4) A Further Meditation on Other Choices
In addition to archetypes, at creation you will also pick a race, a background, and a nationality. Combined with your elective skills and any flaw you choose to take, these choices mechanically define your character. Certain backgrounds and races are sufficiently advantageous or unique to merit mention. They either open up unique opportunities or they provide terrific synergy.
RACES: Some races provide a skill rank to attack skills. They are: Kio, Ghost Scale Ss’ressen, some Dwarves (Nol Dappan & Tir Betoqi), the marokene flavor of Elorii, Humans, and Vals. Other races do not: Dark Kin, some Dwarves (Solanus Mor & Encali), most Elorii, Gnomes and other Ss’ressen.
Humans and Vals can put their extra rank in a spell casting skill. They are the only races that can do so. The other races that grant a skill rank to a fighting skill have to put it in a physical combat skill. Kio have to put their rank into Melee (balanced).
While having an extra rank in a combat skill has obvious advantages, it also interacts strongly with the Expert archetype. RACES that do not gain a rank in a combat skill generally do not combine well with the Expert archetype which also does not grant ranks in combat skills. As a result it is difficult (but not impossible) to make a dark-kin expert who has 3 ranks in an attack skill. See the Talent Adaptable and the note on the Pirate Isles background.
Ss’ressen (and some Dark-kin) have natural AR. This gives them the benefits of light or medium armor without worrying about bulk, perhaps making one aspect of the martial archetype (through advanced armor training) less useful to them.
BACKGROUNDS: Some backgrounds provide restricted talents, or provide access to them. Currently they are: Former Gladiator (Blood and Sand), Former Legionnaire (Strength of the Coryani Heart), Former Royal Marine (the Royal Marine talent), Initiate of the Gods (access to Divine Spell Casting), Shaman Initiate (access to Arcane Spell Casting: shamanism), Squire (Advanced Armor Training w/ Milandesian armors), and Templar (access to Divine Spell Casting). And from Codex of Heroes: Crusader (allows you to become a citizen of Milandir), Keeper of Traditions (access to Arcane Spell Casting: shamanism), Seeker of the Fallen (access to the Archaeologist Path without being associated with the Emerald Society), Undisciplined Psion (gives you emotionally empowered)
Those of the above backgrounds that grant access to spell casting are especially good combinations with people playing the expert archetype who want to become casters.
Character concepts that combine physical fighting with casting are also helped by those backgrounds that provide a skill rank to both a combat skill and a casting skill: Awakened Scion & Undisciplined Psion (Val only), Elder Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Elorii only, arcanum: thaumaturgy, any one combat skill), and Initiate of the Gods (Any race, Arcanum: cants, any one combat skill). Elorii characters can start off with a raft of Weapon Mastery talents in all elorii weapons by combining the martial archetype with either Laerestri or Soldier of Retribution. Finally the Exile/Expatriate background has the most flexibility in choosing combat and non-combat skills to create synergy with your other choices.
NATIONALITY: Nationality is usually very important to your PCs identity, but usually has a minimal impact on your character from a mechanical standpoint unless you are interested in some of the Paths that have a nationality requirement.
The one exception is for that characters interested in unarmed combat. Unarmed combat is listed as one of the national skills for the Pirate Isles. If for some reason you were committed to playing a Dark-kin Expert, then basing him out of the Pirate Isles with a background that also granted melee (unarmed) would get you to the “magic” 3 ranks at creation without costing you a talent..
ELECTIVE CHOICES Finally you get a batch of skill points (and talents) to choose on your own. There are no restrictions on choosing skills, and this is the only step where you can “double down” to take 2 ranks in a skill you don’t yet have but want (perception doesn’t turn up much in backgrounds and might be a good candidate).
When choosing talents pay special attention to anything labeled “foundation.” This is probably the last chance you have take those talents unless you find a path that grants them.
_________________ Eric Gorman
AKA Ambassador Tukufu, man of letters, tomb raider and Master Sword Sage . . . and Sir Szymon val'Holryn, Order of the Phoenix Formerly Sir Jaeger val'Holryn. Weilder of the Holy Avenger: Thonanos. Gave his soul to help free King Noen
Last edited by val Holryn on Tue May 06, 2014 5:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
|