Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Sep 08, 2004 12:45:49	In the House on Gryphon Hill module they have pre-generated PCs ready for use by the players. I have taken a few of these readily made characters and applied them to my own campaign. I have almost converted all of the stats to mesh with my campaign but I am at a loss as to what COM is behind their other ability scores ? I also noticed that one of the Ravenloft fans has the Clerics and Paladin being adherents of the Greyhawk god Heironeous. Will using Heironeous as a deity work for characters that originated in the demiplane of Ravenloft ? ~~~
#2 Mortepierre Sep 08, 2004 13:11:06	In the House on Gryphon Hill module they have pre-generated PCs ready for use by the players. I have taken a few of these readily made characters and applied them to my own campaign. I have almost converted all of the stats to mesh with my campaign but I am at a loss as to what COM is behind their other ability scores ? COM stands for Comeliness, a stat introduced in the (1E) Unearthed Arcana accessory. Basically, the Charisma is the measure of the strength of your personality, while the Comeliness shows just how good-looking you are. I also noticed that one of the Ravenloft fans has the Clerics and Paladin being adherents of the Greyhawk god Heironeous. Will using Heironeous as a deity work for characters that originated in the demiplane of Ravenloft ? If you go strictly by the book (namely the 3.XE RL edition), no since the setting doesn't use the standard deities from the Core rules. Have him change to Ezra or Belenus.
#3 zombiegleemax Sep 08, 2004 13:35:15	COM stands for Comeliness, a stat introduced in the (1E) Unearthed Arcana accessory. Basically, the Charisma is the measure of the strength of your personality, while the Comeliness shows just how good-looking you are. Sounds like a useless mechanic to me; Charisma should handle both of those areas quite nicely. It seems as if they got rid of comeliness in 2nd Edition and with good reason. Thanks for explaining it to me. If you go strictly by the book (namely the 3.XE RL edition), no since the setting doesn't use the standard deities from the Core rules. Have him change to Ezra or Belenus. Thank you again. I think Ezra should do fine. ~~~
#4 Mortepierre Sep 08, 2004 16:42:30	Sounds like a useless mechanic to me; Charisma should handle both of those areas quite nicely. It seems as if they got rid of comeliness in 2nd Edition and with good reason. Thanks for explaining it to me. No problem. Actually, it's not that useless. Earth has known its share of charismatic people who were quite ugly, and of beautiful folks who had less personality than a glass of water. Other games have also introduced the concept of a "beauty" rating with success. Moreover, when 2E introduced new options (in the Player's Option series), Charisma was split into Leadership and Appearance, another way to handle Charisma and Comeliness ... But I guess 6 stats sound better than 7
#5 zombiegleemax Sep 09, 2004 1:28:02	Well why not a cult of Heironeous? You'll never see that name in an offcial product since RL cut itself off as it were in their 3.0 conversion but the Cult of the Morninglord is based on Lathander and the Lawgiver is Bane (both of FR fame). If you want a (small?) batch of followers from an outside deity put them in. Off course you'll have to decide in your campaign who is answering the priest's prayers for spells (H, DPs, other?) - but you really have to do that for all deites anyway. Crazy paladins (and paladin wannabes) make great (N)PCs for the land of mists. The locals secretly just want to believe the shinny knight can make things better, but have so much experience that tells them to keep a low profile, *OR ELSE*. -Eric Gorman
#6 Mortepierre Sep 09, 2004 2:09:11	Well why not a cult of Heironeous? You'll never see that name in an offcial product since RL cut itself off as it were in their 3.0 conversion but the Cult of the Morninglord is based on Lathander and the Lawgiver is Bane (both of FR fame). Simply because Heironeous is primarily the god of knights in shining armor riding forth to right wrongs and vanquish evil. Looking at the domains in existence, I can't find a single one where the local nobles would fit that stereotype (except in Nidala but those already worship Belenus). To be worshipped, you need worshippers and it's no big secret that commoners never rated high on Heironeous' priority list.
#7 zombiegleemax Sep 09, 2004 10:04:22	Simply because Heironeous is primarily the god of knights in shining armor riding forth to right wrongs and vanquish evil. Looking at the domains in existence, I can't find a single one where the local nobles would fit that stereotype (except in Nidala but those already worship Belenus). To be worshipped, you need worshippers and it's no big secret that commoners never rated high on Heironeous' priority list. I actually like HVF's idea; it makes sense to me. After all it is my campaign and although I like staying relatively close to canon it is not a straitjacket for my games. ~~~
#8 Mortepierre Sep 09, 2004 17:03:15	Er .. I didn't say you couldn't do what you wanted in your campaign. All I said was that the gods currently worshipped in RL "make sense" in regard to the local socio-political situation. Heironeous doesn't. Well, you could replace Belenus by Heironeous in Nidala but that's about it. Just my two cents though...
#9 zombiegleemax Sep 12, 2004 23:55:16	I'll grant that Heironoeus would attarck a smaller group of disenfranchised idealists/radicals rather than the estabilshed nobility of any given realm. But that's not any different than the Cult of the Morninglord in Barovia. That the doctrine of Heironeous is a tough sell to the peasants, I most certainly agree. That ought to be part of the charm of trying to RP a member of the "Cult of the Armored Hero." Its just like playing a Paladin in RL. Poor schmucks. But its just about *guaranteed* to generate interesting times at the gaming table! Knights that ride forth is possible in the Core! Especially lone Knights seeking allies from other adventurers. I agree such an organization as the Cult of the Armored Hero should expect a short life expectancy if the infrastructure gains too much visibility! PCs are probably expected to be the tip of the sword and help develop a network of clandestine supporters to aid the organization themselves. Possibilities that spring immediately to mind: (1) The backwaters of Darkon are possible. Azalin is easily crafty enough to manipulate such a Cult into attacking loose ends and upcoming rivals with delusions of adequecy. (2) In Nova Vassa such a group might gain traction as an "answer" to the evils there such as the Black Duke. They might or might not know its true nature. PCs would also have to spend half their time avoiding or battling the church of the Lawgiver law much like churches of Heironeous/Torm battle Hextor/Bane. (3) How about an underground movement in Falkovnia dedicated to the overthrow of Vlad Drakov. (4) How about the same set against Ivan's thugs in Borca (the western half is perhaps underpopulated enough to opperate out of clandestinely). (5) How about a Mordentish sect dedicated to pacifing their border with Verbrek? (6) An anti Malochio group based out of Sithicus? One thing to remember is that its still RL. The foes and enemies of someone who follows some variation of Heironeous far far outweigh any possibly allies. There would be little for a crusading member to fall back upon for practical support from the Cult of the Armored Hero. Even followers of "Heironeous" need to be pragmatic in Ravenloft. Such groups might even have their dogma altered in some way. For example the Vistani might be hated as theives, vagabonds and tricksters. Somewhat true, but limiting and not very open minded. Such an organization would need to operate like the Knights of Shadows - fighting evil where they can and often running when greater evil powers are awakened to their presence. That in itself might be a change from its greyhawk roots. -Eric Gorman