Building Bhakashal - Character Creation - PCs
Art by Sycra at Deviantart
https://www.deviantart.com/sycra/art/Desert-City-323937024
So far in the character creation challenge I haven’t done many higher level NPCs, but here is one today, a Noble House Lord, in this case a fighter. This sort of PC, at 8th level (patrons are 7-9th level for the most part), can be a patron in the game. Bhakashal fighters are not the HP sinks that traditional D&D characters can be, so the focus is on making combat dynamic and fun. Mercenaries get access to criticals more often as they are better at combat, this allows them to pull of stunts in combat, making the class super fun to play at the table.
I have adopted Talilslanta’s “target 20” system, where any roll (with modifiers) that gets o 25 or higher, triggers a critical effect. That can either be a weapon critical (e.g. dismounting, cleaving, entangling), a combat critical (from the combat critical list, see below, e.g. blinding, stunning, knocking down, etc.), or a critical specified by the attacker, e.g. I want to push the guard into the moat where the alligators are.
This NPC will be introduced to the next group that arrives in the setting, he will be their patron.
Process
A. Choose a character class
B. Choose a Playable Group and Faction
C. Generate Stats
D. Calculate Saving Throw Bonuses and HP
E. Add Skills and Playable Group Abilities
F. Choose Deity and Languages
G. Choose Equipment and Clothing
H. Pick Armor and Weapons and Assign Attack Bonuses
I. Calculate Wealth
J. Calculate Encumbrance
K. Assign Spells/Class Abilities
M. Assign Personality Traits (optional)
N. Customize Playable Group Lore (optional)
O. Name Character
P. Assign magic items (for creating NPCs and PCs above level 1)
Creating a 8th level Noble House Lord
A. Choose Class (d20)
Mercenary - Faction - House Omander [NE]
As a high level NPC mercenary associated with a house he has a title and a role:
Title: Lord Garrison Commander, Infantry, Mitrax Toma the Bold, but he is routinely and during conversation referred to as Lord Mitrax Toma the Bold
Role: coordinates and commands logistics and support for all infantry troops during regular operations
B. Choose Playable Group (3d12)
Emberi
C. Generate Stats
For each stat roll 3d6
6 5 5/ 4 1 5/ 4 2 4 /3 2 5/2 3 2/ 3 3 5
S 16 / I 10 / W 10 / D 10 / C 7 / C 11
Apply stat minimums
STR 10 DEX 10 CON 10
S 16 / I 10 / W 10 / D 10 / C 10 / C 11
Switch any two stats (you cannot produce a result less than a minimum)
No switch
Apply playable group bonuses
+1 CON +1 WIS
S 16 / I 10 / W 11 / D 10 / C 11 / C 11
Apply Ability Modifiers
S - 16 [+3]
I - 10 [+1]
W - 11 [+1]
D - 10 [+1]
C - 11 [+1]
C - 11 [+1]/+5%
D. Calculate Saving Throw Bonuses and HP
All classes get a +1 bonus per level of experience, so +8 to start
Paralyzation STR and CON [+12]
Poison CON and DEX [+10]
Death Magic WIS and CON [+10]
Petrification CON and CHR [+10]
Polymorph WIS and CHR [+10]
Breath Weapon DEX and INT [+10]
Spell WIS and INT [+10]
Hit Points
Class based, roll or take the average (1/2 HD), from 6th level onwards you get to re-roll your HP, so I will roll for level’s 1-5 and then re-roll the lowest two options
Initial: 4/1/ 4/ 4/ 6
Re-roll 1 at 6th level: 5
Re-roll 4 at 7th level: 3, no change
Re-roll 4 at 8th level: 6, so final numbers are: 4,5,6,4,6 = 25 hp
Bhakashal - Hit Points
Table 1 - Hit Point Progression by Class
E. Add Skills and Playable Group Abilities
PCs get a skill(s) related to their playable group
Rolled: blacksmith
All PCs then get a roll on the Bhakashal Skill table once for every point of INT bonus
Rolled: Animal Handler
Playable groups also have abilities
- selective vision control:
infravision 120’
+4 on saving throws against brightness related blindness.
- selective hearing control
Stop take an action and concentrate: enhance hearing, reducing surprise to 1 in 6 as longa as maintained
+4 on saves against sonic damage
F. Choose Deity and Languages
Rolled: Yaal – Death, Cleansing, Rebirth, Righteousness
Characters get the language of their playable group and one other language of their choice, and then one roll on the table for every point of their INT bonus. If a duplicate is rolled, roll on Special Table 1 instead
Emberi, Saan, Yalan
Bhakashal Languages - (3d12)* Special Table 1 - (d12)
G. Choose Equipment and Clothing
Backpack, 50’ rope, (3) iron spikes, flint and steel, (3) torches, waterskin, iron rations, blanket, (3) candles, (3) flasks of oil, lantern, small sack - 250 gp encumbrance, 20gp cost
Browns and oranges, short cloak
H. Pick Armor and Weapons and Assign Attack Bonuses
Banded Mail AC: 6, 200gp encumbrance, 40 gp cost, reduced to AC: 5 from dexterity
Attack bonus is +1 to hit for every 2 levels of experience for martial characters, e.g. +1 at 1st, 3rd, 5th
So +4
2. Weapon Proficiency Slots: Each class has an initial number of slots, a Non-Proficiency Penalty and gets new slots as they gain levels.
Forfeiting a weapon proficiency slot allows a +1/+1 bonus with an existing weapon
So to start:
Broadsword
Dagger
Naginata
Crossbow
A mercenary would get 3 more proficiency slots, mercenaries can stack as well, where other classes cannot. In this case I will take a +1/+1 on the crossbow and a +2/+2 on the broadsword. His STR bonus is +3 as well.
So
Broadsword [+9/+5], 2-8/2-7, WS: 3, WvrsAC: +2L/+3N, Critical: Cleave - 75gp encumbrance*
Dagger [+7/+3], 1-4/1-3, WS: 1, WvrsAC: -2M/+1L/+3N, Critical: Dual Wield/Remain/Stab - 10gp encumbrance
Naginata [+7/+3], 1-8/1-10, WS: 4, WvrsAC: -1M/+1L/+2N, Criticals: Dismount - 100gp encumbrance
Crossbow [+6/+1], 2-5/2-5, WS: 4, ROF: 1, Range: 6/12/18, WvrsAC: -1M/+2L/+3N, Critical: Remain - 20gp encumbrance
*note that I won’t bother with costs at this point
I. Assign Wealth
Since this NPC is high level I won’t bother deducting costs for weapons and equipment, I will just determine wealth based on level. For PCs and NPCs above 1st level, add [100 gp + 100 gp gem + 100 gp jewelry]/level plus 50gp per ability score “+” to wealth = 1100gp, 700 gp gems, 700 gp jewelry
J. Calculate Encumbrance
Weapon Weights are found in the weapon listings - 205 gp
Armor Weights are found on the Armor Table - 200gp
Equipment weight is precalculated for equipment packs, otherwise consult the Equipment Weights table - 250 gp
Deduct 50gp per point of CON and STR bonus - 200gp
Total all weight and consult the Weight/Movement table - 455 gp, so 45 gp can be added before slowing
Bhakashal Armor
Weight/Movement Table
K. Assign Spells/Class Abilities
- Multiple Attacks: Mercenaries get 3/2 attacks per round against all opponents as of 7th level
- Critical Saves: mercenaries get saves versus breath weapon for all combat and weapon criticals
- Henchmen: Mercenaries get personal henchmen at various levels, these are henchmen that throw in with the mercenary due to their reputation, they seek out the mercenary, not the other way around, so their loyalty is generally very high. They tend to be with them at all times. Mercenaries attract 2-4 0-level mercenary followers at 5th level, one of those who survive a season will become a 1st level mercenary in their service. At 7th level mercenaries attract 4-8 new 0-level mercenaries. 1-2 of them who survive a season will become 1st level mercenaries. So by 8th three of those mercenaries survived their 0-level “apprenticeship” and began to level. So to stat them out I will randomize their levels and equipment and such, and assign bonuses based on proficiency slots and ability scores. Rather than generate complete ability scores for the PCs, I will assign small bonuses to reflect them and if needed later will create the scores. The level of detail here need not be too significant, if they become important to the PCs in some way due to events you can fully stat them out.
3 personal henchmen (2,3,4th level)
Quaram El Morria (LV:2 Emberi mercenary, MV: 12/9, HP: 11, AC 8 (leather), Weapons: Broadsword (+2/+1), Shortbow, Three-piece rod (+2/+1), Spear (+2/+1), personality: taciturn, skill: gambler, Magic: Potion of Growth
Rizel Kodloss (LV:3 Emberi mercenary, MV: 12/9, HP: 9, AC: 7 (breastplate/greaves), Weapons: Tetsubo (+3/+1), Kama (+3/+1), Wakizashi (+3/+1), Shortbow (+4/+2) , personality: hot tempered, skill: trader, Magic: Potion of healing, +1 bow
Bambar Lim (Lv:4 Saan mercenary, MV: 12/16, HP: 18, AC: 7 (breastplate/greaves), Weapons: Two handed sword (+6/+4), Crossbow (+4/+2), personality: inquisitive, skill: astrologer, Magic Items: +1 sword, (4) +1 crossbow bolts
- Critical Stacking: As of 7th level mercenaries can stack weapon and combat criticals on the same roll
L. Assign Personality Traits (Optional)
Up to four, rolled on DMG tables. Note that players should always get to:
Refuse or re-roll a personality trait
Interpret a personality trait
Well-spoken, precise, proud
M. Customize Playable Group Lore (Optional)
Level headed
N. Name
Mitrax Toma the Bold
O. Magic Items
For PCs and NPCs being made above 1st level, assign magic items as follows:
Level / 3 (round up) in permanent magic items
Level / 2 (round up) in temporary magic items
So that’s 3 permanent and 4 temporary magic items.
Temporary Rolled: Potion of Invisibility, Potion of Heroism, (6) +2 crossbow bolts, (3) Javelins of Lightning
Permanent: +1 Bissandrith’s Sword of Cleaving, +2 banded mail*, Periapt of Proof Against Poison (+2)**
*Magical armor halves the encumbrance, so this deducts 100gp from encumbrance, and means he can carry 145gp before slowing
**This adjusts his poison save on the saving throw list - Poison CON and DEX [+8]
Bhakashal Magic Items
Bissandrith’s Sword of Cleaving
The sword of cleaving radiates magic upon detection, and has a +1 enchantment. However, the sword may hit any foe, no matter what variety of weapon is normally required, on a successful "to hit" roll. For example, a sword of magical cleaving could hit a creature that is normally only hit by silver weapons, blunt weapons, +3 weapons, or cold iron weapons, etc. 1000 xp, 6000 gp
One of the difficulties in showing how formidable this NPC is lies in the fact his advantages are in hitting in combat, and it might be hard to see the odds on that. So I will, after showing the full sheet, discuss a bit about combat.
Combat
Bhakashal uses a unified attack table, let’s take a look and see how he stacks up. Let’s say Mitrax was challenged by a bandit in chain mail and shield (AC 3 in Bhakashal). How much would Mitrax have to roll to hit?
Attack Table (d20)
1-14 - miss
15-19 - hit for ½ damage
20-24- hit
25+ critical hit
Modifiers
All standard “to hit” bonuses (e.g. strength, magical, level*, proficiency)
AC is added to the “to hit” roll
Any WvrsAC modifiers are applied
Mitrax gets a +9 with the broadsword at 8th level, the AC is 3 so you add that to +12, the WvrsAC modifier against metal armor is 0, so it’s +12 to hit.
So on a 1-2 he misses the guard, missing 10% of the time
On a 3-7 he hits for 1/2 damage, 25% of the time
On a 8-12 he hits for full damage, 25% of the time
On a 13 and up he hits for full damage and critical effect, 40% of the time
So, barring situational modifiers, that guard will be taking full damage 1/4 of the time, full damage for him is 2-8+5, a 0-level guard has 1-6 hp, so that’s that. Half damage would be 4-7 hp, so also very likely to kill.
Conversely at AC 3, a 0-level city guard, soldier, bandit, pirate using a longsword (WvrsAC: -1M/+1L/+3N), etc. would get a +3 to hit (from Mitrax’s AC) but would get a -1 because of Mitrax’s metal armor, and nothing else, so could not get a critical and would need to roll a 18 or higher to do full damage.
Note that Mitrax gets a save versus breath weapon against all weapon or combat criticals.
Note also that his weapons have specific critical effects, for example, the broadsword gets cleave, on a critical the weapon does full dice damage, 8 hp against SM creatures 7 hp against large. His crossbow gets remain, on a critical the bolt stays in the target, doing an additional min HD damage, in this case 2hp, every round until removed, one action to remove.
Mitrax can also opt for any of the combat criticals on table when he rolls a critical 40% of the time, options like breaking off from combat without a return attack, blinding, knocking down, disarming, doubling base dice damage, or an extra attack. It is possible to get a “chain of attacks” this way, that last until Mitrax rolls to low. Here is the table:
Combat Effects Criticals - Bhakashal
When a PC, Monster or NPC gets a critical they can choose an effect from the table in addition to damage. Monsters/NPCs/Animals- ref can choose or roll.
Combat Effects Table
1. Jam Weapon - one action to remove/fix, +2 to hit while doing so
2. Damage Limb - motive limb -3” to move, fighting limb, -2 to hit, 2-4 rounds
3. Disarm - weapon knocked out of melee range, 1 action to retrieve
5. Snatch Weapon - mercenaries and spiders get a bonus attack/action with the weapon
6. Snatch Object - object from opponent removed (purse, potion bottle, etc.)
7. Knock Down - opponent -2 to hit, 2 point AC penalty, 1 action to get back on feet
8. Dodge - opponent slams into wall/tree/rock, extra d4 damage, 2 point initiative penalty
9. Knock Back - attacker may break off with no attack against them
10. Blow to Back - 4 point AC penalty for two rounds
11. Temporarily Blind - next two attacks are -4 to hit
12. Temporarily Winded - next two attacks do half damage if successful
13. Cut to Head - Disoriented - opponent loses next attack
14. Blow to Head - Stunned - Opponent is AC 10 against next attack
15. Opponent Knocked Into Another Combatant - both have 4 point initiative penalty on next attack
16. Extra Unarmed Attack - Opponent set up for free punch/kick/head butt attack
17. Set-Up Ally - next attack against opponent from an ally is +4 to hit
18. Set-Up Opponent - Opponent pushed into the line of fire of a nearby attack (missile or melee)
19. Extra Attack - attacker gets an extra attack
20. Extra Damage - attacker’s base dice damage doubled
*a limb struck twice with this result is broken, motive limb - no walking, fighting limb - no fighting. Limb takes a month of inactivity to heal.
Natural 1 - Weapon Damaged: - 1 to hit until repaired*
Natural 20 - Armor Damaged/Target Damaged: 1 point of AC penalty until repaired/healed
So an 8th level mercenary will trigger criticals quite often, and has a wide range of options in combat, some criticals also set up or involve other targets in melee, so they can be used to coordinate attacks and strategize.
No comments:
Post a Comment