The reborn version of Mystra (whether NG or LN) would still have her clerics incorporating aspects of all three primary alignments (G, N, E); though only LE would be included from that end of the spectrum. I remember something about her being a little too heavy handed in leaning towards aiding the 'good' side of the world and it backfiring on her from the other deities, such that she eventually resigned herself to administering magic a little more fairly. All alignments can worship her of course. While she may have a little more good leaning bent (and thus have a more positive view from the world at large), she's bound (to a point) in treating those of a more selfish demeanor fairly. As long as they respect her domain (Magic) and treat it with dignity and reverence, well, the individual's personal motives are their own.

Makes for a nice dichotomy between the personal goals and plans of one (Karl) versus the potential demands and requirements of the other (Mystra) as her servant. He can get away with a lot.. but sometimes may be called to service in a way that doesn't directly benefit him. ;)

I'm glad!  It fit the concept in my head pretty well, so I'm hoping I do the concept justice.  The "we must show them our peaceful ways... BY FORCE!" monk angle is going to be delightful, I think!

They might strike first. But our strike will be the last one.
I'll do my best to live up to the potential.

Can't wait to see Paladins getting into moral dilemmas due to their faiths :D

Weirdly enough, I am too.  :D

In reply to Mourning Dove (msg # 44):

It should indeed be an interesting time! :)

That is putting it lightly! :) I have added a description for Calene if anyone is curious, now to get working on her mechanics!

In reply to Jarinal Shaethil (msg # 43):

.... considering a core of Signe's faith is "Struggle, Fight, Conquer" I don't think she's going to have faith crisis' much.

Crunch is always the tricky part, as I feel spoiled with options.

With Ix, I'm thinking his starting feat being Heavily Armoured, giving me heavy armour proficiency.
And pact wise, normally I like going Tome, but this time I am thinking Blade. Summoning a large weapon, crushing those who dare get close to me. It also means I can not be an overdone Eldritch Blaster.

I'm now debating having my 17 go into strength, as with racial and feat I would be on 20 and capped already!

Who would suspect Ix is a warlock, until having supporting spells be cast mid fight.
Plate mail, with seashells and maybe even a starfish stuck to it, inexplicably leaving salty footprints wherever he goes, and when summoning a weapon it is like he draws it from a pool of water, as if retrieving a sunken weapon.

In reply to Calene (msg # 46):

oh looks good! I did mine the flip side. I had a basic backstory that piqued the GM's interest, found a picture that inspired me and built the crunch. Now I'm trying to be motivated to write more in depth written description, personality etc.

I think it depends on what kinda warlock you want to be, Ix.  A one level dip into something like cleric or fighter might be better than heavily armored at level 1.

I'd be delighted to throw ideas around with you if you'd like, but I don't want to come off as overbearing.  Warlock is oodles of fun!

(That'll teach me to reply while on the phone!)
This message was last edited by the player at 19:50, Wed 22 Feb 2023.

Thanks! This is a character I played in a Dungeon World one shot at one point and I enjoyed her so I am looking forward to playing her again. :)

In reply to Calene (msg # 51):

Oh I hate when characters feel unfinished and you have to try to find them a story to properly see them through. I hope it works out for you!

Love it, and suddenly feel I need to add more than a picture, might get to it over the weekend.



Did you consider Talisman? It is not as flashy as most but has nice utility and flavor. Especially if you make it a dobloon and a sign of favor.

If we weren't getting a free feat at level 1, a dip may be tempting, but since we are being very well boosted, there is room to be more thematic without having to worry about optimal.

I'm thinking melee for my damage, though likely having EB as a cantrip so there is always a ranged option.


I hadn't considered talisman, but mainly because it doesn't feel flashy enough compared to the other boons. Summoning a weapon just feels cool!

Totally fair!  Yeah, I noticed the desire not to blast eldritchly afterwards--I was on the phone and got excited, and didn't see it.  I'm sorry. >_<

You probably already considered this, but if you go for the Hexblade patron (XGE) you can focus fully on Cha and you can drop strength to the point which is sufficient for your armor.

In addition, the boost from medium to heavy armor is only 1 AC if you have 14 dex. Half Plate has no strength requirement and practically looks the same. So if you stay on medium armor you can dump strength. Get 20 Charisma (17+2+1) from a feat like Fey Touched (picking up a spell like Silvery Barbs or Compelled Duel) and you're golden. Perfect attacks and the highest save DC.

The downside to tanking dexterity is initiative.  And with heavy armor, there's no reason to invest too hard into dex.  So that's the push and pull when I'm considering dexterity v. strength.  I'm curious what warlocky things you want to emphasize mechanically.

Fathomless is both key to my concept, and just my favourite patron in terms of style.
Going around in water, summoning a tentacle to help me in combat (gives me a use for my bonus action), and

Being a mountain dwarf means I get medium armour prof, and strength isn't a factor for the armour I can wear.

Yes, tanking Dex means my initiative isn't great, but characters can't be good at everything. Plus, I intend to be able to survive being hit, and if they come up to me/others, then it's easier to hit them back.

As for warlocky things, it's the mix of melee and magic. Things like Armour of Agathys to make me harder to hurt as well as punish melee enemies if they hit me, or Arms of Hadar if I get surrounded by a group of mooks.

Sounds like you've got it figured out!  The strongest warlock, ready to benchpress the landlubbers and look great doing it!

I imagine you're going to have a high constitution as well in that case, and a comparatively low charisma?  Not the 8, but maybe the 14?  Green-Flame Blade and Booming Blade as the cantrips of choice?

Weapon-wise, are you thinking something with reach, and eventually going into sentinel/polearm master?  Or would great weapon master be the first feat of choice?

How many of you have played in a villain-themed game before? What was it like?

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 60):

I have.  It was a /blast/, since you're doing things with your characters that you'd never even consider in a traditional heroic game.  Gotta be careful of the players who want to murderhobo their way through everything, but if you get some truly villainous characters rolling it's just amazing where it can go.

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 60):
I have

It depends, usually the hardest part is keeping a party in non-pvp engagements. When playing with random's you also have to make sure to set boundaries from the get go to avoid awkward cringe actions (such as you did).

Beyond that its just the same, actions have consequences, plan ahead, consider your goals, etc. Usually good and evil games both end up at the same place; it's the journey to reach it thats different. A heroic paladin or a Tyrant barbarian may both end up the new king, it's just who did they save and what atrocities did they commit to get there? Etc.

I have but the game didn't last too long.  A bit of PvP started out and you know Evil will be Evil.

I'm thinking the 14 into Con, so 16 thanks to being a dwarf. Though with my Cha getting less important, that may be the 14 (and get +2 from the ASI we get at level 1), for the 16 free for starting Con.

It's deciding what will get more use from their effect - Booming Blade or Green-Flame Blade. The style of a flaming green weapon does feel very cool, and style over substance every time!

Weapon wise, the classic maul comes to mind, but as I can summon a new weapon as an action, I like the flexibility of being able to choose what the situation needs. Ideally, before combat starts so I'm not wasting an action.

In reply to Chalintra (msg # 63):

I've found in party-based evil games, Chaotic Evil has the same flag as Chaotic Neutral usually does in good games. The 'I might cause trouble lulz', mainly a danger with strangers (Asking why they're Chaotic is always very important).