Which Witch?
Poor Gunslinger. I’m sure he’ll find a party that loves him one day. Unfortunately, today he’s just a bystander in the age-old battle between good, evil, and player preconceptions.
What do you say we start with the classic example? Suppose you decided to write the word “paladin” at the top of your character sheet. Right away you’re dealing with a certain set of expectations. Party members might roll their eyes and groan: “Oh no. I just wanted one campaign without lawful stupid sucking all the fun out of the room.” Obviously that’s not fair to your paladin, but it is a very real hurdle you’ll have to overcome. It’s no reason to erase “paladin” and start over though. Such is the fate of all character classes.
Take the traditionally evil classes. When you’ve got necromancer, warlock, or (as in today’s example) witch levels, you’ve got preconceptions to overcome. However, as with their goodly counterpart, it’s possible to play these characters in all kinds of ways. You don’t have to be an baby-eating psychopath just because you draw your powers from the Fiend. You don’t have to be a purehearted hero just because you know your way around a smite evil.
You guys have probably heard this one before, but your class is not your character. Barbarians can be more than muscle-bound brutes. Rogues can have codes of honor. Rangers might actually shave and bathe every once in a while. It’s all up to you to define yourself as an individual rather than a walking stereotype.
Go ahead and give this article a look. Dude says it better than I ever could. I just wanted to repeat the message because I think it bears repeating: You get to decide what your character is like. A PC is your window into the world of the game. It’s your primary means of control within the fiction. There’s no reason to let expectations steal that control from you: not your fellow party members’, not the game’s, and not even your own. You’re like Witch up there. You get to decide how you’ll live your life. Make sure that decision yields a cool character rather than a cardboard cutout.
THIS COMIC SUCKS! IT NEEDS MORE [INSERT OPINION HERE] Is your favorite class missing from the Handbook of Heroes? Maybe you want to see more dragonborn or aarakocra? Then check out the “Quest Giver” reward level over on the The Handbook of Heroes Patreon. You’ll become part of the monthly vote to see which elements get featured in the comic next!
In the case of playing a Necromancer I’ve liked the idea of bring back its roots (Although shaman would be a more apt fit) of raising the dead not to swarm a town to kill them, raise more, and repeat but as a way of communication with the dead. A murder occurred and since no one can figure out who killed them its specter is causing harm? Cast Speak with Dead on the body to find out answers and lay it to rest. An ancient evil has returned and it cannot be defeated? Let us ask the spirit of the hero who slew it for guidance or even raise him so he can once more battle it for the final time.
I’ve seen this linked a few times on various pages here, but it bears repeating, I love this White Necromancer class and seriously want to play it: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-classes/kobold-press-open-design/white-necromancer/
If it gives you any insight into why this is on my mind, here’s a question I posted over on the Paizo advice forums recently. The thread title is, “A paladin just joined the group. I’m a necromancer.”
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2uz5k?A-paladin-just-joined-the-group-Im-a-necromancer
I’ve just started a new campaign, playing as a Chosen One paladin, which so far is turning out to be quite fun! She’s got the ‘force for good’ thing down, but without any of the rigorous structure that comes with having been trained for years at it, so she’s much more the ‘help good’ rather than the ‘punish evil’ type of paladin. Plus she’s a paladin of Sarenrae, so she’ll do her best to redeem people, rather than just fight them.
I’ve wanted to do a cheerful character for a while. I don’t know that I’ve ever done a PC whose primary personality trait was “happy and helpful.” I’m thinking halfling paladin.
One character I want to try eventually is a super happy and bubbly cavalier beast rider who rides a tyrannosaur, mostly because I think it would be funny. Especially if I roleplay the t-rex as basically a giant puppy dog.
“T-Rex acting like a dog” sounds so familiar… I can’t place where I’ve seen it though. Happily, my failed Google search yielded a pretty good result anyway:
https://www.facebook.com/damirgmartin.cg/posts/1258590960853277?pnref=story
You should totally play that character. It sounds hilarious.
Is Brutus actually the voice of reason and morality in this duo? I had the opposite impression from their last appearance!
What makes you think he’s suggesting the love potion? >:)
I should point out that from a modern perspective Love Potions are pretty evil too. You’re taking away someone’s autonomy/free will/choice, and it’s basically a nicer roofie.
True, but for a PC I think the bigger question, as Witch so aptly stated, is “Would it be funny?”
Love potions are the gateway to farce. And as we all know, farce is the evilest of genres.
Good and Evil? Bah Truly, Witch understood that this Question is of no Relevance. The True Question is, what Action would be the most Entertaining?
I think she should mix the Love Potion into the Taverns Ale Barrels.
So the town loses a tavern and gains a brothel. Seems like an even trade from an economic perspective, but the rezoning will be a nightmare!
Actually now that were at it, who is the (Un)lucky Lady Gunslinger fell in Love with? Druid? Dread Necromancer? A Village Girl?
Poor guy is in love with that elusive temptress known as “a new gaming group.”
Gunslinger: “No one has an open spot at the table! I just… I just want to game with somebody. Anybody! Can’t you make me more… I dunno… likable?”
Witch: *sinister laugh*
Gunslinger: “So that’s a yes?”
Poison or potion, I don’t think it’s going to work out great for him at the next session.
Wait, but Gunslinger is a Character inside a Game, but he is searching for a new gaming Group inside his Fantasy World, so eh wants to play D&D while being a D&D character himself?
Brain Explodes
Laurel vetoed my script about him setting up a his silver cord to connect to the Astral Plane so he could adventure “online.”
One of my characters is an aarakokra that dual wields hand crossbows who I’m basically playing as The Man with No Name. I debated between fighter and ranger for a while before settling on battlemaster fighter for a few reasons: 1) he’s feat starved, 2) I didn’t envision him using spells, 3) I liked the crazy rapid fire fighter gives conceptually for him, and 4) I loved the trick shots battlemaster lets you pull off (“I shoot his sword out of his hands”). I also have proficiency in thieve’s tools, perception, and survival for background reasons. What I find funny is pretty much everyone I’ve played with has thought he was a ranger at first and didn’t realize he was a fighter until he action surged or they really wanted him to cast a spell he didn’t have. They’d even refer to him as “our ranger,” and often I didn’t bother to correct them.
Great example, Bill! This is exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about. It’s so easy to look at a PC and see a bundle of numbers and abilities rather than a character. Sometimes it’s useful to think in terms of game mechanics, and I’ve been known to approach character creation from a crunch perspective myself. But for me, at-the-table enjoyment hinges on interacting with unique personalities. In that sense, “Man with No Name” is far and away the most interesting part of the PC. I bet you get to make all kinds of Eastwood one-liners.
Not terribly alignment-oriented, but my group tends to partake of some booze when we play – though we did end up making a rule that we only drink when our characters themselves are in a tavern. For a lark, what you’re drinking is what your character is drinking. This ended up having a slightly amusing effect – with our burly human barbarian partaking of a high-quality wine and the elf evoker wizard enjoying straight scotch.
This would eventually develop their characters a bit – the barbarian becoming a bon vivant who desperately wanted to try what it was like to be a civilized noble while struggling to overcome his instincts and would become a battle-leader and tactician in the group. The elf evoker became a punk who hated the stereotype of being an elven wizard and went out of his way to appear “tough” while still being an effective wizard – getting magical tattoos, magical piercings, and a non-magical mohawk.
I immediately love these characters and want to read their comic book.
I’ve mentioned my party’s collection of atypical Paladins numerous times, but as a review:
Musket Master Gunslinger 5 + Holy Gun Paladin 2 + Weapon Master Fighter X. A musket sniper who is played like a gruff, old, nearly-retired cop (because he is), doing ludicrous damage with the Vital Strike chain and only missing on 1s. People always react confused to the concept of a “Paladin Sniper.” What makes this guy weirder is that his player is our most loot-concerned/obsessed, which means his actions don’t always fit with those of a Paladin. (See “The Bows Incident.”)
The party’s other Paladin is mostly Cavalier, and is a Halfling on a wolf built for ludicrous bonuses on charges with a lance. His Holy Tactician archetype also gives the party many bonuses and assistance with teamwork feats. Pretty normal Paladin stuff, right? Leading the party and charging into the thick of things? Well, first off, the player plays him as intentionally Lawful Stupid, because he says that’s the only fun way to play a Paladin (most every character he plays is some degree of insane, diagnosed or not). Secondly, the character unintentionally sexually harasses everyone and everything he interacts with (this is approximately 33% intentional by the player, 33% extrapolated by the rests of us and 33% genuine coincidence). Thirdly, while the character thinks of himself as a team leader, the above-mentioned facts, combined with the fact that he joined the party by showing up out of nowhere during a fight, means that no one else in the party sees him as an actual leader. My character, in particular, dislikes him, as she both receives the majority of the unintentional harassment and is the de facto leader anyways. One of my potential backup characters for this party is a full or near-full Paladin (possibly a Swashbuckler dip) whose thing is showing these two how REAL Paladins do things. (Also, because of the reach that the lance provides, the charging Paladin actually stays behind the party’s frontliners most of the time, making him effectively a ranged unit.)
The same player as that Cavalier/Paladin also made a full Oath of Vengeance Paladin in a brief 5e campaign we were both involved in. This Paladin used a feat (I forget which one) that let him charge around the battlefield, hit things with a greatsword and then retreat, and so he’d dash out of cover, one-shot something and then retreat back into cover. In other words, he was effectively a hit-and-run Rogue. Meanwhile, my Paladin/Warlock mix (Fiend patron made that… interesting) whose backstory and personality described him as a coward was running around in heavy armor with a shield and a bucket of temp HP soaking up shots for the rest of the party. This got particularly ridiculous when the greatsword Paladin used an Athletics check to leap over a bunch of flames blocking his path, attacked an enemy and then, rather than staying in the fray, leapt back over the flames to stay out of the enemies’ line of sight way. He really was a Rogue in Paladin’s clothing.
Lastly, back in Pathfinder, I really want to make a Paladinja (Paladin/Ninja) some day. Mainly using Vanishing Trick to disappear and then immediately Sneak Attack. And did you know that the Ninja’s Light Steps class ability works in heavy armor? A Paladinja can run on water or the most fragile of surfaces in full plate! Some might say that it is improper for a Paladin to embrace the ways of the Ninja. To them, I say: A Paladin is pledged to fight honorably. That does not mean they must fight fairly.
In summary, multiclassing makes Paladins so much more fun. Too bad Paladin/Barbarian doesn’t work, though I supposed Paladin/Bloodrager does…
You’re welcome: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo-paladin-archetypes/gray-paladin-paladin-archetype/
I’ve always wanted to run a “Plantagenet temper” nobleman as a barbarian. Spoiled rich kid rage sounds hilarious.
I’m really proud of a Witch I played once. Derek didn’t really choose his awful powers – they were foisted upon him by his black crow patron/familiar in a time of need. Derek was sweet, good natured, socially awkward, and deeply insecure about his own abilities. His spells and powers were not (I deliberately made sure his patron gave him the most nightmare-inducing spells every chance it could), and while he usually stuck to the less awful spells (Ones that wouldn’t kill or cause permanent damage), when he got angry or his friends were in danger, Derek made full use of his arsenal. We really enjoyed playing up the horrible aspects of some Witch Spells (Feeblemind in particular is emotionally horrifying if you play t right, as it’s pretty damn permanent), and Derek was the team woobie – the surest way to enrage the party was to have someone hurt Derek’s feelings. This despite the fact he was by far the most horrifying member of the party.
Skinsend? I bet it was skinsend.
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateMagic/spells/skinsend.html
I’m having great fun with my paladin-plucked-from-a-nonmagical-world at the moment. She uses lay on hands like Venkman trying to shake off ectoplasm:
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzI5MzUwMzA5MV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzIxMjYwNDI@.V1_SY675_SX1200_AL.jpg
The idea of characters weirded out by their own sudden powers is a perpetual source of amusement to me. Since so many games are about the slow acquisition of more powers over time I’m a bit surprised the trope isn’t more popular.
This is killing me.
If your body is regenerated before your skin returns to it, the skin dies and your consciousness returns automatically to your body. Your skin can be preserved with gentle repose and is suitable for any purpose that requires some of your flesh (such as a resurrection spell) or any magic or ritual that requires a creature’s skin.
“Hey! Hey guys! Check out my witch costume I’m going to the capitol in for Halloween?”
“Angrboda, you’re already a witch, what do you mean witch costu-oh…ohhhh…my god.”
“Right? It’s so authentic!” flailing around in your old epidermis stretched over your own body
I know what -my- next character is.
O_O
I once made a Witch who was a tribal priest. He had the Ancestors patron and the Hex Channeler archetype, and used mostly assisting/buffing hexes like Ward – as well as a bow with Focused Shot when damage needed to be done. From the outside he probably looked more like a Ranger/Cleric hybrid (or some Shaman variant) than a Witch. Unfortunately, the campaign I was going to introduce him in got canned, but when I recruited the remaining players into my own little campaign I reintroduced him as a GMPC (party only had two players, so giving them some healing/buffing for their melee fighters seemed like the way to go) who was an actual town priest by profession. Not even as a charlatan fake priest/cult leader or something – just a regular priest doing his god’s work in a slightly different way.
A witch who is a cleric, huh? Ima just leave this right here:
https://pics.me.me/an-archer-named-bard-aspy-named-acher-a-merc-named-31054663.png
I had a dwarf cleric of moridan. He could drink anyone under the table. At least once a month he would end up in a inn room with a group of wenches “praying” for 2-3 days. He rode a displacer beast. And he only prayed for spells about 1 time a week
Naughty priest is a great trope! You’d think we’d see paladins skirting the letter of the law more often. I guess it does require a GM with buy-in though.
I have recently discovered that in Pathfinder it’s possible, not even hard, to build a perfectly viable Bard without a single rank in any of the Perform skills (particularly if you take an archetype that replaces Versitile Performance). Now I’ve got this character concept stuck in my head – a wannabe sorcerer that picked up a lute specifically for the purpose of getting magic and doesn’t give a nugs ass about the whole “artistry” thing.
What, they just make a god-awful racket for the components?
Well, they would still have high enough charisma to make it sound more like a talented novice.But since we’re going in that direction…
Bardic Performance: Fascinate – creatures that fail their saving throw gain fascinated condition, as the overwhelming mixture of confusion and pity prevents them from looking away.
I could have sworn I’ve pressed that “reply” button…
lol
I believe I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m currently playing a half-orc necromancer (technically a School Savant Arcanist) who foregoes actual undead creation, but uses his necromancy against the undead in a sort of “fight fire with fire” situation. He’ll happily use his Command Undead school power or spells to command the undead, and then destroys them (seeing it as freeing their spirits to rejoin the natural cycle) when the immediate need is over. It’s both roleplaying the character and a self-imposed power limitation to prevent the minionmancy the character is otherwise capable of from getting out of hand, which would both snap the campaign’s power curve in half and eat up time as my armies of undead swarmed foes.
My previous character with that group was a witch who focused on Enchantment, Illusion, and Conjuration (healing) spells. He took the Herb Witch archetype, sacrificing some hexes to gain the ability to create remedies that cure status effects a few times per day. His enchantment spells were more along the lines of Jedi mind tricks than full-on mind control, and he only used them when directly threatened.
There was a prestige class for Paladins back in one of the 3.5 books called the Gray Guard, which loosened up some of the Paladin’s code and allowed for more morally ambiguous paladins. Honestly, it’s the only way I’d actually play a Paladin myself, because normally the restrictions on the Paladin class are so tight that there are really only so many ways to play one.
I appreciated that 5e paladin strategy of making paladin’s oaths a bit more RP and a bit less “let’s have semantic debates about good and evil.” You already heard my brush with that mess back here:
https://www.handbookofheroes.com/archives/comic/tolerance
Unless they’re pointlessly murdering innocents and summoning fiends, I’m generally happy to let the player decide what paladinhood means for them.
If he keeps veering to the side of the road for purposes of killing innocents, you’re probably going to have to send him into the shop to get his alignment checked.
I’m now imagining Jeff Foxworthy doing a series of “you might not be a paladin” jokes. So thanks for that.
“If you beat an orphan to death with a sack full of puppies, you might not be a paladin.
“If you help little old ladies crass the street by pushing them into traffic, you might not be a paladin.”
“If use ‘lay on hands’ on the vestal virgins, and there isn’t healing magic involved, you might not be a paladin.”
I’ve always found that it is best to know what you want your character to be before you choose your class. You make your class fit the character you want to be, not the other way around.
I think it pays to vary it up. Starting with a mechanic in mind can yield some interesting inspiration: What kind of character would have this ability? But if we’re trying to get away from stereotypes? You’re right on the money.
The correct answer for Witch’s conundrum is to mix the two together and see what happens. Will it be a Love Poison? If so what does that mean? Or a Poison Love? What does THAT mean? Maybe it’ll be a Love of Poison potion?
Or maybe some version of potion mixing rules will come up and you’ll get a lovely poisonous explosion or an effect will become permanent or some other nonsense.
Or maybe the GM will be feeling dark and give a shrug and “Eh, they’re the same thing anyway.”
I feel as though this song is on loop in Witch’s lab:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkj_ov_0LA4
I’ve never heard that one before. Really dug it. =)
My witch would sometimes threaten the party with curses when they annoyed her, but she only went through with it once. Slumber got thrown around though. She got fed up with the samurai claiming he was a master at magic (the magic of killing people real fast) and cursed him to never be able to make that claim again.
Now see, that seems like the kind of PVP I’m OK with. It’s on the order of a prank rather than outright duel to the death.
Also of note, grumpy witch that threatens to curse you sounds like a blast to play.
I’m still wondering who Witch’s Patron is.
Also does she count as an Independent for the Role Call?
Me too. 🙂
Yes. I just need to get off my lazy butt and add her.
Yeah, this is my thing entirely. A benevolent warlock, an intellectual barbarian and a paladin who upheld tyranny (OK, for all the right reasons) have all been characters of mine in the last few years.
“Among Thog people, no prepositional phrase. This Thog’s ninth language. Thog am natural linguist, but still learning. Thog also resent condescending tone.”
I started as a rogue “how can you only have a +2 to stealth?”
He hadn’t hit the level for it yet, but he’s a swashbuckler(eventually multiclassing to Hexblade)
Breastplate and a Staff of Defense later, and now suddenly he’s the highest effective AC in the group, and can dish out 50+damage in a single blow (very useful for breaking enemy concentration)
With the rogue’s cunning action, he could cover a retreat, and still be able to get away and not have to die in the process.
My first ever character in Pathfinder was a paladin. The group encountered a ghost woman, Vesorianna Hawkran, from the Carrion Crown AP. She didn’t attack and was basically the quest giver NPC.
She told about the mutiny and the fire that cost basically everyone’s life in the prison, including hers. She ended with an inquiry: “Are you the backup guards sent from town?”. All eyes on me. How will the paladin answer?
I thought, okay, we’re half a century late for that, no one sent us officially, which should be clear with the clown troupe standing before her. But if her sense of time and plausibility is screwed enough that she has to ask, why not. “Yes, we are!”
Five other players drew in their breath sharply, staring at the GM to see if my pally is struck by lightning for that BLATANT LIE! Well, he survived that, without an atonement becoming necessary. But it shows how many are expecting the pally to be played lawful stupid, even if they dread it.
I think we all had the same dumb alignment argument once upon a time in high school. I know I never want to repeat it. But I dread meeting the GM that does.