The minotaur especially looks much better at first glance than it probably is in play. Both of its attribute bonuses affect the same defense, and its encounter power is lame, due to the very low damage (equivalent to a dagger) and the fact that it doesn't get the +2 or +3 proficiency bonus that weapons get vs. AC. The Oversized quality is quite good, but in the end it only amounts to +1 damage per [W] of the power's damage. That can be +5 for some epic-level dailies, but by that level +5 isn't much, and the abilities to reroll a missed attack or use a second wind as a minor action are much more powerful. The bugbear is better than the minotaur, especially for rangers and brutal scoundel rogues, but its encounter power also isn't great.

I'm probably going to be playing a longtooth shifter. Its encounter power is quite good, but that's all it gets. It also requires the character to be bloodied to work, a dangerous position for a fighter to be in.

Quote :

Yup. After sword-and-board being the poor second cousin to two-handers in 3/3.5e, it's nice to see the shield make a good comeback in 4e.

It was even worse in 2e, when two-weapon fighting was king.

Here's my character, more or less.

Heyoka Jumps-Off-Mountains
Heyoka is like an excitable puppy with a bastard sword. He is enthralled with life, and happy to gain any new experience he can, no matter how dangerous. Born the runt of a litter of three shifters, to a single mother who in her youth had been a wolf, Heyoka has had to fight for most of his life. He fought his then-larger brothers, he fought the bullies in school who would tease and pick on him, and he still fights the bigots and barroom boors who mock his animal heritage. Jericho lives life viscerally, loving to fight, climb, love, and explore.

Heyoka Jumps-Off-Mountains - Longtooth Shifter Fighter 1
Initiative +2; Speed 5; HP 32 (Bloodied 16); Healing surges/day 10 (8 hp);
AC 19, Fort 16, Ref 14, Will 12; Longsword +8 (1d8+4), Javelin +7 (1d6+4); Unaligned;
Str 18, Con 12, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 11

Feats: Toughness
Special abilities: Fighter Weapon Talent (+1 to hit with one-handed weapons),
Combat Superiority (+2 bonus to opportunity attacks, opponent struck stops moving)
Combat Challenge (Mark every enemy you attack. If an adjacent marked enemy shifts or makes an attack that doesn’t include you, make a basic attack as an immediate interrupt)

Skills: Athletics +11, Endurance +8, Intimidate +5, Perception +2 (Low-light vision)

Equipment: Scale armor, heavy shield, longsword, 3 javelins, adventurer’s kit, climber’s kit, 3 gp.

At-will powers:
Cleave – Standard, melee weapon (+8 vs. AC, 1d8+4 damage, and another enemy adjacent to you takes 4 damage).

Tide of Iron – Standard, melee weapon (+8 vs. AC, 1d8+4 damage and you push the target 1 square. You can shift into the space that the target occupied.)

Encounter powers:
Longtooth Shifting – Minor, only when bloodied. Gain +2 to damage rolls until end of encounter, and Regeneration 2 while bloodied.

Passing Attack – Standard, melee weapon, +8 vs. AC, 1d8+4 damage, can shift one square, and make secondary attack vs. different target: +10 vs. AC, 1d8+4 damage.

Daily powers:
Villain’s Menace – Standard, melee weapon, +8 vs. AC, 2d8+4 damage and gain +2 to attacks and +4 to damage against that target until the end of the encounter. Miss: +1 to attacks and +2 to damage

Quote :

BTW, my friend Steve took it as a challenge, so he is going to try and balance my paladin. So far he's working on a sort of involuntary avatar of the Goddess of Chastity; a former prostitute who heals through the power of her own restored virginity...

I've got her made up, but I'm not 100% convinced I want to play her. If we need a cleric, she's ready to roll, but I think you mentioned to me that we've already got someone who's playing a cleric, so that might be for the best.

I also have Tamsin Rum, a halfling rogue, the daughter of one of Lord Rum's nephews, who was locked away so that she wouldn't shame her family, but escaped to make her way on the streets, and Mister Odanais Dare, a moody human wizard and aristocratic playboy, who was content to waste his time away in cabarets and burlesque clubs until his spellcasting twin sister (with whom he is madly in love) was kidnapped by air pirates, spurring him onto master the magical arts so that he can become powerful enough to perhaps rescue her someday.

I'm definitely leaning toward the wizard because he's Byronic and perverse, but I could play whatever we need.

--steve

gridley wrote:

I'm definitely leaning toward the wizard because he's Byronic and perverse, but I could play whatever we need.

--steve

The cockles of my heart are warmed by this, let me tell you. This is shaping up to be a lot of fun indeed; I only hope that I can do you maniacs proper justice.

Hi steve,

Shil's warlord satisfies the same role as a cleric does, so the cleric isn't all that necessary.

I say go for the wizard, if only because of my deep and abiding love of air pirate kidnappings. We also don't have a wizard yet (unless John D or Amber plan on playing one), so his abilities would definitely come in handy.

It's so nice that there are alternatives to the cleric...I keep forgetting that myself.

And from what I remember, Amber was thinking of playing an archery focused ranger?

Coolness. The wizard it is. I'll post stats and such shortly.

Rolzup wrote:

And from what I remember, Amber was thinking of playing an archery focused ranger?

Hi. Yes, I am. Shil is helping me figure everything out, but I guess when that's all squared away I can post all the number stuff.

Mister Odanais Dare

HUMAN WIZARD 1
Initiative +4; Speed 6; HP 23 (Bloodied 11); Healing surges/day 7 (5 hp); AC 14, Fort 12, Ref 15, Will 15; Good.
Str 10, Con 13, Dex 11, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 12

Feats:
Improved Initiative, Human Perseverance

Special abilities:
Orb of Imposition, Cantrips, Ritual Casting

Languages:
Common, Elven

Skills:
Arcana, Dungeoneering, History, Insight, Nature

At-will powers:
Ray of Frost, Scorching Burst, Thunderwave

Encounter powers:
Icy Terrain

Daily powers:
Sleep, Flaming Sphere

Rituals:
Comprehend Languages, Animal Messenger, Tenser's Floating Disc

Background:
Dangerously in forbidden love with his twin sister, Odanais Dare sank into a life of drink, decadence, and despair, where he would have stayed had his sister not been kidnapped by sky pirates, spurring him to become powerful enough that he might someday stand a chance of rescuing her.

Mannerisms and Appearence:
Dresses formally in aristocratic fashion. Usually has a snifter of Elven brandy floating near his head. Carries an amber and rust colored glass orb. Prefers to be addressed as Mister Dare by non-family members.

Personality Traits:
Arrogant, brooding, sophisticated, cunning, moody, cynical, decadent, perverse, quirky, self-destructive, possibly bipolar. In love with his own suffering, in awe of his own decadence.

gridley wrote:

Mister Odanais Dare... snip...

Oh that's good.

We now have paladin obsessed with his ejaculate and a wizard on a quest to boink his own sister. It's John Irving's Lord of the Rings! Wait, no, it's more like his Dragonlance Chronicles...

And I predict we'll fight over who gets to run "Mr. Odanais vs. the Air Pirates".

ok a little different from my original post. i'm still going to play an old fogie but he's now a half-elf.

Asarlai is an 80 year old grouchy half elf warlock (star pact) that has lived his life as safe and sheltered as possible. On his 80th birthday sitting alone in his single room dwelling reflecting on his life he realizes that he has not really lived.

After sitting at the table for a while being depressed about his life he decided that since he already had one foot in the grave he might as well see if he could have fun putting the other in. He got up, finished taking the steps needed to connect him to his powers, packed up and left the safety of his home to see what he might find.

Appearance and characteristics
He is 5’6” 150 lbs, bald, with violet eyes. He is somewhat grouchy, overly curious feeling that he has to make up for a lifetime of inactivity in as little time as possible and has reached that age when he says what he is thinking regardless of others feelings or if he is right.

10 str, 14 con, 11 dex, 14 int, 13 wis, 18 cha. 12 ac, 12 fort, 13 ref, 15 will, 26 hp speed 6, low light vision

Feats/abilities
Armor: cloth and leather
Weapon: simple melee and ranged
Improved fate of the void
Group diplomacy

Skills
Arcane 7, bluff 9, diplomacy 6, history 7, insight 3, streetwise 9

Languages: common, elven, supernal.

At will powers: dire radiance, eldritch blast
Encounter powers: dreadful word, commander’s strike
Daily powers: dread star

Equipment
Standard adventurer’s kt
A cane that doubles as a rod (dm’s discretion)
Norm clothing x2
Fine clothing
41gp

maalvi wrote:

i'm still going to play an old fogie

Oh good. Otherwise, I would have been forced to play Corporal Thaco ODD, a crotchety old figher with bad knees, who would constantly complain about how "in his day" fighters had only one attack and were happy about it damnit!. And wizards had to memorize all their spells while walking for miles through 10 feet of snow, uphill both ways, and when they ran out of spells they would sit in the back and sob "I am useful, I am useful" to console themselves until we rested for the night.

So suggestions for what I should run? I'm not wedded to anything in particular and haven't really looked over the PHB that much.

YTBD wrote:

So suggestions for what I should run? I'm not wedded to anything in particular and haven't really looked over the PHB that much.

Something perverse? That seems to be the dominant theme.

Atlatl Jones wrote:

Otherwise, I would have been forced to play Corporal Thaco ODD

His name should be Corporal Thaco ODD's Cousin.