I’m going to be starting a new Dragonlance campaign soon beginning in the War of Souls. Thus far, one of the characters (in a precursor to this game) has seen one of the spirits roaming about, and he sort of questions his sanity. I was going to add to his doubtful sanity by introducing a kender nightstalker as an NPC. Imagine if you’re seeing spirits when nobody else is and the only one who believes you is a kender!
I’m trying to flesh the little bugger out some, and I was wanting to get some ideas on this. Mainly, I’m looking for interesting items, equipment, clothing, etc. I’ve got a few ideas from Shroud in Key of Destiny, but I’m looking for something more.
What sorts of interesting kender items, equipment, or clothing might a kender nightstalker have? Would they have weaponry that is different from a normal kender’s?
Ghost Touched HoopakHave him convinced his Kender Body Compass is attuned to 'ghost detection'.
He, of course, needs a Kender Spoon of Turning.
Holy Water of Fizban... I'll let you decide what that is....
... actually I just had a mental image of the Ghostbusters as Tinker Gnomes but I'll not go into that....
Originally posted by Nived
Name him 'Egon', and at some point quote "The twinkie theory." Also at some point have him declare "I ain't afraid of no ghost."
:heehee
Have him convinced his Kender Body Compass is attuned to 'ghost detection'.
Ooh, good one.
He, of course, needs a Kender Spoon of Turning.
But of course. ;)
Holy Water of Fizban... I'll let you decide what that is....
... actually I just had a mental image of the Ghostbusters as Tinker Gnomes but I'll not go into that....
Originally posted by pddisc
Give us some idea of what you already have, and what kinds of things we can give him - does he *really* need a magic weapon? What kind of level is he? Afflicted or not? History? Age? Proximity to major events/people?
To be honest, I haven't fleshed him out too much yet. I've "borrowed" a few ideas from Shroud, but I don't want him to be a Shroud clone.
(Great, first we have Tas clones, and now we're going to have clones of Thanator "Shroud" Grave-Eyes and Nightshade Pricklypear from Ashes and Amber.)
He's going to be around 6th - 8th level, and is a true kender. I don't think he really needs a magic weapon. He's probably going to be in his mid-20's.
I haven't fleshed out his history yet, but that brings up a good point. Why does he see ghosts? I was thinking that perhaps he had a friend who died, and he's seen his friend's spirit ever since. Not sure.
BTW, how does Specter Quickfoot sound for a name? He would be the latest addition to my ever-growing Quickfoot family of kender. :D
Anyway to a more serious point than my last post. I was thinking that a Kender Nightstalker, whom by their nature come in contact with undead whenever possible would want a weapon to bypass the damage reduction of Skeletons and Zombies (which always seem to hang around all the really interesting undead).
So they'd want a weapon that has both slashing and bashing damage. Looking at the handy Kencyclopedia's Kender Handbook I can see a couple of options. The Chapak is a nice possibility, the weapon of choice of Kronn Thistleknot, the axehead produces the slashing while the slingshot produces the bludgeoning. The Sashik is another option, a sash that with waited ends that can be used as a whip (slashing if I'm reading the handbook right) or can be used as a sling (again, bludgeoning).
I always like to see kender using kender weapons.
Originally posted by Nived
Always nice to expand on a family of NPCs.
Actually, I played a couple of them, had one as an NPC, and my wife played the sister in a one-shot. Unfortunately, my wife wasn't the role-playing sort, so that character never went anywhere.
I'll keep your ideas in mind for weapons. I like my kender to use kender weapons as well.
Going beyond weapons, I'd like to see what people thought about the very look of a nightstalker and what sorts of interesting items he might have in his pouches.
For his look, I figure a nightstalker would dress in darker clothing. Something not so flashy, unless of course they really want to grab the attention of the undead (as mentioned in a post above). What about a nightstalker's hair?
As for pouch items...I'm a bit stuck at Shroud. Grave dust, a skull (Scuttles...tee hee), a fragment of bone...these are all great. I'm just stuck trying to think of something more.
if you want to use humour, when someone asks the kender whats wron, have him awnser "I see dead people"
weapon?hoopak!(duh!)
items? small, valuless gems (like the ones used to raise dead, only less valuble), husks of valuble gems (the burned out husks of gems used to raise dead), grave stuff, and typical kender stuff.
Anyway, have you considered jewlery? A couple rings made from the bones of exotic creatures (whom as Specter tells it were not only undead but nice enough to let him have it, though maybe they just dropped it, either way they clearly weren't using them anymore.) He could have similarly fashioned ear rings.
You might want to consider having him have short hair (blasphemy I know) but have his reasoning be, "Have you ever tried to get gum out of your hair? Ectoplasm is the same way...."
So for stuff in pouches, some flowers from a grave might do - equally, they can be braided into hair, or used as some type of flower-wig if he doesn't have hair.
Depending on whether the kender 'borrows' stuff from graveyards, he could be adorned in lots of valuable jewelry from rich people having been buried with them. It could make a good rp situation if some local NPC notices the kender wearing the ruby pin his grandmother wore at her funeral... "But she said I could have it!".
I just had a mental image of the Ghostbusters as Tinker Gnomes but I'll not go into that
How about a tinker gnome spirit companion? Following the kender everywhere, talking non-stop about what things he wants to create and build, 'like-minded' as the description goes... so suggests building traps for ghosts? Go on, give him one of those trap things. Better than a simple chapak.
How about something playing with negative energy? Something that would cause damage to living things, but heal the undead? A glove, or stick, or something like that? Kind of like vampiric touch in reverse, maybe.
Wasn't there some articles in the Tobril about burial practices? Where is this set so that the kender can be exploring the 'right' kind of burial sites?