I am entirely new to D&D and fairly new to roleplay games in general. Despite this, my DM decided that if I wanted to play a chaotic evil character, I would have the exclusive right to do so. I don't plan on playing this character right away, but I figure I'd try to get some suggestions for both combat and roleplay before the time comes.
As the title suggests, I want it to be a pyromaniac, but more specifically a spell caster of some sort. Naturally I want primarily fire based spells for combat purposes. Outside of combat, I actually want to moderate how often I cause fires as to not be a nuisance in and out of game. Chocolate is good and all, but having it for all 3 meals of the day quickly ruins it. So my two questions are: a) What class would be good for this, and b) what could be a potential backstory to explain my pyromania?
One possible backstory I can think of would be that my village was looted and burned, and my character now is working to cause something to the extent of a genocide via fire against the race that attacked my village as an act of revenge.
As I said, I am fairly new to all of this, so imput would be both useful and appreciated.
If you want a more positive back story you can pick one of the races that has fire resistance and an innate affinity for fire. I think that are 3 of them, Dragonborn, Fire Genasi, and Tiefling. The pyromania came at an early age due to their innate ability to create and/or control fire combined with their resistance (not immunity, only resistance) to being hurt by fire. He enjoys using his ability to play with fire and it’s fun.
With that as the start of his back story he can be any class. And since fire is destructive, he caused a fire that got him chased out of his childhood village and that experience turned him to evil.
A pyromancer spell I think is seriously underrated is Melf's Minute Meteors, 3rd level evocation for sorcerers and wizards from Princes of the Apocalypse. It basically works like a bunch of weaker fireballs. I like to think that Fireball is for spectacle, Minute Meteors is for practicality. If you want to hit one spot big time, do fireball, but if you want to spread the hurt around a larger area, do minute meteors
I'm very late coming into this but an artificer artillerist or alchemist could be a good match and for race I think a fire genasi would be a good match.
One that might work would be a red (or bronze) dragonborn sorcerer, they have access to a lot of fire spells, have a breath weapon, fire resistance, and a bonus to charisma.
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Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
A pyromancer spell I think is seriously underrated is Melf's Minute Meteors, 3rd level evocation for sorcerers and wizards from Princes of the Apocalypse. It basically works like a bunch of weaker fireballs. I like to think that Fireball is for spectacle, Minute Meteors is for practicality. If you want to hit one spot big time, do fireball, but if you want to spread the hurt around a larger area, do minute meteors
Basically budget meteor swarm
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
There is a good X-files episode about a pyromaniac.
There are many classes that work for this so I will just give a few ideas.
The Draconic Soul Sorcerer would work well if you picked fire as your chosen element.
Xanather's guide has a cool tiefling feat that makes your fire attacks do more damage. Maybe you are a tiefling who was born in the Nine Hells but some how wound up on the Material Plane. Your earliest childhood memories were of intense, all-encompassing hellfire so you long for the heat of flame and set fire to things instinctively. A less demonic way this could be played would be with a fire genasi who was born on the elemental plane of fire.
You could be a circle of the wildfire druid who uses your flames to burn down human settlements to make way for nature. Or maybe you see flame as the greatest form of nature and all of creation is fuel for the fire.
I am entirely new to D&D and fairly new to roleplay games in general. Despite this, my DM decided that if I wanted to play a chaotic evil character, I would have the exclusive right to do so. I don't plan on playing this character right away, but I figure I'd try to get some suggestions for both combat and roleplay before the time comes.
As the title suggests, I want it to be a pyromaniac, but more specifically a spell caster of some sort. Naturally I want primarily fire based spells for combat purposes. Outside of combat, I actually want to moderate how often I cause fires as to not be a nuisance in and out of game. Chocolate is good and all, but having it for all 3 meals of the day quickly ruins it. So my two questions are: a) What class would be good for this, and b) what could be a potential backstory to explain my pyromania?
One possible backstory I can think of would be that my village was looted and burned, and my character now is working to cause something to the extent of a genocide via fire against the race that attacked my village as an act of revenge.
As I said, I am fairly new to all of this, so imput would be both useful and appreciated.
Cleric, light or forge domain. Follower of a fire god.
Sorcerer, draconic bloodline (red dragon) or wild magic. Powers awoken by village burning or vice versa.
Warlock, celestial or fiend patron. Not sure how to tie in to backstory, but can be fire themed.
Wizard, school of evocation. If you can't get fire magic any other way, self study.
In all cases you will want elemental adept feat at level 4 (or 1 if variant human).
If you want a more positive back story you can pick one of the races that has fire resistance and an innate affinity for fire. I think that are 3 of them, Dragonborn, Fire Genasi, and Tiefling. The pyromania came at an early age due to their innate ability to create and/or control fire combined with their resistance (not immunity, only resistance) to being hurt by fire. He enjoys using his ability to play with fire and it’s fun.
With that as the start of his back story he can be any class. And since fire is destructive, he caused a fire that got him chased out of his childhood village and that experience turned him to evil.
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A pyromancer spell I think is seriously underrated is Melf's Minute Meteors, 3rd level evocation for sorcerers and wizards from Princes of the Apocalypse. It basically works like a bunch of weaker fireballs. I like to think that Fireball is for spectacle, Minute Meteors is for practicality. If you want to hit one spot big time, do fireball, but if you want to spread the hurt around a larger area, do minute meteors
"What do you mean I get disadvantage on persuasion?"
I don't know, Sneet, maybe because your argument is "Submit and become our pet"?
-Actual conversation in a game.
I'm very late coming into this but an artificer artillerist or alchemist could be a good match and for race I think a fire genasi would be a good match.
One that might work would be a red (or bronze) dragonborn sorcerer, they have access to a lot of fire spells, have a breath weapon, fire resistance, and a bonus to charisma.
Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
Basically budget meteor swarm
Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
There is a good X-files episode about a pyromaniac.
There are many classes that work for this so I will just give a few ideas.
The Draconic Soul Sorcerer would work well if you picked fire as your chosen element.
Xanather's guide has a cool tiefling feat that makes your fire attacks do more damage. Maybe you are a tiefling who was born in the Nine Hells but some how wound up on the Material Plane. Your earliest childhood memories were of intense, all-encompassing hellfire so you long for the heat of flame and set fire to things instinctively. A less demonic way this could be played would be with a fire genasi who was born on the elemental plane of fire.
You could be a circle of the wildfire druid who uses your flames to burn down human settlements to make way for nature. Or maybe you see flame as the greatest form of nature and all of creation is fuel for the fire.