Rogue's Gallery, 3.5: Tenser - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Rogue's Gallery, 3.5: Tenser

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
kelanenprinceofswords
Mar 11, 2006 22:03:34 This version of Tenser is based on the 1st ed. Tenser from Rogues Gallery, the 2nd ed. Tenser from Greyhawk: Folks, Feuds, and Factions, and the NPC Manzorian from the Age of Worms campaign in Dungeon (Tenser with his name changed for those not familiar with AoW). What thinkest thou, mighty grognards?

TENSER (CR 21)
Male human wizard 16/archmage 5
LG Medium humanoid
Init +3; Senses permanent darkvision 60 ft., permanent see invisibility; Listen +9, Spot +9
Languages Common, Draconic, Elven, Sylvan, permanent tongues, empathic link
_____________________________________________________________________________
AC 26 (+3 Dex, +8 armor, +5 deflection), touch 18, flat-footed 23; AC 30, touch 18, flat-footed 27 with shield; AC 34, touch 18, flat-footed 31 with shield and Tenser’s transformation
hp 117 (21 HD)
Resist fire 20 (major ring of fire resistance)
Fort +13, Ref +13, Will +18; Fort +18 with Tenser’s transformation
_____________________________________________________________________________
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee rod of thunder and lightning +12/+7 (1d6+2); +25/+20/+15/+10 (1d6+5) with Tenser's transformation
Base Atk +10; Grp +10; Base Atk +21; Grp +23 with Tenser’s transformation
Atk Options mastery of elements, mastery of shaping
Special Actions arcane fire
Combat Gear 6 potions of cure serious wounds, rod of thunder and lightning, 4 scrolls of greater teleport, 7 scrolls of knock (CL 20th), staff of the magi 39, 5 packets of dust of disappearance
Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 21st):
10th -- maximized delayed blast fireball (DC 26)
9th -- maximized disintegrate (DC 25), Mordenkainen’s disjunction (DC 27), time
stop
8th -- discern location, mind blank (cast daily), Otiluke’s telekinetic sphere (DC 27) (+13 ranged touch)
7th -- maximized enervation (+13 ranged touch), forcecage, Mordenkainen’s
magnificent mansion, prismatic spray (DC 26), spell turning
6th -- greater dispel magic, maximized fireball (DC 22), maximized lightning bolt (DC 22), Tenser’s transformation
5th -- break enchantment, dominate person (DC 23)
4th -- charm monster (DC 22), dimensional anchor (+13 ranged touch), fire shield,
scrying (DC 22), stone skin x2
3rd -- fireball (DC 22), fly, haste, lightning bolt (DC 22), water breathing, wind wall
2nd -- false life, glitterdust (DC 20), invisibility, Melf’s acid arrow (+13 ranged
touch) x3
1st -- feather fall, identify x2, shield x2, Tenser’s floating disc
0 -- detect magic x2, read magic x2
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 21st):
4/day -- teleport
_____________________________________________________________________________
Abilities Str 10, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 27, Wis 11, Cha 18; Str 14, Dex 20, Con 20 with Tenser’s transformation
SQ familiar, permanent spells, scry on familiar, share spells
Feats Combat Casting, Craft Staff, Craft Wand, Craft Wondrous Item, Forge Ring, Improved Spell Capacity [epic], Maximize Spell, Scribe Scroll, Skill Focus (Spellcraft), Spell Focus (evocation), Spell Focus (transmutation), Simple Weapon Proficiency
Skills Concentration +27, Decipher Script +23, Knowledge (arcana) +32, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +24, Knowledge (history) +18, Knowledge (nature) +18, Listen +9, Spellcraft +34, Spot +9
Possessions combat gear plus major ring of fire resistance, ring of protection +5, amulet of proof against detection and location, bag of holding I, belt of many pockets*, bracers of armor +8, major cloak of displacement, headband of intellect +6, Heward’s handy haversack, slippers of spider climbing, vest of resistance +4*
Spellbook spells prepared plus all other wizard spells in Player’s Handbook and Spell Compendium
* Item from Complete Arcane
_____________________________________________________________________________
Arcane Fire (Su): +13 ranged touch, 600 ft. range, deals 5d6 damage plus +1d6 per spell level used to create.
Contingency (Sp): If Tenser is affected by any unwanted enchantment, transmutation, or curse, break enchantment is triggered.
Mastery of Elements (Su): Alter a spell with the acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic descriptor so that it utilizes a different element than the one it normally uses. The spell’s casting time is unaffected. The caster decides whether to alter the spell’s energy type and chooses the new energy type when he begins casting.
Mastery of Shaping (Su): Alter burst, cone, cylinder, emanation, or spread spells so as to leave one or more “holes” in the area or effect. Those within such holes are not subject to the spell’s effect. Each hole must be at least a 5-foot cube. Any shapeable spell has a minimum dimension of 5 feet instead of 10 feet.
#2
zombiegleemax
Mar 11, 2006 22:20:45 Personally, in my mind, I would think that Tenser wouldn't have the identify spells and would have three of the Tenser Floating Disk spells memorized.
#3
pauln6
Mar 12, 2006 3:38:02 Fantastic job! The only issue I take is with alteration of stats for ageing. It seems that too many of the official npcs are treated as being immune to these rules, which seems like DM cheating!

The physical stats for Tenser were originally taken in from the Greyhawk issue set in 585 CY (10 years ago) at which time (I think) his real age was 60 and his biological age was 48 (based on info from Gem of the Flaneass I think). This means that his biological age should now be 58, which means he's passed the threshold for 'old' in the DMG so all his physical stats should be -2 and his mental stats should be +1.

Also his intelligence was only 17, and his charisma was 18, so I tried to maintain that balance while bearing in mind Intelligence is way more important to him in 3.5. I ended up with S14*, D14, C14, I20, W12, Ch20 (*including a Girdle of Giant Strength since Tenser invented one that worked for wizards in 2e). So in the end, not much different to your build apart from him being a bit more frail and a bit better at his power broking due to a higher Charisma.

Do people want to convert more famous npcs to 3.5? There's a villains thread with loads of potential candidates!
#4
pauln6
Mar 12, 2006 3:40:39 Oh - and he should probably have the Leadership Feat since he has a cohort (Cymria) and numerous henchmen.
#5
kelanenprinceofswords
Mar 12, 2006 6:16:44
Personally, in my mind, I would think that Tenser wouldn't have the identify spells and would have three of the Tenser Floating Disk spells memorized.

If he were going adventuring, I agree that Tenser would have a few discs prepared. My reasoning for the identify spells was for purposes of his interactions with PCs who might seek his council, possibly regarding unknown magic items discovered on their latest adventure. (Of course, even a group of 1st-level PCs can identify their own items, so perhaps the discs are more appropriate anyway.) Thanks for your input, WizO_Cat!
#6
kelanenprinceofswords
Mar 12, 2006 6:22:12
Fantastic job! The only issue I take is with alteration of stats for ageing. It seems that too many of the official npcs are treated as being immune to these rules, which seems like DM cheating!

The physical stats for Tenser were originally taken in from the Greyhawk issue set in 585 CY (10 years ago) at which time (I think) his real age was 60 and his biological age was 48 (based on info from Gem of the Flaneass I think). This means that his biological age should now be 58, which means he's passed the threshold for 'old' in the DMG so all his physical stats should be -2 and his mental stats should be +1.

A good observation, pauln6. I hadn't thought of the age detail, but if I had, I would have modified T's stats to reflect his advanced years. The devil is in the details, as they say! (In the 2nd ed. days, they would have said the baatezu is in the details, to avoid the further freaking-out of parents and church leaders . . . .) ;)
#7
thanael
Mar 12, 2006 12:58:48 Very nice stats! And with the research to back it up.

Also a neat idea for a thread! Keep them coming. I might contribute one or two myself.

As for the aging modifiers:I believe in the Old Age category they would actually be -3 physical and +2 mental as the effects are cumulative with Middle Age.

Aging in the SRD
#8
pauln6
Mar 12, 2006 17:54:29 You are indeed correct sir. However, Tenser was already middle-aged at the time his stats were first printed so we can legitimately suppose that any adjustments for the first -1/+1 were taken into account.

I think Jallarzi loses out the most, since her starting stats have her at 33 so she will suffer the -1 to her physical stats (most of which were rubbish to start with) for middle age, and she is now well on her way to old age, being what.. 48 now?

Marial also suffers in this way, although I'm not sure how to categorise her... It seems to me that she should be a bit part player, but she seems too high level to be a mere cohort and just too damn powerful (what now 15th level or something?) to be a non-entity. She's higher level than Jallarzi was when she was invited to join the Circle!

I cheated in my campaign and bumped her back down to level 12, also giving her a level of Rogue to reduce her overall spell-casting ability. Even then, an 11th level wizard still seems pretty powerful to me! Am I being mean?
#9
thanael
Mar 13, 2006 3:26:58 Ah I see. Reasonable.

Interesting take of Jallarzi. Did you make her get the red dragon bracers from an avatar of Kord btw? They always remind me of Kord's equipment and he has been known to dally with mortal women...

As for Marial i don't know. With the Leadership feat you can get cohorts of up to 2 levels lower than yourself if you got the CL, Charisma and other modifiers. What level is your Jallarzi again?
#10
pauln6
Mar 13, 2006 6:03:50 Yeah - I think that Jallarzi was originally listed 15th level in 591 CY but then in another supplemenmt was listed at 17th. So that would stack if Marial was listed as 2 levels lower in the same supplement.

My campaign is relatively low magic and I suppose I feel a 15th level wizard should be doing something useful instead of bumming around the back alleys of Greyhawk playing second fiddle to Jallarzi. How do you even gain xp at that level if all you're fighting are street hoodlums? I'm one of those people who believes that NPCs should only gain levels if they are doing something that would net them enough xp to gain levels and I don't see how that's possible when bumming around Greyhawk. It's the reason why national leaders tend to gain more levels in war-torn countries and why Jallaezi's boyfriend is still 18th level after 15+ years of teaching.

I suppose we must assume that Marial does other, secret, more dangerous missions for the Circle to justify a 3 level increase since... 581 CY? (Whenever Vecna Lives was set - actually, Vecna Lives alone would have netted her quite a bit of xp - lol).

Still, I think I'm rambling off topic! Great job on Tenser! More, more, more!
#11
zombiegleemax
Mar 14, 2006 14:49:05 Wow. A WizO popped in. We must be doing something subversive. How are Tom, Dick and Harry going? We may need to make a break for it.
#12
zombiegleemax
Mar 16, 2006 8:09:53 What did the WizO do/say?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 kelanenprinceofswords Mar 11, 2006 22:03:34	This version of Tenser is based on the 1st ed. Tenser from Rogues Gallery, the 2nd ed. Tenser from Greyhawk: Folks, Feuds, and Factions, and the NPC Manzorian from the Age of Worms campaign in Dungeon (Tenser with his name changed for those not familiar with AoW). What thinkest thou, mighty grognards? TENSER (CR 21) Male human wizard 16/archmage 5 LG Medium humanoid Init +3; Senses permanent darkvision 60 ft., permanent see invisibility; Listen +9, Spot +9 Languages Common, Draconic, Elven, Sylvan, permanent tongues, empathic link _____________________________________________________________________________ AC 26 (+3 Dex, +8 armor, +5 deflection), touch 18, flat-footed 23; AC 30, touch 18, flat-footed 27 with shield; AC 34, touch 18, flat-footed 31 with shield and Tenser’s transformation hp 117 (21 HD) Resist fire 20 (major ring of fire resistance) Fort +13, Ref +13, Will +18; Fort +18 with Tenser’s transformation _____________________________________________________________________________ Speed 30 ft. (6 squares) Melee rod of thunder and lightning +12/+7 (1d6+2); +25/+20/+15/+10 (1d6+5) with Tenser's transformation Base Atk +10; Grp +10; Base Atk +21; Grp +23 with Tenser’s transformation Atk Options mastery of elements, mastery of shaping Special Actions arcane fire Combat Gear 6 potions of cure serious wounds, rod of thunder and lightning, 4 scrolls of greater teleport, 7 scrolls of knock (CL 20th), staff of the magi 39, 5 packets of dust of disappearance Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 21st): 10th -- maximized delayed blast fireball (DC 26) 9th -- maximized disintegrate (DC 25), Mordenkainen’s disjunction (DC 27), time stop 8th -- discern location, mind blank (cast daily), Otiluke’s telekinetic sphere (DC 27) (+13 ranged touch) 7th -- maximized enervation (+13 ranged touch), forcecage, Mordenkainen’s magnificent mansion, prismatic spray (DC 26), spell turning 6th -- greater dispel magic, maximized fireball (DC 22), maximized lightning bolt (DC 22), Tenser’s transformation 5th -- break enchantment, dominate person (DC 23) 4th -- charm monster (DC 22), dimensional anchor (+13 ranged touch), fire shield, scrying (DC 22), stone skin x2 3rd -- fireball (DC 22), fly, haste, lightning bolt (DC 22), water breathing, wind wall 2nd -- false life, glitterdust (DC 20), invisibility, Melf’s acid arrow (+13 ranged touch) x3 1st -- feather fall, identify x2, shield x2, Tenser’s floating disc 0 -- detect magic x2, read magic x2 Spell-Like Abilities (CL 21st): 4/day -- teleport _____________________________________________________________________________ Abilities Str 10, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 27, Wis 11, Cha 18; Str 14, Dex 20, Con 20 with Tenser’s transformation SQ familiar, permanent spells, scry on familiar, share spells Feats Combat Casting, Craft Staff, Craft Wand, Craft Wondrous Item, Forge Ring, Improved Spell Capacity [epic], Maximize Spell, Scribe Scroll, Skill Focus (Spellcraft), Spell Focus (evocation), Spell Focus (transmutation), Simple Weapon Proficiency Skills Concentration +27, Decipher Script +23, Knowledge (arcana) +32, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +24, Knowledge (history) +18, Knowledge (nature) +18, Listen +9, Spellcraft +34, Spot +9 Possessions combat gear plus major ring of fire resistance, ring of protection +5, amulet of proof against detection and location, bag of holding I, belt of many pockets, bracers of armor +8, major cloak of displacement, headband of intellect +6, Heward’s handy haversack, slippers of spider climbing, vest of resistance +4 Spellbook spells prepared plus all other wizard spells in Player’s Handbook and Spell Compendium * Item from Complete Arcane _____________________________________________________________________________ Arcane Fire (Su): +13 ranged touch, 600 ft. range, deals 5d6 damage plus +1d6 per spell level used to create. Contingency (Sp): If Tenser is affected by any unwanted enchantment, transmutation, or curse, break enchantment is triggered. Mastery of Elements (Su): Alter a spell with the acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic descriptor so that it utilizes a different element than the one it normally uses. The spell’s casting time is unaffected. The caster decides whether to alter the spell’s energy type and chooses the new energy type when he begins casting. Mastery of Shaping (Su): Alter burst, cone, cylinder, emanation, or spread spells so as to leave one or more “holes” in the area or effect. Those within such holes are not subject to the spell’s effect. Each hole must be at least a 5-foot cube. Any shapeable spell has a minimum dimension of 5 feet instead of 10 feet.
#2 zombiegleemax Mar 11, 2006 22:20:45	Personally, in my mind, I would think that Tenser wouldn't have the identify spells and would have three of the Tenser Floating Disk spells memorized.
#3 pauln6 Mar 12, 2006 3:38:02	Fantastic job! The only issue I take is with alteration of stats for ageing. It seems that too many of the official npcs are treated as being immune to these rules, which seems like DM cheating! The physical stats for Tenser were originally taken in from the Greyhawk issue set in 585 CY (10 years ago) at which time (I think) his real age was 60 and his biological age was 48 (based on info from Gem of the Flaneass I think). This means that his biological age should now be 58, which means he's passed the threshold for 'old' in the DMG so all his physical stats should be -2 and his mental stats should be +1. Also his intelligence was only 17, and his charisma was 18, so I tried to maintain that balance while bearing in mind Intelligence is way more important to him in 3.5. I ended up with S14, D14, C14, I20, W12, Ch20 (including a Girdle of Giant Strength since Tenser invented one that worked for wizards in 2e). So in the end, not much different to your build apart from him being a bit more frail and a bit better at his power broking due to a higher Charisma. Do people want to convert more famous npcs to 3.5? There's a villains thread with loads of potential candidates!
#4 pauln6 Mar 12, 2006 3:40:39	Oh - and he should probably have the Leadership Feat since he has a cohort (Cymria) and numerous henchmen.
#5 kelanenprinceofswords Mar 12, 2006 6:16:44	Personally, in my mind, I would think that Tenser wouldn't have the identify spells and would have three of the Tenser Floating Disk spells memorized. If he were going adventuring, I agree that Tenser would have a few discs prepared. My reasoning for the identify spells was for purposes of his interactions with PCs who might seek his council, possibly regarding unknown magic items discovered on their latest adventure. (Of course, even a group of 1st-level PCs can identify their own items, so perhaps the discs are more appropriate anyway.) Thanks for your input, WizO_Cat!
#6 kelanenprinceofswords Mar 12, 2006 6:22:12	Fantastic job! The only issue I take is with alteration of stats for ageing. It seems that too many of the official npcs are treated as being immune to these rules, which seems like DM cheating! The physical stats for Tenser were originally taken in from the Greyhawk issue set in 585 CY (10 years ago) at which time (I think) his real age was 60 and his biological age was 48 (based on info from Gem of the Flaneass I think). This means that his biological age should now be 58, which means he's passed the threshold for 'old' in the DMG so all his physical stats should be -2 and his mental stats should be +1. A good observation, pauln6. I hadn't thought of the age detail, but if I had, I would have modified T's stats to reflect his advanced years. The devil is in the details, as they say! (In the 2nd ed. days, they would have said the baatezu is in the details, to avoid the further freaking-out of parents and church leaders . . . .) ;)
#7 thanael Mar 12, 2006 12:58:48	Very nice stats! And with the research to back it up. Also a neat idea for a thread! Keep them coming. I might contribute one or two myself. As for the aging modifiers:I believe in the Old Age category they would actually be -3 physical and +2 mental as the effects are cumulative with Middle Age. Aging in the SRD
#8 pauln6 Mar 12, 2006 17:54:29	You are indeed correct sir. However, Tenser was already middle-aged at the time his stats were first printed so we can legitimately suppose that any adjustments for the first -1/+1 were taken into account. I think Jallarzi loses out the most, since her starting stats have her at 33 so she will suffer the -1 to her physical stats (most of which were rubbish to start with) for middle age, and she is now well on her way to old age, being what.. 48 now? Marial also suffers in this way, although I'm not sure how to categorise her... It seems to me that she should be a bit part player, but she seems too high level to be a mere cohort and just too damn powerful (what now 15th level or something?) to be a non-entity. She's higher level than Jallarzi was when she was invited to join the Circle! I cheated in my campaign and bumped her back down to level 12, also giving her a level of Rogue to reduce her overall spell-casting ability. Even then, an 11th level wizard still seems pretty powerful to me! Am I being mean?
#9 thanael Mar 13, 2006 3:26:58	Ah I see. Reasonable. Interesting take of Jallarzi. Did you make her get the red dragon bracers from an avatar of Kord btw? They always remind me of Kord's equipment and he has been known to dally with mortal women... As for Marial i don't know. With the Leadership feat you can get cohorts of up to 2 levels lower than yourself if you got the CL, Charisma and other modifiers. What level is your Jallarzi again?
#10 pauln6 Mar 13, 2006 6:03:50	Yeah - I think that Jallarzi was originally listed 15th level in 591 CY but then in another supplemenmt was listed at 17th. So that would stack if Marial was listed as 2 levels lower in the same supplement. My campaign is relatively low magic and I suppose I feel a 15th level wizard should be doing something useful instead of bumming around the back alleys of Greyhawk playing second fiddle to Jallarzi. How do you even gain xp at that level if all you're fighting are street hoodlums? I'm one of those people who believes that NPCs should only gain levels if they are doing something that would net them enough xp to gain levels and I don't see how that's possible when bumming around Greyhawk. It's the reason why national leaders tend to gain more levels in war-torn countries and why Jallaezi's boyfriend is still 18th level after 15+ years of teaching. I suppose we must assume that Marial does other, secret, more dangerous missions for the Circle to justify a 3 level increase since... 581 CY? (Whenever Vecna Lives was set - actually, Vecna Lives alone would have netted her quite a bit of xp - lol). Still, I think I'm rambling off topic! Great job on Tenser! More, more, more!
#11 zombiegleemax Mar 14, 2006 14:49:05	Wow. A WizO popped in. We must be doing something subversive. How are Tom, Dick and Harry going? We may need to make a break for it.
#12 zombiegleemax Mar 16, 2006 8:09:53	What did the WizO do/say?