3.5 Campaign Help - Build me a PC

[Quinntonia]

So, my gaming group has something we call "Geek-Offs" two to three times a year wherein we get together on a Friday, usually right after work or earlier, and we play straight, sleeping and eating at the same place, until Sunday night. Everyone looks forward to them, we have a blast, and it is all well worth it. Of course, this has many advantages; for one we are able to try out a brand new game that we aren't regularly playing for one weekend and we aren't committed long-term to something, such as we recently did with Shadowrun, and if we decide to play an ongoing campaign (we have two on the go at any given time, which we alternate weeks and play from 2-6pm each Sunday) we can move the plot forward a great deal in one weekend.

So, that is the background we are working with.

I have one player who can only make one of the two campaigns and thus is not involved in the current Ravenloft campaign, but the group chose to have the next Geek-Off be their first Ravenloft Geek-off.

My plan is to finish up the last bits of "Touch of Death" and then move directly into "Feats of Goblyns."

The question is what to do with him. I have a very, very story-centric group so having an PC floating in and then out again isn't easy at the best of times, but we are going t try and make this work.

He and I have worked out some details about what he wants and he is going to let me do the lion's share of character building so he can work best for the weekend. IN the end, he wants to do a Jekyll and Hyde pastiche and while he loves Gothic horror and is well versed in 3.5, he doesn't know Ravenloft all that well.

What we have worked out for his character with an eye to ease and coolness factor (but nothing that will have to be revealed long term, it is only a weekend) is that he is from a landed gentry family from Mordent who sold everything and moved into the family townhouse and devoted his life to science. He fell in love, of course, and was trying to convince her father, who was opposed t the union based on what he had seen this character do to the family fortune. Of course, this being Ravenloft, he became obsessed with unlocking the bestial nature within us all, and through various experiments of which I won't go into great detail, he created a serum which unlocks a feral side to himself, which essentially manifests as a werewolf that acts mechanically exactly as one but is a creation is science based - so far as he knows, his science may have led him to some dark places wherein his greatest achievement coincided with a failed Dark Powers check. He very much wanted to play on the themes in original literary piece, wherein the bestial nature and drive to the serum are sometimes used as a metaphor for morphine addiction as well. So, while the beast is powerful, it is also uncontrolled, and that lack of control is starting to spill over to his normal/sober life in that he is starting to make decisions his normally tightly controlled self.

This then led to his getting into a fight with his lady love, which led to him, in a fit of passion, going to confront the man. Things got out of hand, and he was forced to leave due to the scandal and possible criminal charges.

I had had the Fraternity of Shadows make contact with my team recently, and I thought that they could have offered him a way out if he was willing to insert himself into the group and procure a few items for them/spy.

But, as for the mechanics: I don't want any magic as such for him but I am looking for him to the a Professor/sciencey type that turns into a werewolf for combat.

But what? How? Can I get him a bajillion language and skill slots and keep him pretty combat ineffective unless he "hulks out?"

Some help?

[Ender]

What level are you shooting for? And are there any books that are restricted from this build?

Here's a couple thoughts off the top of my head: Shifters from Eberron were designed as a race that could be "playable" werecreatures. They're heavily watered down, though, so as to be more balanced. They have a racial ability to Shift, which is mechanically similar to a barbarian's rage. They can do this a finite number of times per day. There are feats and prestige classes to increase their beastial nature (the Pre-Errata Weretouched Master being one that gives you a full lyanthrope hybrid form as its capstone). If you're looking for skills, then my personal favorite class is the Factotum. All skills as class skills (that includes Speak Language) and a number of versatile abilities. The Scientist prestige class from Legacy of the Blood is also quite fun. I played a Factotum/Scientist in a very low-magic game and enjoyed it a lot.

[Quinntonia]

Sooo, I don't have any of those book handy. If you could give me page numbers I could see if my friends do?

I definately don't want to give him a class that allows him to do anything magical-y, though.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

The actual natural lycanthrope template is only LA+3. IIRC correctly, your other PCs are around level 7? He could just take the template and 4 class levels and be done with it.

If you were playing pathfinder, the Alchemist seems like a perfect class, except for your desire to have no magic at all. (I mean the mutagen ability is EXACTLY Jekyll/Hyde, pretty much.) http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/adva ... emist.html You could probably drop it right into 3.5 with very little trouble. The extracts are magical, but skinned as alchemical brews. Is that close enough?

otherwise, if you want a skill-monkey, Rogue is pretty much your non-magical option.

Since magic is so built into the fabric of D&D, every time I've seen someone try to make a scientist class or something similar, they end up reskining magic spells anyway. (Personally, I don't have a problem with that, but you might).

[Ender]

The Shifter race can be found in the Eberron Campaign Setting and Races of Eberron. The Weretouched Master is also in the Eberron Campaign Setting. The Scientist is from the Ravenloft sourcebook Legacy of the Blood, page 94. It's true that it's pretty much reskinned magic. It's got some minor differences, but ultimately it's a mage that uses technology in place of magic. In straight 3.5, yeah, Rogues and Factotums are the skill monkeys. Factotums can use a couple spell-like abilities, but you can always just ignore that. While Lycanthropes are only LA +3, you also have to take the animal HD into account. A regular werewolf only has 2 wolf HD, but that's already ECL 5.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Lycanthropes are only LA +3, you also have to take the animal HD into account. A regular werewolf only has 2 wolf HD, but that's already ECL 5.

Right... forgot about that. Can you tell it's been a while since I've statted up a werebeast? Still, ECL 5 leaves a few levels for class levels, if that's the way you want to go. I played a goblin wererat rogue in a non-RL campaign and he was one of my favorite PCs.

[Quinntonia]

Hmmm, yeah they are like 7-9 level right now, so I have room to work with.

[MichaelTumey]

I agree with Gonzoron, the Alchemist class from Pathfinder is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - even in a 3x game, I'd run an alchemist to fit this motif. I might also peruse the available archetypes for something more specific to meet your concept. Although alchemistry is a bit "magic-y", its weaker than most wizard spells and has a very scientific flavor more than arcane.