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Author Topic: Neema for Undead Slayer  (Read 2341 times)

Acacea

Neema for Undead Slayer
« on: November 14, 2017, 03:44:48 pm »
Name: Neema
Age: ?
Gender: Female
Classes: Sorcerer/(Cleric)
Race: Human
Alignment: True Neutral
Deity: Lucinda
(Domains: Magic Knowledge)
Original Submission
CDT
Submitting for 3rd class - Undead Slayer
Neema's CDT is several entries behind and does not reflect some serious IG character development (thanks Teo and Olme!), and she's currently a little "limbo"ed in Spellgard, but I am seeking approval for an avenue of progression that represents her total focus on necromancy and its various uses. As mentioned, she's (almost) exclusively a necromancer as submitted, only using spells that either are necromancy or protect against necromancy, and does not differentiate between or choose in advance her divine/arcane spells... kind of aiming for a cross of a "sacred" necromancer and a poor man's Favored Soul (without the ridiculous bits).
 
This class would not be used in true "slayer" form, as obviously Neema will never be a fearsome combatant and is not the bitterest of enemies with every form of undead.  That kind of Undead Slayer would not be appropriate for a Lucindite, whose faith boasts such legends as Melizaphei, who sacrificed so much time to protect magical artifacts in the form of undead and gave up even that form of unlife to its purpose, and so was granted by Lucinda a chance to live the life she'd traded. Neema's experiences in Spellgard were full of these mixed stories, but there is a difference between not reviling something on principle and believing it is desirable when it can be avoided. 

Her wishes for "field experience" have always been diverse -- rumors of how sandcallers work (some serious blood magic, there), divinations, arcane healings, protection from the abuses of others. An excerpt from an unfinished/unposted CDT entry helps illustrate:

I should mention that the other permanent fixture in Center that I alluded to before was, of course, the crypts -- some remnant of the city before the Dark Time, presumably when there were enough citizens to make use of such things. I had not expected to find much of interest there, in truth. After all, regardless of what had been, Center was no longer worthy of even a dot on the map, and I'd heard so far no rumors or reports of troubles with the undead in the area. 
 
I was mistaken. Someone -- multiple someones, I suspect -- in the past grew weary of the animated nuisances and, rather than seeking to ward every nook and cranny from those responsible, put up instead the Threshold in a doorway. To the unliving, it is a barrier that not only is impermeable, but strikes down the strings of those who touch it. To everyone else, it acts as a curtain you might scarcely notice as you pass through, magic brushing your skin. It was exactly the sort of thing I had set out to see for myself -- a work divine and arcane in nature, a mixed magical working that was in no small part necromancy, serving to guard from those with evil intent. It gave me purpose; it did not grant me companionship. 
She assisted Ezekiel in the crypts for some time there, in exchange for room and board, just to study it. When she left Center, it was almost always to journey to another undead-plagued area to determine what was happening, and I always involved other players in these investigations. Her crawl through the Vehl crypts with Lola and Ryubi were not hasty bash-fests but enthusiastic wonderings and experiment with fledgling sorceresses sharing a fascination. She saw a Guardian (mummy) in person for the first time, and got to discuss how it may inadvertently even be the cause of all the other undead. Lola asked to assist her once in the crypts, and we RPed the preparation of a dead woman as Neema would have in Spellgard -- though Neema did not have the heart to tell Lola that "Ruth" (as they called her) was likely to be burned or thrown in a ditch despite the care they chose to put in the job.Or see notices like these: Escort to Willow's Weep, Who or What is Wallach, Guide through Storan's Crypt, or Studying Krandor's Undead, the last of which you can clearly see an emphasis not on simple slaying but study and solution, even though she could not longer even cast spells by that time.She had been through before with Thoven, marking replacing remains while he helped her shift stone lids closed, and praying ineffectually for their rest. Going back in with the group allowed her to see if the ones she had honored had stayed at rest (obviously not). In this case, the point was not that she actually could do anything, but that even as crippled as she had become in abilities, she still used what resources she could to the same ends. And yes, the source of that crippling is still very relevant, and the aftermath even more so, since she found herself manipulated and influenced by the very thing her attackers had imagined her to be, and it's likely she will never be entirely over it. She returned home to Spellgard because she was struggling with hatreds new to her, visceral and ugly emotions born of fear and loneliness that could drag a person to a dark place. She recognized this point, and rather than continue trying to go it alone, she set aside her pride and returned home for healing. The things that people fear are not made-up, but very real -- she has seen their effects on her travels and almost fallen victim to them herself. Their existence doesn't excuse the fearful or divert from a Lucindite's purpose in serving magic as a whole (ie one doesn't just give up the rest and start singularly hunting down and slaying evil necromancers), but it strengthens Neema's resolve to not shrink from her gifts, but set herself apart and demonstrate that, like an armed (wo)man could be a guardian or a murderer, her skills and that of others like her do not a Corathite make. I would still like to one day pursue CDQs to progress in the church, and I still love the concept of a graft as a mark of honor, but I don't think those things need be tied to class progression. She will stick to robe and staff, and consider these blessings from Lucinda to aid her in her progress and make up for her spellcasting being crippled in Lucinda's service. Lucinda provides, and such. I believe she already qualifies mechanically, and RP-wise I'd start her on them as soon as she made the decision to leave Spellgard and try again, whether through player things or being able to assist with the plague dead and such. Thanks for reading, sorry for the mind change :) 
 

Rowana

Hi Acacea,Thank you for your
« Reply #1 on: February 21, 2017, 12:42:41 am »

Hi Acacea,

Thank you for your submission. This application is under review. I hope to get back to you in 24hours or so.

~row

 

Rowana

Hello Acacea,Thanks for
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2017, 12:28:36 am »

Hello Acacea,

Thanks for waiting.

We like the direction that Neema is going for with regards to pathing toward Palemaster. However, I cannot approve her at this time for progression. I will need to see either updating of her CDT over the next two weeks, have some GM testimony that covers her development in the recent weeks/months or logs provided to the effect of the same.

If those are available we can move forward with guidance for whatever GM you select. Depending on the support offered for her development, we’ll recommend 5-7 CDQs and we would like to see her PM levels begin at 16 and progress to level 20.

If you have any questions, feel free to post them here. Let us know what direction you would like to take for the more recent development of Neema and we’ll move forward from there.

Regards,

~row

 

Acacea

I have given this some
« Reply #3 on: November 14, 2017, 02:13:00 pm »
I have given this some thought when able, and have decided that perhaps PM is a bridge too far, for Layo. My intent was to use this to mostly replace sorc levels, in order to represent her extreme focus on necromancy in arcane magic, as there are not a lot of flavorful options to take otherwise and cleric levels by themselves are more than sufficient to represent her using them against undead.
 
While I am very fond of the various ways one could tie Lucindite lore and history into the arm graft, if one takes all the other things literally it doesn't fit as neatly. I mainly wanted it for symbolic purposes and to grow her necromancer potential beyond what is possible otherwise. I liked to imagine a Neema progressively "toughening" through her experiences and research, despite a gentle start -- imagining a future Neema with a skeletal arm, higher HP, and an immunity to crit is to imagine a transformative change that I thought would be really interesting.
 
I considered pulling back entirely from adding another class (she is already split class and stats, so she will never be a mechanical powerhouse), but I still really want something that can represent a "synergy" of her abilities, since she treats her priestess and sorceress spells the same (and wouldn't cast, say, Earthquake, because it's not one she is granted). Otherwise she's just bad at both.
 
In a perfect world, she could take a few levels of US and a few of PM and be a chilled out gal, but after thinking about it I have decided to replace the PM request with US for the following reasons:
 
  • The most obvious is simple expediency. While she still might not qualify without further updating her CDT, Undead Slayer is classed "mundane" and is still attainable. With the current restrictions in place, Pale Master is not. 
     
  • But it's not the only reason. I've realized that US will work much better with her existing character evolution -- without being able to speak, Neema will likely never reach a point where her spellcasting in practice catches up with her spellcasting potential. Auto-Silent is incredibly far away for this kind of character. So while she might be able to cast Death Ward, it is harder for her, because she must learn to do it silently. The innate US abilities are great for this, because it makes sense that she would need these protections on a deeper level than most divine casters, and her necromantic gifts can only be of assistance in that regard.
     
  • Unlike PM, Slayer will advance her available spell selection. With PM, this was okay, since it was meant to completely represent her arcane ability, but the same is not true of her cleric levels. So, even though they'll be weak, there's always the potential that should she ever reach level 40, she'd be able to cast any divine or arcane spell, which is wonderful for a Lucindite and actually something I envisioned for her early on and then abandoned to avoid straying conceptually from necromancy.
     
  • The ability to Cleanse (damage undead at expense of your own life) is what sold me on the concept. There is no way that it is not a magical ability, and the type of magic is almost certainly necromancy. It's exactly the kind of thing a non-evil necromancer would learn to do with life/death energies. 
     
  • Lastly, as I mentioned, I was in love with the idea of a graft being achieved as a mark of honor in something like the Risen, but... because of that, my whole intent was to not *take* the graft level until she had earned it through CDQ, at an epic level. I realized there's really no need to be attached to the class in order to be attached to the concept, because the abilities associated with the arm are not super important to the concept. Immunity to crit would be nice, but what can you do. ;)
 

Rowana

Thanks for your patience,
« Reply #4 on: November 17, 2017, 10:47:39 pm »

Thanks for your patience, Acacea.

I've read through the submission change. Shifting away from PM and going with US does make the requirements far easier to work with. Reading through your thoughts on the matter and Neema's take on her path forward, I can see how the shift of PrC makes sense. Is Neema qualified (if approved) to take her next level as US? Additionally, what is her current level split?

I would like to see an update of the CDT, perhaps an entry or two, to meet the qualifications for resubmission, if possible. If there is any reason that this can not be done, let me know and we can make some alternate arrangements. The CDT, up to the point where she was submitted for PM and her subsequent hold up in progress due to the lack of things, was well maintained and would have more than qualified. If it could be updated with one or two entries, I would be happy to call it a wash and give the approval for US (assuming she does meet the mechanical requirments for the class).

~row

 

Acacea

All good, it's not why she
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2017, 12:52:13 am »

All good, it's not why she was stuck in Spellgard, or at least only tangentially in that if she was going to have a lot of CDQs I wanted one before she left to get her back on the path. Plus I'd thought she might pick up on some plague stuff in Spellgard while that was going on :)

With the BAB requirement and that she has 5 sorc levels, I think the earliest she could take US is 10th level. I thought she was level 8 for some reason, but she's actually still 7! So, mechanical progress-wise, she'd be expanding her cleric levels (given that she can't do much with sorc right now, it makes sense anyway); her current goal is learning to soundlessly cast spells, which she will be able to do at level 9, so US would sort of be the next step in that journey, having had to spend such time only turning and praying. She's got some time !

Her CDT being well maintained is also something of an illusion, as after its restructuring it's been dominated by her original submission ;) I haven't even caught up to where it was before I started over (after Lola's CDQ, I think). Anticipating a CDT update request, I pulled several WIP entries to show development snips from, but as I looked them over they were more focus on character development (well duh I suppose) than class training, which is sort of passed over with things like "after my time in the x crypts" or summed up in being guided to different places. Part of that is the nature of the journal, another that these were just snips based on quick notes I took after RP sessions (and so leave out more magicky observation things), and the other is that having intended to work on PM long-term, I just wanted to start the CDQ chain asap to begin said development... which would in turn give more to write about!

I don't have that list from here, but when I do I will revisit to add more class-relevant observations in it. Otherwise, it'll a long way to CDT update land, 'cause I think she's got... I don't know, at least 5 more entries to even hit Spellgard, hehe. We'll see what comes first, I guess. Barring quests, it'll likely be awhile before she gets 2 levels though, so it's not like she was ready yesterday.