So i was thinking of running a character who's entire thing is about gathering obscure or lost knowledge. But i can't really seem to decided between Wizard or a Bard. Which do you think fits better with that game plan?
Depends on what their "end goal" would be. Are they collecting obscure knowledge in order to preserve it and ensure it is recorded for the benefit for future scholars, or to harness the power of forgotten Arcanum for themselves? Or are they searching for lost myths and legends in order to retell them through their songs/miscellaneous art, or seeking inspiration from historical texts about fallen kingdoms?
Really it boils down to the motivation of the character in this case because either could work, but I'd reckon once some more character specific questions/goals are nailed down, the class choice will be much easier. Going off my gut reaction, I'd say Wizard is more of a fit in terms of the "scholar seeking forgotten knowledge" angle.
I have been poisoned, shot at, run over, bashed, and once dropped an anvil on my own foot. Still alive.
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Current idea is that the character is convinced he is actually the most recent reincarnation of an ancient warrior/mage king. He seeks the lost histories, so that he can better trace his path through history and better understand what his past self's did, and what this incarnation should do.
Basically imagine a spoiled man child who has a VERY active imagination, and very vivid dreams. Chance are he is not, nor was he ever, what he thinks of himself. But being an Aasimar has not helped his delusions of grandeur.
This is a good setup, but the only issue is that it really works for any class, magic or otherwise. In terms of "descended from cool guy, going to find lost history", any random Barbarian can decide he's a descendent of Cu Chulainn and start looking for rune stones to back up his theory, just like any Sorcerer can think his great-great-great-grandmother once bumped into Merlyn at the pub, therefore now he has superpowers. If we stick to the mage king origin, then I would think either Wizard or Sorcerer would be good here. Given an inciting incident like "prophetic dreams" or "delusions of grandeur after reading a history book" would allow for basically any class, it really all depends on what he was doing before his dreams/delusions. "If he was a Bard before, he's still a Bard now", kind of thing. Examples include:
Normal guy with any non-magical profession, had prophetic dreams or read some obscure historical fanfiction, developed powers, deemed these as proof of godhood and set off for adventure? He's a Sorcerer. Student studying magic at some college somewhere, received dreams or read a similar fanfic, insert delusions of grandeur or some personal motive about being the best wizard ever, dropped out to begin adventuring? He's a Wizard. Etc. Etc.
In short, this is a pretty good jumping-off point for a backstory, but not really specific enough to warrant a specific class. Meaning you can just pick whichever one you want to play more and the story makes just as much sense. (Sorry if this is a bit wordy, I like to be thorough)
I have been poisoned, shot at, run over, bashed, and once dropped an anvil on my own foot. Still alive.
Enjoys making DnD characters, video games, and being Australian. Dislikes all forms of frog, especially cane toads (they know what they did), and DnD purists.
Patron: The Undying (literally, the character's prior self/incarnation).
Pact: Pact of the Tome
The character is convinced that they are the most current reincarnation of their mortal 'self' and is talking to a prior incarnation who is the patron. The Pact of the Tome is where everything the character learns about themself is written and kept. The combo fits for style and a bit of Rand al'Thor from the Wheel of Time internal madness.
Plus the patron could be telling lies to get the character to do something so... lots of options and feel in the story space.
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So i was thinking of running a character who's entire thing is about gathering obscure or lost knowledge. But i can't really seem to decided between Wizard or a Bard. Which do you think fits better with that game plan?
Either works, honestly.
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Depends on what their "end goal" would be. Are they collecting obscure knowledge in order to preserve it and ensure it is recorded for the benefit for future scholars, or to harness the power of forgotten Arcanum for themselves? Or are they searching for lost myths and legends in order to retell them through their songs/miscellaneous art, or seeking inspiration from historical texts about fallen kingdoms?
Really it boils down to the motivation of the character in this case because either could work, but I'd reckon once some more character specific questions/goals are nailed down, the class choice will be much easier. Going off my gut reaction, I'd say Wizard is more of a fit in terms of the "scholar seeking forgotten knowledge" angle.
I have been poisoned, shot at, run over, bashed, and once dropped an anvil on my own foot. Still alive.
Enjoys making DnD characters, video games, and being Australian. Dislikes all forms of frog, especially cane toads (they know what they did), and DnD purists.
Times New Roman Supremacy.
Current idea is that the character is convinced he is actually the most recent reincarnation of an ancient warrior/mage king. He seeks the lost histories, so that he can better trace his path through history and better understand what his past self's did, and what this incarnation should do.
Basically imagine a spoiled man child who has a VERY active imagination, and very vivid dreams. Chance are he is not, nor was he ever, what he thinks of himself. But being an Aasimar has not helped his delusions of grandeur.
This is a good setup, but the only issue is that it really works for any class, magic or otherwise. In terms of "descended from cool guy, going to find lost history", any random Barbarian can decide he's a descendent of Cu Chulainn and start looking for rune stones to back up his theory, just like any Sorcerer can think his great-great-great-grandmother once bumped into Merlyn at the pub, therefore now he has superpowers. If we stick to the mage king origin, then I would think either Wizard or Sorcerer would be good here. Given an inciting incident like "prophetic dreams" or "delusions of grandeur after reading a history book" would allow for basically any class, it really all depends on what he was doing before his dreams/delusions. "If he was a Bard before, he's still a Bard now", kind of thing. Examples include:
Normal guy with any non-magical profession, had prophetic dreams or read some obscure historical fanfiction, developed powers, deemed these as proof of godhood and set off for adventure? He's a Sorcerer. Student studying magic at some college somewhere, received dreams or read a similar fanfic, insert delusions of grandeur or some personal motive about being the best wizard ever, dropped out to begin adventuring? He's a Wizard. Etc. Etc.
In short, this is a pretty good jumping-off point for a backstory, but not really specific enough to warrant a specific class. Meaning you can just pick whichever one you want to play more and the story makes just as much sense. (Sorry if this is a bit wordy, I like to be thorough)
I have been poisoned, shot at, run over, bashed, and once dropped an anvil on my own foot. Still alive.
Enjoys making DnD characters, video games, and being Australian. Dislikes all forms of frog, especially cane toads (they know what they did), and DnD purists.
Times New Roman Supremacy.
I'm feeling Warlock as well!
Patron: The Undying (literally, the character's prior self/incarnation).
Pact: Pact of the Tome
The character is convinced that they are the most current reincarnation of their mortal 'self' and is talking to a prior incarnation who is the patron. The Pact of the Tome is where everything the character learns about themself is written and kept. The combo fits for style and a bit of Rand al'Thor from the Wheel of Time internal madness.
Plus the patron could be telling lies to get the character to do something so... lots of options and feel in the story space.