I wonder if there are any other archetypes that a dandy ranger could take? Let’s go look at the SRD . . . The answer is no, not at all ~ some variant 3rd party combat styles is all.
Rangers have d10 hit points, so rolling 2d10+16 (let’s make Forsetilafom the same level as Boanerges, y/n?) gives them 26 hp. A ranger’s 6 skill points per level results in Forsetilafom having 21 skill points to spend. Diplomacy, Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nobility), Sense Motive, and Perception all feel pretty core to Forsetlafom’s history and role as High Reeve. Conveniently, they’re also class skills, thanks to the dandy archetype; let’s max them out at 3 ranks each, leaving only 6 more points to spend. I find myself liking Craft (clothier), Heal, Intimidate, Spellcraft, and Stealth as secondary skills ~ that’s 5 skills, so we just decide that Intimidate is the most important, enough to get 2 ranks, and we’re all set.
Instead of a favored enemy, dandies have favored nations, gaining bonuses to a variety of social skills when used against them as well as to attack and damage. Normally, taking one’s own race as a favored enemy or one’s homeland as a favored nation might indicate either a murderer or an outcast. Forsetilafom is neither, but they also haven’t made their name protecting Nosleborre and Natsiyaasim from external threats. Quite the opposite: Forsetilafom has stood against corruption and rot that comes from within. We give Forsetilafom Natsiyaasim as a favored nation. In choosing Forsetilafom’s combat style, I’m tempted by Deceitful until I realize that, as the name implies, feinting requires Bluff and we didn’t give Forsetilafom a very high Bluff >.< So, I turn to Inner Sea Combat, which has a listing of divine combat styles for rangers. Obviously, Forsetilafom’s life doesn’t center around religion (though they, of course, honor Blessed Imye and the raskokabajhon who followed him as he wandered the world), but I’m hoping a nice, flavorful style can come out of the list. If not, I’ll just default to the bog-standard AD&D Driz’zt-made-it-trite two-weapon style. Looking through, Cayden Cailean’s style weirdly doesn’t include anything about drunken fighting, but is actually very much like fencing. The SRD even calls it “Fencing” since they can’t use IP content! At 3rd level, we can choose from Catch Off-Guard, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, and Weapon Finesse. Combat Reflexes and Weapon Finesse are both hella attractive, but Weapon Finesse is only so because it would mean an additional +3 to Forsetilafom’s attack rolls! Mebbe I’ll pick it up with some generic feat slots; I take Combat Reflexes for now, cuz it feels much more thematic.
A dandy’s other class features don’t require (or, in the case of favored terrain, allow) any other choices. Rumor empathy allows Forsetilafom to manipulate the rumors that fly through a community to make them better or worse for the people they’re about, while Endurance and Track give minor bonuses to Aragorny like activities that are easily guessable by their names. Favored terrain gives a bunch of bonuses in cities; because of the dandy archetype, these will increase but not spread to other terrains as time goes on. Next level, Forsetilafom starts gaining spells!
Next thing to choose is Forsetilafom’s two feats. This is always a bit of a slog, which makes choosing Weapon Finesse rather enticing, just to cut through all of that, but let’s give Heroes of the High Court and Ultimate Intrigue a chance. I am also thinking about Amateur Investigator ~ I’ll have to give that one a glance or two, as well. After doing that and looking through Heroes of the High Court, Ultimate Intrigue, Inner Sea Intrigue, Horror Adventures, and Horror Realms, I still don’t see anything featwise that jumps out and says “I’m perfect!”, but I get drawn more and more to the Street Smarts tree and the Unimpeachable Honor tree. Vacillating between the two for a little bit, I finally settle on Street Smarts + Sense Relationships. Sense Motive is a weapon for Forsetilafom, and those two feats really help to establish that.
My reluctance had been based on Sense Relationship’s benefits to Bluff, which I hadn’t given to Forsetilafom, but I also took good note of the Enchanting Courtesan prestige class in Inner Sea Intrigue. It DID jump out at me and beg to be added to Forsetilafom, though I resisted for a little bit because its emphasis on poison was a bit heavier than I would have liked. However, the prestige class wouldn’t leave me alone and I finally figured that the poison focus would add a little bit of George R. R. Martin into the Jacqueline Carey that is inspiring Forsetilafom. That recipe, if one is careful to not overdo the GRRM (he’s very much like cinnamon in that way ~ amazing as a background note in all kinds of dishes you wouldn’t expect, like macaroni and cheese, but just takes over the dish if you don’t use an absolutely miniscule amount), sounds wonderful. The requirements for Enchanting Courtesan include being able to cast 2nd level spells including at least 2 divinations and 2 enchantments somewhere in there, Spell Focus (divination OR enchantment), 2 ranks each in Knowledge (arcana) and Perform (act OR dance ~ and I’ll modify it a bit to accept erotic arts as an option, too. Cuz duh.), and 5 ranks in Sense Motive and . . . Bluff. Whatever are we to do!?
Well, aasimars don’t provide any specific favored class bonuses for rangers and, while we could co-opt the cavalier favored class bonus with some slight tweaks, doing more damage to people from Natsiyaasim doesn’t exactly fit Forsetilafom’s style. So let’s take 3 extra skill ranks and dump them into Bluff. Since they won’t meet the spellcasting requirement for the prestige class until 7th level, we have plenty of time to spend the 6 skill ranks we still need to qualify.
Showing posts with label skills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skills. Show all posts
Friday, September 7, 2018
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Virtues, continued (Design Domingo #4)
GENEROUS (Ge)/SELFISH (Se)
Generous people keep only what they need to maintain their station and reward their followers well; Selfish people are stingy and accumulate wealth all for themselves beyond their station.
Generous determines the impulse, learning, or desire to share with others. It includes the largesse of barbarian chieftains, and also the famed virtue of Charity. Extremely generous persons are called unselfish, magnanimous, and big-hearted. Selfish is the desire to possess, keep, and further accumulate things for oneself. Greed is usually a component of selfishness. This possessiveness usually regards material property and wealth, with the character being known as a miser or hoarder, but it might apply to glory, so that the character always wishes to keep the most glorious tasks and duties for themself. Very selfish persons are labeled both stingy and self-serving.
Generous is often used to make rolls to perform feats of strength or Heal rolls when your character is helping someone out, or with Handle Animal rolls in general. It’s sometimes also used with Fly and Ride checks involving overland travel, where endurance and being well-fed determine your mount’s performance more than anything else. In some cases, jealousy is included under the Selfish trait. Thus when someone acts jealous, he may begin rolling with Selfish. Beyond that, Selfish is sometimes used to make Reflex rolls, especially ones to protect a character’s stuff, as well as Bluff rolls. Both Generous and Selfish see common use with Disable Device, Craft, Knowledge (nobility), and Profession rolls and, depending on what you’re doing, with Sleight of Hand and Stealth rolls, too. Selfish is more often used to make Appraise and Will rolls, but there are situations in which Generous is used instead.
Rogues use Selfish to determine how many skill ranks they receive each level.
HONEST (Ho)/DECEITFUL (De)
Honest people are truthful and never lie under oath. Deceitful people use words as weapons to snare others with tricks.
To be honest is to deal truthfully with others, both in matters of import or triviality, no matter what the consequences. Persons of extreme honesty are said to have integrity and to be trustworthy, scrupulous, and reliable. A deceitful person is generally likely to distort truths, or to fabricate untruths, for their own ends (or perhaps on behalf of others) — or in some cases, simply for the sake of doing so. Chronically deceitful people are called liars, frauds, and false-hearted.
Honest is often used to make Diplomacy rolls, while Deceitful is often used with Escape Artist, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Sense Motive, Bluff, Disguise, and Use Magic Device rolls. It’s also involved in calculating your character’s Armor Class (AC). Both Honest and Deceitful are often rolled to make Knowledge (all), Linguistics, Will, Profession, and Perform rolls and sometimes Intimidate rolls, too.
Clerics and druids use Honest to determine how many skill ranks they receive each level, to reflect the fervent nature of their faith.
MODEST (Mo)/PROUD (Pro)
Modest people play down their glory and do not ask for praise; Proud people sing their own praises and expect the accolades of others.
To be modest is to be quiet and reserved about one’s gifts and accomplishments, not seeking excessive attention in the recitation of one’s own deeds. A modest character is glad simply to perform deeds, rather than bask in the repeated glory of hearing about them. Very modest people are called humble and reserved, or perhaps even shy. The Proud trait indicates the degree to which one gets pleasure from hearing and/or boasting of their deeds. Many lifeways value Pride in a character. Excessive pride implies arrogance, and likely a boastful nature.
Proud is often used to make Acrobatics, Profession, Bluff, Intimidate, and Perform rolls, and sometimes used to make Climb and Swim rolls. Rolls to perform feats of strength, too. Modest people sometimes make interesting use of both Sleight of Hand and Stealth, so it’s sometimes used for those rolls, as well as for Knowledge (nature), Perception, Survival, and Handle Animal rolls. Meanwhile, both Proud and Modest are sometimes used to make Knowledge (local, nobility) and Diplomacy checks.
Proud governs the spellcasting of bards and also determines how many skill ranks they receive each level. They’re one of two classes which use the same trait for both (the other being wizards).
JUST (Ju)/ARBITRARY (Ar)
Just people adhere to the law. Arbitrary people do whatever they like.
A just character is capable of telling what is right and wrong (within the mores of their upbringing and their personal beliefs), and is desirous of passing due judgment based on that information. A very just person is called fair and impartial. Arbitrary means that the character has no concern for what is right or wrong, and uses other information and bases for his decision making. Very arbitrary people are labeled unjust, unfair, wrongful, and probably biased and partial.
Both Just and Arbitrary are one of the common traits used to make attack rolls and Knowledge (local, nobility) rolls. Arbitrary is sometimes used to make Escape Artist, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Will, Bluff, Intimidate, Perform, and Use Magic Device rolls. Fly, Ride, and Handle Animal rolls sometimes use Just, as the animal learns more easily what a just rider wants. It’s also often used to make Appraise, Knowledge (history), Perception, Profession, Sense Motive, and Diplomacy rolls.
Just governs the spellcasting of paladins.
MERCIFUL (Me)/CRUEL (Cr)
Merciful people accept surrenders and treat prisoners well. Cruel people find it better to kill those who surrender so they can't cause you future trouble, or else to break their will through torture.
Mercy indicates a tendency to extend sympathy, pity, and aid to others. This includes sparing an enemy, giving money to the poor, helping the weak, and any other act that is not expected of one’s rank and station. A very merciful person is called compassionate. Cruel indicates a disregard for the feelings and needs of others, or lack of sympathy. High values in Cruel indicate that the character actually enjoys the discomforts and troubles of others.
Cruel is one of the common traits used to make attack rolls (especially melee attack rolls). Perception and Intimidate checks, too. Another incredibly powerful trait for combat-oriented characters, it also adds to damage rolls. Merciful sometimes finds use with Escape Artist rolls and often with Heal rolls. Depending on how you treat your mount, both Merciful and Cruel are often used to make Fly or Ride checks and sometimes both can be used with Sleight of Hand rolls to set people up or help them avoid the eyes of the law (or in similar situations, obviously).
Generous people keep only what they need to maintain their station and reward their followers well; Selfish people are stingy and accumulate wealth all for themselves beyond their station.
Generous determines the impulse, learning, or desire to share with others. It includes the largesse of barbarian chieftains, and also the famed virtue of Charity. Extremely generous persons are called unselfish, magnanimous, and big-hearted. Selfish is the desire to possess, keep, and further accumulate things for oneself. Greed is usually a component of selfishness. This possessiveness usually regards material property and wealth, with the character being known as a miser or hoarder, but it might apply to glory, so that the character always wishes to keep the most glorious tasks and duties for themself. Very selfish persons are labeled both stingy and self-serving.
Generous is often used to make rolls to perform feats of strength or Heal rolls when your character is helping someone out, or with Handle Animal rolls in general. It’s sometimes also used with Fly and Ride checks involving overland travel, where endurance and being well-fed determine your mount’s performance more than anything else. In some cases, jealousy is included under the Selfish trait. Thus when someone acts jealous, he may begin rolling with Selfish. Beyond that, Selfish is sometimes used to make Reflex rolls, especially ones to protect a character’s stuff, as well as Bluff rolls. Both Generous and Selfish see common use with Disable Device, Craft, Knowledge (nobility), and Profession rolls and, depending on what you’re doing, with Sleight of Hand and Stealth rolls, too. Selfish is more often used to make Appraise and Will rolls, but there are situations in which Generous is used instead.
Rogues use Selfish to determine how many skill ranks they receive each level.
HONEST (Ho)/DECEITFUL (De)
Honest people are truthful and never lie under oath. Deceitful people use words as weapons to snare others with tricks.
To be honest is to deal truthfully with others, both in matters of import or triviality, no matter what the consequences. Persons of extreme honesty are said to have integrity and to be trustworthy, scrupulous, and reliable. A deceitful person is generally likely to distort truths, or to fabricate untruths, for their own ends (or perhaps on behalf of others) — or in some cases, simply for the sake of doing so. Chronically deceitful people are called liars, frauds, and false-hearted.
Honest is often used to make Diplomacy rolls, while Deceitful is often used with Escape Artist, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Sense Motive, Bluff, Disguise, and Use Magic Device rolls. It’s also involved in calculating your character’s Armor Class (AC). Both Honest and Deceitful are often rolled to make Knowledge (all), Linguistics, Will, Profession, and Perform rolls and sometimes Intimidate rolls, too.
Clerics and druids use Honest to determine how many skill ranks they receive each level, to reflect the fervent nature of their faith.
MODEST (Mo)/PROUD (Pro)
Modest people play down their glory and do not ask for praise; Proud people sing their own praises and expect the accolades of others.
To be modest is to be quiet and reserved about one’s gifts and accomplishments, not seeking excessive attention in the recitation of one’s own deeds. A modest character is glad simply to perform deeds, rather than bask in the repeated glory of hearing about them. Very modest people are called humble and reserved, or perhaps even shy. The Proud trait indicates the degree to which one gets pleasure from hearing and/or boasting of their deeds. Many lifeways value Pride in a character. Excessive pride implies arrogance, and likely a boastful nature.
Proud is often used to make Acrobatics, Profession, Bluff, Intimidate, and Perform rolls, and sometimes used to make Climb and Swim rolls. Rolls to perform feats of strength, too. Modest people sometimes make interesting use of both Sleight of Hand and Stealth, so it’s sometimes used for those rolls, as well as for Knowledge (nature), Perception, Survival, and Handle Animal rolls. Meanwhile, both Proud and Modest are sometimes used to make Knowledge (local, nobility) and Diplomacy checks.
Proud governs the spellcasting of bards and also determines how many skill ranks they receive each level. They’re one of two classes which use the same trait for both (the other being wizards).
JUST (Ju)/ARBITRARY (Ar)
Just people adhere to the law. Arbitrary people do whatever they like.
A just character is capable of telling what is right and wrong (within the mores of their upbringing and their personal beliefs), and is desirous of passing due judgment based on that information. A very just person is called fair and impartial. Arbitrary means that the character has no concern for what is right or wrong, and uses other information and bases for his decision making. Very arbitrary people are labeled unjust, unfair, wrongful, and probably biased and partial.
Both Just and Arbitrary are one of the common traits used to make attack rolls and Knowledge (local, nobility) rolls. Arbitrary is sometimes used to make Escape Artist, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Will, Bluff, Intimidate, Perform, and Use Magic Device rolls. Fly, Ride, and Handle Animal rolls sometimes use Just, as the animal learns more easily what a just rider wants. It’s also often used to make Appraise, Knowledge (history), Perception, Profession, Sense Motive, and Diplomacy rolls.
Just governs the spellcasting of paladins.
MERCIFUL (Me)/CRUEL (Cr)
Merciful people accept surrenders and treat prisoners well. Cruel people find it better to kill those who surrender so they can't cause you future trouble, or else to break their will through torture.
Mercy indicates a tendency to extend sympathy, pity, and aid to others. This includes sparing an enemy, giving money to the poor, helping the weak, and any other act that is not expected of one’s rank and station. A very merciful person is called compassionate. Cruel indicates a disregard for the feelings and needs of others, or lack of sympathy. High values in Cruel indicate that the character actually enjoys the discomforts and troubles of others.
Cruel is one of the common traits used to make attack rolls (especially melee attack rolls). Perception and Intimidate checks, too. Another incredibly powerful trait for combat-oriented characters, it also adds to damage rolls. Merciful sometimes finds use with Escape Artist rolls and often with Heal rolls. Depending on how you treat your mount, both Merciful and Cruel are often used to make Fly or Ride checks and sometimes both can be used with Sleight of Hand rolls to set people up or help them avoid the eyes of the law (or in similar situations, obviously).
Sunday, July 8, 2018
O holy Virtue! (Design Domingo #3)
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Friday, July 6, 2018
OK, maybe not from Prester . . . (Fantasy Friday #3)
Thinking about the charau-ka as a possible race for Boanerges brings the jungliest region of this continent to mind. It occurs to me that an elemental theme could work well there, drawing on images of the rainforest as a place of nature at its most intense and individual (as opposed to the, like, unitary image of powerful nature that comes with places like mountains, the arctic, and oceans). That as-yet-unnamed region, analogous to Central Africa in geohistorical placement, shares a border with Prester in the middle of the continent. If I place Boanerges just on one side or the other of that border, they can be a member of a swashbuckly force of evil ifrit, perhaps based on something like Boko Haram or God’s Army. I like that idea! OK, Boanerges is now officially an ifrit.
Looking at the race description, I note already that there’s a base trait I wanna replace with an alternate trait ~ as a vigilante, even if Boanerges is a zealot and a divine spellcaster, the fire affinity trait helps him out all of not at all. Fire in the blood (which gives him a morsel of access to fast healing when he takes fire damage) would replace fire affinity not only ably, but in line with some of Boanerges’s themes, I daresay. Hypnotic (which boosts an ifrit’s ability to fascinate) is a little tempting, as a reference to the swashbuckling element. But Boanerges, again, would probably gain spellcasting through the zealot archetype, and I dunno how many inquisitor spells cause fascination. Nor do I actually know yet if Boanerges will take the zealot archetype. And the same arguments apply to the boons given by his Celestial Obedience to his yet-unchosen archangel. Fire in the blood it is!
As for their gender, making them female would seem to play into old Victorian ideas of the woman as the civilizing force (an idea that pops up unfortunately in too many Second Wave feminisms). Similarly, making them trans or nonbinary in any way would seem to underscore too much the dual nature of Boanerges ~ another trope that can lead to icky things. An agender Boanerges is more tempting, gives them more texture to their psyche, but in the end has, I think, the same problems. I guess cismale is the best option for Boanerges.
Choosing his race also lets us determine Boanerges’s age, height, and weight. I’m gonna call vigilante a self-taught class so we roll 60+6d6 for his age, getting 76 as his age. That makes him a little young for an ifrit vigilante (average age would be 81), which I think is appropriate for his character. He’s tall, though, living up to his personality, as a 2d8 roll of 14 tells us that he’s 6’4” and a 2d8x5 roll of 40 gives us a weight of 150 pounds. I think he’s actually come out pretty skinny, though his charisma makes him seem larger than he actually is.
I also note that there are several racial feats available to ifrits. Blistering Feint, which makes the ifrit better at feinting when using a fiery weapon and does damage with the feint as well, is especially noteworthy ~ although we’ve already chosen Boanerges’s 1st-level feat (Celestial Obedience, recall), I’d wanna pick up Combat Expertise at 3rd level, Improved Feint at 5th, and Blistering Feint itself at 7th (assuming the redeemer theme in Boanerges doesn’t cause me to grab any feats in between all these). Firesight (which improves visibility in smoky conditions) and the Scorching Weapons feat tree (which lets you make your weapon fiery) are tempting; maybe if there’s ever a chance for Boanerges to pick up a bonus feat.
Oh, wait. Celestial Obedience requires Knowledge (planes) 3; it can’t be taken until 3rd level. OK, I’ll create Boanerges at level 3, then, and have him take Combat Expertise at level 1. Except he’s obviously not smart enough >.<
Vigilantes have a Hit Die of d8, so rolling 2d8+8+9 gives Boanerges 28 hit points. 6 skill points per level gives us 21 skill points. Knowing that we want Boanerges to have Celestial Obedience, we immediately spend 3 of those on Knowledge (planes), which is a cross-class skill. Cross-referencing the vigilante skill list with the barbarian list (in order to reflect Bonerges’s evil horde origin), we find that Acrobatics, Climb, Craft, Intimidate, Perception, Ride, Survival, and Swim are on both lists. Let’s drop Craft and Swim out of that list out of hand as being inappropriate for Boanerges’s cultural origins, leaving a total of 6 skills. Intimidate definitely gets the full 3 skill ranks and Acrobatics, too, as both are central to the tactics of the ifrit horde that birthed Boanerges. That’s 12 points left. If we give Perception, Ride, and Survival 2 points each (all of them are basic, universal skills in the region and the horde), we’re left with 6 more skill points. I’m thinking that I want Boanerges to qualify for the mystery cultist prestige class at 8th level, so I need to make sure that Knowledge (religion) (another cross-class skill) gets the full 3 ranks. And we’ll use the last 3 skill points to give Boanerges the ability to protect his secret goodytwoshoes identity, with a rank each in Bluff, Disguise, and Stealth. Yeah, that’s pretty low ~ Boanerges was raised to be flashy and big and eye-catching, not subtle and quiet and unseen!
Gawds! I’m making so many mistakes with Boanerges >.< Zealot, which I think I am in fact taking along with splintersoul, swaps out a few class skills for Knowledge (religion) and Spellcraft. More importantly, it reduces the skill points per level to 4! My 21 points get reduced a full 6 points to 15 ~ I’ll take a point out of the various general-ed skills I gave Boanerges (Perception, Ride, Survival, Bluff, Disguise, and Stealth).
Looking at the race description, I note already that there’s a base trait I wanna replace with an alternate trait ~ as a vigilante, even if Boanerges is a zealot and a divine spellcaster, the fire affinity trait helps him out all of not at all. Fire in the blood (which gives him a morsel of access to fast healing when he takes fire damage) would replace fire affinity not only ably, but in line with some of Boanerges’s themes, I daresay. Hypnotic (which boosts an ifrit’s ability to fascinate) is a little tempting, as a reference to the swashbuckling element. But Boanerges, again, would probably gain spellcasting through the zealot archetype, and I dunno how many inquisitor spells cause fascination. Nor do I actually know yet if Boanerges will take the zealot archetype. And the same arguments apply to the boons given by his Celestial Obedience to his yet-unchosen archangel. Fire in the blood it is!
As for their gender, making them female would seem to play into old Victorian ideas of the woman as the civilizing force (an idea that pops up unfortunately in too many Second Wave feminisms). Similarly, making them trans or nonbinary in any way would seem to underscore too much the dual nature of Boanerges ~ another trope that can lead to icky things. An agender Boanerges is more tempting, gives them more texture to their psyche, but in the end has, I think, the same problems. I guess cismale is the best option for Boanerges.
Choosing his race also lets us determine Boanerges’s age, height, and weight. I’m gonna call vigilante a self-taught class so we roll 60+6d6 for his age, getting 76 as his age. That makes him a little young for an ifrit vigilante (average age would be 81), which I think is appropriate for his character. He’s tall, though, living up to his personality, as a 2d8 roll of 14 tells us that he’s 6’4” and a 2d8x5 roll of 40 gives us a weight of 150 pounds. I think he’s actually come out pretty skinny, though his charisma makes him seem larger than he actually is.
I also note that there are several racial feats available to ifrits. Blistering Feint, which makes the ifrit better at feinting when using a fiery weapon and does damage with the feint as well, is especially noteworthy ~ although we’ve already chosen Boanerges’s 1st-level feat (Celestial Obedience, recall), I’d wanna pick up Combat Expertise at 3rd level, Improved Feint at 5th, and Blistering Feint itself at 7th (assuming the redeemer theme in Boanerges doesn’t cause me to grab any feats in between all these). Firesight (which improves visibility in smoky conditions) and the Scorching Weapons feat tree (which lets you make your weapon fiery) are tempting; maybe if there’s ever a chance for Boanerges to pick up a bonus feat.
Oh, wait. Celestial Obedience requires Knowledge (planes) 3; it can’t be taken until 3rd level. OK, I’ll create Boanerges at level 3, then, and have him take Combat Expertise at level 1. Except he’s obviously not smart enough >.<
Vigilantes have a Hit Die of d8, so rolling 2d8+8+9 gives Boanerges 28 hit points. 6 skill points per level gives us 21 skill points. Knowing that we want Boanerges to have Celestial Obedience, we immediately spend 3 of those on Knowledge (planes), which is a cross-class skill. Cross-referencing the vigilante skill list with the barbarian list (in order to reflect Bonerges’s evil horde origin), we find that Acrobatics, Climb, Craft, Intimidate, Perception, Ride, Survival, and Swim are on both lists. Let’s drop Craft and Swim out of that list out of hand as being inappropriate for Boanerges’s cultural origins, leaving a total of 6 skills. Intimidate definitely gets the full 3 skill ranks and Acrobatics, too, as both are central to the tactics of the ifrit horde that birthed Boanerges. That’s 12 points left. If we give Perception, Ride, and Survival 2 points each (all of them are basic, universal skills in the region and the horde), we’re left with 6 more skill points. I’m thinking that I want Boanerges to qualify for the mystery cultist prestige class at 8th level, so I need to make sure that Knowledge (religion) (another cross-class skill) gets the full 3 ranks. And we’ll use the last 3 skill points to give Boanerges the ability to protect his secret goodytwoshoes identity, with a rank each in Bluff, Disguise, and Stealth. Yeah, that’s pretty low ~ Boanerges was raised to be flashy and big and eye-catching, not subtle and quiet and unseen!
Gawds! I’m making so many mistakes with Boanerges >.< Zealot, which I think I am in fact taking along with splintersoul, swaps out a few class skills for Knowledge (religion) and Spellcraft. More importantly, it reduces the skill points per level to 4! My 21 points get reduced a full 6 points to 15 ~ I’ll take a point out of the various general-ed skills I gave Boanerges (Perception, Ride, Survival, Bluff, Disguise, and Stealth).
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