02-04-2018, 03:08 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Jan 2006
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Dag's Dicount Henchmen: Spearman
"Dag, what's with the ugly militia trooper? I know we've hired some pretty basic fighters for wizard-sitting duty in the past, but town militia? Shouldn't we let them keep their guys so they have enough troopers to collect Argua from the Orange Dragon at two in the morning?"
"Sure Yvor, we probably should, but this guy got a discharge and banishment for stabbing the Duke's heir to death in an unfortunate bit of confusion about the difference between real highwaymen and nobility having a little bit of a lark. He's not even allowed to sleep inside the city walls." "A real hardcore killer eh? All right. You think you can handle the dungeon?" "I'd like to try sir!" "Good. Let's see what you can do." Notes: Rigby is unusually useful for a 62 point hireling. His ability to sacrificial parry at 14 for reach 2 and 3 from the second rank (and then do it again at 12 and then 10, thanks to weapon master) is a really handy protective umbrella. Stabbing stuff really good is nice too, and Rigby is skilled enough to go for chinks, eyes or other tricky targets when fighting high DR, or add a hefty deceptive attck vs strong defenses. He is a but squishy, especially vs missiles, but he can stand in the second or third rank and still contribute, mitigating this somewhat. Persnickity folks might note that Rigby pushed a lot of character build envelope. He has -68 points in disads (-25 from stats, -43 from regular disads), but after character creation disads can easily go over the limit (and it if REALLy bothers you, you can make him a half ogre, keep or improve the stats above, and be legal). He put more than 3x as many points into spear as he did into everything else, which is perfectly legal but weird (and I only stopped at DX+10 because I personally consider that the max lvl to assign to a plausible human NPC). He has several elite fighter advantages while being a 62 point militia puke, AND he has $1500 worth of gear (which he paid for with a CP), which is normally not an NPC thing. All of that on the table however, I don't think he's a terrible henchman. In part because I think his disads make the PCs lives more interesting (with him you have the choice of behaving in a really upright manner or engaging in lots of fun but almost guaranteed to succeed fast talk), in part because defense back up for PCs is needed in many many cases, in part because he's easy to neutralize, and in part because if the players are ok with a Will 9 NPC with powerful melee options in their back ranks ... I can make that work for me any way I want. |
02-06-2018, 08:35 AM | #3 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Austin, Texas
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Re: Dag's Dicount Henchmen: Spearman
I really like this guy. I'll probably try to fit him in my current game, maybe as an NPC if not a Hireling. Great background and a good character.
Thanks.
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John Buczek (aka JackShadow) john at catscradle dot us Message contents Copyright John Buczek or quoted author |
02-06-2018, 02:11 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Jan 2006
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Re: Dag's Dicount Henchmen: Spearman
1. That limit is for PC build. You point value is affected by your whole list of disads. PCs can TAKE more than the disad limit, the extra disads just lower their point value. NPCs can have any disad list the GM deems acceptable, and they all count against the NPCs point value.
2. This is already noted. 3. It is also noted that if this bothers you the same stats are possible with a Half-Ogre with the std disad limit. I am just a little tired of Half-Ogre DF builds. I know Sweetums gets around, but it is getting a little ridiculous. Last edited by martinl; 02-06-2018 at 06:13 PM. |
02-06-2018, 02:52 PM | #5 |
Untagged
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: Dag's Dicount Henchmen: Spearman
It's also cliche to make the dumb guy be a member of the dumb race.
A little variation is nice even in DF. If I ever get to play DF, I'm going with my Half Ogre Scholar.
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02-06-2018, 03:14 PM | #6 |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
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Re: Dag's Dicount Henchmen: Spearman
Shouldn't he have Social Stigma? Banned from town is a serious disadvantage equivalent to Social Stigma (Savage).
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02-06-2018, 05:00 PM | #7 |
Join Date: May 2008
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Re: Dag's Dicount Henchmen: Spearman
They are just too good a deal to ignore.
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Running 3 GURPS games: DFRPG, Supers and a weird Evil Hogwart's (ish) game. Check out my blog: Dungeons on Automatic |
02-06-2018, 06:16 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Jan 2006
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Re: Dag's Dicount Henchmen: Spearman
Banned from sleeping inside the town walls could be a disad, but it doesn't change the way he interacts with the PCs significantly, so I left it off.
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02-06-2018, 07:41 PM | #9 | |
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Sydney
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Re: Dag's Dicount Henchmen: Spearman
Quote:
Regardless I think it is a bad idea. As for NPCs the Henchmen templates have significantly LESS for disadvantages. Last edited by lachimba; 02-06-2018 at 11:13 PM. |
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02-06-2018, 07:52 PM | #10 | |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
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Re: Dag's Dicount Henchmen: Spearman
Quote:
Although I guess "sleep inside" was literal and he isn't actually outlaw during waking hours? In which case, yeah that's less significant. Last edited by sir_pudding; 02-06-2018 at 07:56 PM. |
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Tags |
henchmen, spear, spear and magic helmet, spear and shield |
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