Character builds for Book II

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Grindstone_82
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Character builds for Book II

Post by Grindstone_82 »

So,


since the game is shaping up nicely, I've been tossing around a few ideas in my head for interesting character concepts. Warning: LONG POST, don't bother if you don't want to read.

For sake of this thread I'll assume magic to work exactly like in Book I. Also, I assume some skills to be actually worth raising (like Cartography and Survival). In Book I, I would never put Survival on a tough character, instead pumping their Endurance.
Also, the backgrounds I give are mainly for roleplaying and explaining the class, though some backgrounds do make sense (like the bonuses from Nefarious for an Assassin).


Fighters:



The Mercenary (Atheistic Fighter)


Skills:

Heavy Armor

Bludgeoning Weapons

[Cross]bows

Repair

Mercantile


This character is a based on a mercenary from the late Renaissance. Used to roaming around as part of an army, he doesn't know how to live off the land, instead bartering for what he needs, though he is also always willing to pillage people in times of unemployment (in before Pillage People). He does know how to take care of his own weapons and armor though.


Barbarian (Agnostic Fighter)


Skills:


Throwing Weapons (Axes / Spears)

Cleaving Weapons

Light Armor

Shields


Other possible skills: Dodge, Survival, Foraging


This character is based on a Viking background. Being part of a community, he usually doesn't know how to provide for himself in the wilds, but he is used to surviving in dire circumstances (i.e. aboard a raiding ship for months). His main weapon are heavy throwing weapons, though he resorts to his battleaxe or other heavy blades when the enemy closes in. Given the weight of throwing weapons he only relies on light armor for protection, and a shield goes nicely with his weapons of choice.


Rangers


Hunter (Agnostic Ranger)


Skills:

Bows

Light Armor

Survival

Foraging

Repair


Other possible skills: Magic, Piercing Weapons, Spot Hidden


This character is used to living in the wilds for most of his life, and has all the skills to provide for himself. He casually revers the powers of the elements and the divine because they are all around him, but he doesn't confess to any faith. The true survivalist.



Tribal Warrior (Nefarious Ranger) [Caveman]


Skills:

Piercing Weapons

Dodge

Survival

Foraging


Other possible skills: Move Silently, Hide in Shadows, Bows


This guy is part of the savage, undeveloped tribes that roam the wilds. Wether he was abandoned in the woods as a child or if he grew up among them, noone can say. He is a skilled hunter and fearsome stalker of prey though. Showing up in civilized areas won't get him many friends though... which you may also blame on his lack of armor, or for that, clothing.



Educated Ranger (Druidic Ranger)


Skills:

Divination

Elementalism

Foraging

Alchemy


Other skills: Bows, Light Armor, Survival


Despite growing up in the wilds, this character always favored the study of magic (or books) over the profession of the hunter. He poured over works of magic and soaked up all the knowledge of herbs and plants he could get a hold of. While he may at some point have moved to the city, and may tend to dress and act more civilized than other rangers, he still frequently roams the wilds to study the plants and practice magic.




Rogues:




The Assassin (Nefarious Rogue)


Skills:

Bows

Piercing Weapons

Light Armor

Dodge

Alchemy


Other skills: Move Silently, Hide in Shadows, Mercantile


This character is a professional killer. It's the only thing he's good at, and he probably went down this route in life because he doesn't have any other skills. He tries to face his prey one at a time, and will try to stay clear of mobs. He will steal and kill mostly to make a living, though he can also sell the products of his alchemistic studies.



The Pirate (Atheistic Rogue)


Skills:

Cleaving Weapons

Throwing Weapons

Dodge

Cartography

Repair


Other possible skills: Survival, Light Armor, Foraging, Pick Locks


This character was part of a pirate crew, and he is used to fighting and living aboard a ship. Like all sailors he will favor no or light armor, and a tactic most often employed by pirates is to decimate the enemy ship's crew by showering them with throwing daggers, burning oil and fireballs before closing in. He knows how to map out areas and will do so constantly while travelling. Also, like all pirates, he has learned to be pretty self sufficient and survive outside of civilized areas.



A variation of this is the Admiral (Agnostic Rogue or Fighter)

Skills:

Light or Heavy Armor

Cleaving Weapons (or Swords for a Fighter)

Shields

Cartography


Other possible skills: Lore, Elemental Magic, Spot Hidden, Pick Locks


This character is in charge of an army's navy, or he is the captain of a pirate ship. He will be a more educated combatant than most other fighters on a ship, and he has some useful skills that go with his position or will ensure his authority, like being able to draw very detailed maps, recognize items/ ships by their looks, swaying the elements of air and water to his favor, spotting enemies in the distance, or even picking the locks on a salvaged treasure chest.



The Outlaw Bandit (Nefarious Rogue or Fighter)


Skills:

Hide in Shadows

Move Silently

Swords

Light Armor

Survival


Other skills: Foraging, Shields, Spot Hidden, Pick Locks


Having committed several crimes/ murders, this wanted criminal will try to stay out of everyone's sight as much as possible. He has learned to live off the road, and he knows barely enough about picking a lock to break into people's cottages, or into their houses should he manage to sneak into a city. Dealing with merchants is hardly adviced for this known criminal, though killing and stealing their stuff certainly is.


Healers



The Monk (Agnostic Healer)


Skills:

Unarmed

Dodge

Divination


Other possible skills: Leather Armor, Meditation, Spot Hidden


The monk is a reclusive and inwards drawn character, though at times he can almost explode into action. After all, all that pent up energy must go somewhere. He doesn't believe in or deny the existence of the gods, but thinks that people should concentrate on themselves. As such, not only has he developed (self)healing powers, but he has also honed his body into a deadly weapon. He is also more perceptive than other people, allowing him to spot danger wherever it hides. His hobbies include tanning leather and meditating for hours.


The Parish Priest (Virtuous Healer)


Skills:


Divination

Mercantile

Lore


Other skills: Repair, Meditation


This character has been the religious center of a community for some time, and he knows how to make people do his will. He also has an extensive knowledge of all kinds of wondrous items. Being the center of a poor community also meant that he had to keep a lot of his own stuff in working order (repairing the church/ temple). OTOH, he will have a hard time holding his own in combat, and he doesn't have a clue how to survive in the wilderness.


The Shaman (Druidic or Nefarious Healer)


Skills:


Divination

Bludgeoning Weapons

Foraging


Other skills: Light Armor, Shields, Dodge, Meditation, Survival


This character is a member of a tribe roaming the wilds, be they peaceful nomads (Druidic) or bloodthirsty savages (Nefarious). He was responsible for healing the wounded, interpreting the will of the gods, and organizing the hunt. He knows how to handle a club both as a ceremonial tool and to bash someone's head in. While life in the wilds is hard, it was less so for him since he was such a revered member of his tribe. Still, he looks down with mild contempt on the "softer" followers of other religions.




Mages


The Foppish Mage (Atheistic Mage)


Skills:

Elementalism

Swords

Dodge

Mercantile


Other possible skills: Alchemy, Cartography


This city-bound mage is the darling of the local academy of the arcane, and the bane of tavern keepers and common people in general. His well rounded education includes spellcasting, the art of fencing, economics, and the sciences. While his combat abilities may be enough for a tavern brawl (especially when his flashy display of rapier skills prevents combat from happening in the first place), he may be in trouble on a real battlefield. Also, in the wilds, he will look as pathetic as a peasant does in a city's theatre, a thing he always likes to remark.



The Necromancer (Nefarious Mage)


Skills:

Elementalism

Piercing Weapons

Hide in Shadows



Other skills: Move Silently, Alchemy, Leather Armor


These vile graverobbers are loathed by all other members of society, yet often envied by other mages for the power they hold. With their ingenious combination of backstabbing and spellcasting, they exercise power over life and death. And while they may be loathe to show their faces in public, they are often valued assets at a noble's decadent party or in their local tavern's drinking contest. The most nefarious of necromancers are rumored to dress in leather armor made from the beasts they've slain (including humanoids), something that only furthers the fascination of others.
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BasiliskWrangler
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Re: Character builds for Book II

Post by BasiliskWrangler »

Very well thought out, Grindstone_82. However, there are a couple things to consider about character builds in Book II:

For starters you can choose between a Male or Female character, and in addition to the small attribute bonus, your Title can vary based on your Axiom+Class+Gender selection. Also, in Book I we based the free skill on your Class, but in Book II we base the free skill on your Title.

These are a few things to consider before planning out your perfect Book II character.
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Re: Character builds for Book II

Post by Unclever title »

BasiliskWrangler wrote:Also, in Book I we based the free skill on your Class, but in Book II we base the free skill on your Title.
Nice! I look forward to that, that offers many more possibilities particularly when starting out.
Grindstone_82
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Re: Character builds for Book II

Post by Grindstone_82 »

BasiliskWrangler wrote:For starters you can choose between a Male or Female character, and in addition to the small attribute bonus, your Title can vary based on your Axiom+Class+Gender selection. Also, in Book I we based the free skill on your Class, but in Book II we base the free skill on your Title.
That's great to hear actually, and I'm looking forward to what you guys came up with :)

I was really delighted to see the titles in Book I, especially because I concurred that they reflected the combination of axiom and profession pretty well. And of course this is all very preliminary, since I will have to see how certain skills work out in Book II and how much investment they warrant. It's just that Book I has only whetted my tastebuds, and now I'm itching for a full meal :twisted:
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IJBall
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Re: Character builds for Book II

Post by IJBall »

Grindstone_82 wrote:since the game is shaping up nicely, I've been tossing around a few ideas in my head for interesting character concepts.
I did something very similar for Book I a while back, though I came up with different sets than yours - I never did get around to posting it though... ;)
BasiliskWrangler wrote:For starters you can choose between a Male or Female character, and in addition to the small attribute bonus, your Title can vary based on your Axiom+Class+Gender selection. Also, in Book I we based the free skill on your Class, but in Book II we base the free skill on your Title.
Hmmmm.... I guess I'll just have to see how this works before I understand it.

But I have a question about this - does this mean that, say, a Ranger might not start off with Bows skill in Book II, depending on what "Title" they pick?!
Or does this mean that every Ranger gets Bows, and your "Title" will get you an additional "free" skill besides Bows (which will be based solely on your choice of "Title")?

TIA.
Grindstone_82
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Re: Character builds for Book II

Post by Grindstone_82 »

IJBall wrote:I did something very similar for Book I a while back, though I came up with different sets than yours - I never did get around to posting it though... ;)
By all means, post them. It's always neat to get some fresh input from others.

Note though that I did not create my builds purely with effectivity in mind. Most of them have a heavy roleplaying/ challenging side to them. If I wanted to go for effictivity only, all my chars in E1 would look like:

Heavy Armor
Swords
Elementalism
Divination
Alchemy

:wink:
IJBall wrote:Hmmmm.... I guess I'll just have to see how this works before I understand it.

But I have a question about this - does this mean that, say, a Ranger might not start off with Bows skill in Book II, depending on what "Title" they pick?!
Or does this mean that every Ranger gets Bows, and your "Title" will get you an additional "free" skill besides Bows (which will be based solely on your choice of "Title")?

TIA.
I understood the following:

By selecting your "axiom" , "profession" and gender, the game will automatically create a custom title like it did in E1, but this time, your starting skill will indeed depend on the title. So a Nefarious Ranger would probably start off with a different skill than a Druidic Ranger.

I think that's pretty cool, but personally I would have preferred "origin" instead of "gender" as the third variable. Ah, well. At least there's going to be some hilarious whining when the game is released ("this title is so sexist") :mrgreen:
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AK_Marty
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Re: Character builds for Book II

Post by AK_Marty »

BasiliskWrangler wrote:Very well thought out, Grindstone_82. However, there are a couple things to consider about character builds in Book II:

For starters you can choose between a Male or Female character, and in addition to the small attribute bonus, your Title can vary based on your Axiom+Class+Gender selection. Also, in Book I we based the free skill on your Class, but in Book II we base the free skill on your Title.

These are a few things to consider before planning out your perfect Book II character.
I do hope the players manual details the benefits of each title and which Axiom+Class+Gender combination is required for the title in question.
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