9th Character, Maïthas Dulys, D&D 3.5

Time for the 9th character of the year! Dungeons&Dragons again, but this time I'm returning to my roots, or rather my revised roots with D&D 3.5! D&D 3.0 is the game I started with more than 20 years ago, just a bit before they updated it to 3.5. Must have been 2002 or so. Now of course, if I'm going with D&D 3.5 instead of another edition of the game or one of the various not quite D&D game I own, it's so I can pull up weird character option and do some class that's just has never been in the game before or since! Nothing as strange as a character using Incarnum (Even all these years later, I still don't really get what they're about) or some silly mechanically broken classed like the True Namer or the Shadow Caster (Which I did actually play and don't really remember the problem with them?). No, I went with a class I have been wanting to play ever since I saw it but never got the chance, the Dread Necromancer!

I've actually been thinking about this character since September of last year, when I was briefly invited to a D&D 3.5 game! I don't really enjoy playing evil character, so I was thinking of a way to make a Necromancy and undead focused character that wasn't evil. What I landed on was an elf who eventually got a half-elf sibling and saw the sibling human parent go through the pain of aging and death, making them realize how impermanent their sibling is. With her spirit in disarray, this elf turned to necromancy, trying to find a way to truly forestall death that wasn't killing the sibling and then reincarnating them over and over until they get elf. I think she also grew close to the sibling's human family, so she's really hoping for something she can spread. While looking at the various undead book of 3.5, I was also reminded of the Necropolitan, another super cool option hiding away in the Libris Mortis, letting you play as a non-evil, level PC friendly undead! Technically, you need to start level 3, as the ritual to turn into a Necropolitan cost too much for a starter character and takes a level from you and then some extra XP, such that a level 2 character would actually revive as a Necropolitan and then immediately implode. I did ignore more of that though and just made her level 1 as a Necropolitan from the start!

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At first, I was making her a high elf, though looking at my option I saw that the Star Elf existed in Faerun, giving a bonus to charisma instead of Dex and the pretty cool abilities to make their weapons and armor into Ghost Touched version instead of extra weapon proficiency and the like. Problem is, these elves are very insular and xenophobic, to the point that they actually live in a demi-plane and are vulnerable to Banishment and other anti extra-planar effect, having specifically problems with human. So, I felt that it didn't work for the backstory, that it was a bit munchkin to try and pick a race just for the stats bonus...but then I remembered that going against your stereotype is the thing to do when playing a non-human, that or going all in the stereotype! Plus, isn't it more poignant, this elf opening herself up to mortals, coming from further along than normal even, and then getting threaten to losing it all? So, I went with it. Went with the standard method of the time for generating stats, 4d6 drop low, arrange as desire. I rolled fire! 11 18 8 10 17 14, with +2 to charisma and -2 to con. It felt dirty, but I put that 8 in con, dropping it to 6, knowing full well she was about to turn undead and lose her Constitution altogether.

That done, I realized I forgotten to name her! So I pulled my copy of Races of the Wild, turned to the  elf chapter and rolled on the faithful elf name table! Maïthas DuLys means something Death Harp Crescent Breeze, how fitting was that first prefix? Maybe she changed her name slightly after becoming undead or maybe there was some nominative determinism at play? Then I typed typed typed the various special feature that Star Elf, Necropolitan and Dread Necromancer gives at level 1, nothing that though they have a very restrained and thematic spell list, they can cast everything from it without preparation, like a Sorcerer! Cool! Also the sheet I used had a very small type size for the spell list! Then it was time for the skills, Dread Necromancer are paying for their focus with a small list, 2+int skill points and no reason to favor intelligence that I could tell. Decided to go with Disguise, so it's easier for her to go among the living, and religion for now as it gives +2 to Rebuke/Command Undead check once you have 5 ranks in there. I also just realized I forgot to do x4 at level 1 for skill points and did x2 for some reason? She has +9 in Disguise and +4 in Knowledge (Religion). Pretty dangerous to not put point in Concentration and Spellcraft, would have liked to put some in Arcana too, but what can you do? Thankfully, it's then that I realized Necropolitan also had the undead traits, meaning she's immune to Fortitude save except those that affect object and her Concentration is based on Charisma instead of Constitution! She also has several immunities and Darkvision to 60ft, but with the important drawback that she's destroyed at 0 HP instead of just dying from -10 to -1 and being unconscious at 0. Scary!

For the starting gear, they forgot to assign starting gold for the new classes in Heroes of Horror, the Archivist (More or less a wizard that cast divine spell) and the Dread Necromancer. Looking online, people suggested copying various class, the sorcerer because of the spontaneous casting, bard because of the martial abilities, beguiler for being a similar ultra-specialized caster class. Ultimately, I shrugged and just gave her a Scythe, Heavy Crossbow, Component Pouch, Chain Shirt and a jewel that's a spell focus for one of her spell. Also a cloak. I think that's reasonable starting gear, taking into consideration she doesn't need bedrolls, blankets, tents, rations and all the little gears you'd want on a living character. For the feat, I went with Spell Focus (Necromancy) at first, but that's not exciting. I cracked open the Libris Mortis again and instead picked the Lifesense feat for the cool flavor. Basically, to her eyes, living beings give light enough to illuminate in a 60ft radius, with bigger creature having bigger radius. I wanted to play with feat a little more, so I loaded up a list of Flaws, as taking Flaws lets you take an extra feat for each flaws. It's not as easy a decision as it sounds however, the flaws are very harsh. I could have been a total dick and pick a bunch of them that just wouldn't affect our cute undead elf and would have made sense for her 6 constitution living self, but that's not fun. Instead I figured with 6 con and then turning undead, she's probably super light! Giving her -4 to resist several maneuver like Bull Rush and Charge and gaining no benefit from charging (aside from the raw movement of it, so it's still something you'd want to do sometime) while still taking all the drawback! The extra feat went to Necromantic Presence, making the undead she control harder to turn by enemy clerics. It also leads to another feat that gives the same undeads +2 to attack rolls and damage. For now, it's pretty much just the kobold skeletons she can summon that benefit for it, but later she'll get way more option.

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 Maïthas is thus completed, she wanders the world seeking riches and knowledge, furthering her own power so she can refine the Ritual of Crucimigration into a form that's not as harsh on the target of the ritual. After all, she wants it to be usable even on children and the elderly, so she can bring her sibling whole family and all those that wants it in a true deathless paradise! She's... she's not heroic, but at least she doesn't want to force undeath on everyone without their consent. Much less creepy than a Beguiler and their focus on enchantment, I'd say! When I saw that design just above, I knew it was perfect for my concept, she's wearing a cute costume with a friendly critter face drawn over her face, so the kids won't be scared when she walked into town! Much more considerate than your average adventurers, you think Hennet care that your kids will see him walking around wearing only belts? Man, I missed the iconics, we never get Regdar getting owned or Neutral Good Gods and their cleric being pure evil in art anymore.