please knock Mom! posted:

I loving hate everyone who decides to play a child character in D&D and before I get quoted, no, your reason for doing so isn't cute or quirky enough to change my mind.

please knock Mom! posted:

I loving hate everyone who decides to play a child character in D&D and before I get quoted, no, your reason for doing so isn't cute or quirky enough to change my mind.

please knock Mom! posted:

I loving hate everyone who decides to play a child character in D&D and before I get quoted, no, your reason for doing so isn't cute or quirky enough to change my mind.

please knock Mom! posted:

I loving hate everyone who decides to play a child character in D&D and before I get quoted, no, your reason for doing so isn't cute or quirky enough to change my mind.

quote:

You scan the titles of the many books on the many shelves surrounding you, mentally preparing for the hours you will need just to take it all in. It is indeed quite a collection and on many different topics. As you walk around to take in your surroundings, you absentmindedly trace the spines of several books with your fingers when suddenly you halt, one of your fingertips seemingly glued -but only for a moment- to a single nondescript book, small and bland.
Inside you find several scraps of an old, worn text hidden away between the pages of a romance novel, Tusk Love, as if it was not meant to be found. But you found it, and with a hint of excitement you feel that this was what you were looking for.

Written in archaic, clumsy common as if the text is not only old but was translated with some degree of inaccuracy from an even older primary source, you find descriptions of ancient beings, unfathomably old, living among the stars.

As you read, you feel a chill run down your spine. Sweat glistens on your forehead. Dread fills your heart. Large pieces of the descriptions are missing, which only terrifies you further. Your imagination can not possibly be worse than reality, you tell yourself to calm yourself. You take a deep breath. Can it?

You read about Atropus, at other times referred to as the World Born Dead. From context, you make out it is a disembodied head the size of a small moon, covered in foul amniotic fluid, floating among the stars in search of planets filled with life that it may lay waste to.

Your hands tremble but find another scrap of paper as if acting of their own volition. You cannot stop reading.

Dendar the Night Serpent, said to be 300 feet long, hungers for the nightmares of both man and god.

Hadar, a star said to sometimes be faintly visible in the night sky, is a dying ember slowly losing its power, no longer capable of directly influencing the world himself. Instead he gives those that worship it or one of its siblings small tokens of its power in an attempt to stay relevant. You recognize this power. You have been given some of these gifts.

But he is not your patron.

There were others described here, but lost to time. A twang of anger, of disappointment. You were drawn here, driven here, and had expected more. Answers, or at least an answer, if only to satisfy your deep desire to know who you serve.

A slip of paper falls out. You catch it. On the front you find an odd combination of letters, but you recognize it as a name.

Aiuzor'endurh

On the back a brief description, made briefer by the ravages of time.

The Youngest Old One. […] seems Aiuzor does not crave death and destruction as his older siblings […] delights in confusion and chaos […] as a garden or orchard from which to pluck […] signs of its meddling in politics as well as personal relationships […] pleasure […] strange and mysterious items, as well as imbuing individuals with peculiar abilities and curious […]

You have finally met your patron, and for a moment you sense its presence as if in greeting. Its fearful presence is but temporary, you realize now, and for a moment it drops the facade. You are reminded of when you were child, and the stern village elder you and your friends feared would make a joke and wink, revealing a youthful and playful mind behind the ancient, wrinkled face.

Aiuzor winks at you. This is as close as you can come to understanding the sensation, before it returns to business.

You have work to do. You are now an agent of chaos in pursuit of order. A balance has been disturbed and the fate of the world might well be in your hands.

Kaysette posted:

Beverly Toegold V is the only good child character in D&D.

please knock Mom! posted:

I loving hate everyone who decides to play a child character in D&D and before I get quoted, no, your reason for doing so isn't cute or quirky enough to change my mind.

Raenir Salazar posted:

Considering how many skilled combat professions in Medieval times and earlier started in childhood (Jannisarries, Being a Knight, etc) I think it also presents a wide amount of easy to roleplay backgrounds. I think it makes sense if you're starting a fresh campaign from level 1.

Infinite Karma posted:

please knock Mom! posted:

I loving hate everyone who decides to play a child character in D&D and before I get quoted, no, your reason for doing so isn't cute or quirky enough to change my mind.

Raenir Salazar posted:

Several prominent Roman generals/politicians started their careers at 14 to 16, I'm not sure what you're reaction is, but the historical precedent is there.

BattleMaster posted:

I would like to hear the gory details of what prompted this in particular

Sodomy Hussein posted:

Child heroes are an enormously popular trope in all fiction, let alone fantasy, and this weird new thread groove where actually that's bad is not a good take.

Like if someone makes playing a child at the table weird, that's on them and maybe you, not the concept.

Sodomy Hussein posted:

Child heroes are an enormously popular trope in all fiction, let alone fantasy, and this weird new thread groove where actually that's bad is not a good take.

Like if someone makes playing a child at the table weird, that's on them and maybe you, not the concept.

Nissin Cup Nudist posted:

Play a warforged. Most of them are technically kids.

BattleMaster posted:

I would like to hear the gory details of what prompted this in particular

Sodomy Hussein posted:

Like if someone makes playing a child at the table weird, that's on them and maybe you, not the concept.

please knock Mom! posted:

Dude my age playing a 12 year old girl who's a super smart wizard (I am annoyed just typing this, and yes I realize that is a flaw on my end, but dear god)

You made a child character and badabing badaboom, now every instance of actual combat or capture carries awful connotations everyone else has to deal with. Lemme state that I'm fully aware how hypocritical I sound after telling people to 'get over' players and DMs using wacky voices by the way, and I'll probably get over it because the player in question is very normal.

No. 1 Apartheid Fan posted:

I'm deffo with the "child heroes are potentially cool, but odds are if somebody wants to play one their character won't be

Given the lack of a mechanical framework for it (i.e. you can't be a small Human), there's really not many "young character" concepts you can't execute with a 16 or 17 year-old character, and a lot of opportunities for awkwardness or upsetting some players at the table that you can avoid (violence being done to children and whatnot).

ZenMasterBullshit posted:

Actually no it's fine and cool to play Oliver but he's got weird plant magic from his dead family and you sound like a massive rear end in a top hat.

quote:

City Guard

Skill Proficiencies: Investigation, Insight
Tool Proficiencies: Pick any two from Thieves Tools, Disguise Kit, Forgery Kit, Investigation Kit, Healer's Kit.
Equipment: A badge or insignia of your station from your city, a guard cloak from your city, a set of common clothes, an Investigation Kit, and a pouch containing 10 gp.

Investigation Kit
Magnifying glass, small brush, tweezers, 30 ft. coil of measuring tape, 5 small glass specimen vials, chalk, a bottle of black ink, a quill, a small pocket-sized notebook
Gold Cost: 15 gp Weight: 8 lb. Proficiency with this tool gives assistance for Investigation checks related to examining fine details, bodies, or crime scenes.

Feature: Friend on the Force
You know the jargon and life of a city guard well, and can more easily strike up a rapport with fellow guards. Guards are more willing to cooperate with you and answer questions, as long as you or your companions haven’t taken any hostile actions against them or broken any serious laws.

Variant Feature: Bent Copper
You bent a few laws, "confiscated" some evidence, and took bribes in your time, and you more easily recognize officers who are also corrupt. It is easier for you to convince or bribe guards to look the other way for minor misdeeds, as long as you or your companions haven’t taken any hostile actions against them or your actions are not excessively difficult to cover up. Your starting gold is increased by an additional 10 gp.

Specialty
1 Street Patrol
2 Riot Squad
3 Undercover Division
4 Detective Squad
5 Evidence Clerk
6 Coroner
7 Jailer
8 Support Staff

Stabbey_the_Clown posted:

I thought up a homebrew custom background, as a fun imagination exercise for a former city watch character I'm creating. I probably won't use it for an actual character, considering that the amount of times this could be useful are limited and highly DM/campaign dependent, but as an exercise it was interesting.

I'm unsure how to balance it, so I've left some things a bit vague. Thoughts on what parts are too strong, and what parts are too weak, or otherwise need tweaking? I probably erred on the side of too weak.

Eraflure posted:

Going to play a good old single class thief with a dagger. What are some good, lesser known items I can gently caress around with? I already know about the classics but I figure some of you guys have been doing this a lot longer than I have.
Also looking for an efficient way to light stuff on fire with an item.

pog boyfriend posted:

its fine, remember that you can switch proficiencies around in a background to customize freely(albeit with a limited number of features) this is RAW, but nobody ever remembers that rule

Stabbey_the_Clown posted:

(I assume that City Secrets applies to every city of a certain size, not just your home city, because it seems lame enough already even if it applies to all cities.)