4e Ravenloft Conversion Thread

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Weren't Darkonian elves, like Alanik, going to stay elves? I thought the concensus was that it's Sithican elves who should be converted to eladrin, not Darkon's. Or are you retconning it so his family are Sithican immigrants?

[Lord Soth]

I guess I missed that part of the conversation.

[Lord Soth]

Here's Alanik Ray as an elf, then.

ALANIK RAY
Elf Rogue 10
STR: 8 [-1], CON: 10 [+0], DEX: 18 [+4], INT: 17 [+3], WIS: 19 [+4], CHA: 13 [+1]
ARMOR CLASS: 23, FORT DEFENSE: 17, REF DEFENSE: 23, WILL DEFENSE: 22
INITIATIVE: +9, SPEED (SQUARES): 7
HIT POINTS: 67, BLOODIED: 33, HEALING SURGE: 16, SURGES PER DAY: 6

RACIAL FEATURES: Low-Light Vision, Elven Weapon Proficiency, Fey Origin, Group Awareness, Wild Step, Elven Accuracy
CLASS FEATURES: First Strike, Rogue Tactics (Artful Dodger), Rogue Weapon Talent, Sneak Attack

LANGUAGES: Darkonese, Elven, Falkovnian, Lamordian, Mordentish
SKILLS: Arcana +10, Diplomacy +8, Dungeoneering +11, Endurance +7, Heal +11, History +10, Intimidate +8, Nature +13, Religion +10
TRAINED SKILLS: Acrobatics +14, Athletics +11, Bluff +11, Insight +19, Perception +21, Stealth +16, Streetwise +11, Thievery +14
FEATS: Jack of All Trades, Linguist, Skill Focus (Insight), Skill Focus (Perception), Skill Training (Acrobatics), Skill Training (Bluff)
EQUIPMENT: Goldenfang (+3 Magic Dagger), +2 Sylvan Leather Armor, Diadem of Acuity, +2 Amulet of Health, pistol, bullets (20), silvered bullets (20), flasks (6), thieves' tools, several ritual scrolls

AT-WILL POWERS: Deft Strike, Piercing Strike
ENCOUNTER POWERS: Elven Accuracy, Dazing Strike (1st), Setup Strike (3rd), Sand in the Eyes (7th)
DAILY POWERS: Easy Target (1st), Clever Riposte (5th), Knockout (9th)
UTILITY POWERS: Fleeting Ghost (2nd), Chameleon (6th), Shadow Stride (10th)

And there we go. The only real major change I made was dropping Backstabber for another Skill Training Feat. I considered keeping it and dropping Skill Focus (Perception), especially since it was still a +18 even without the bonus from Skill Focus (+1 from increased Wis score and +2 for being an elf) but nah. If it's a choice between the two, Alanik would go for Perception. So now his Perception is even better.

[Isabella]

Most people seemed to concur that the eladrin are "mystical" (as opposed to "refined") and the elves are "mundane" (as opposed to "woodsy"). I'm not entirely sure if I agree but it forms a nice standard for the moment.

However, I still maintain that Darkon, of all domains, would not have just one kind of elf. It is sitting right next to the Shadow Rift, for Ezra's sake. Alanik Ray can easily be either elf, depending on what the GM wants. Since he was based off Sherlock Holmes, you might want him as just a mundane elf, especially since they get that nice accuracy racial power that could come in real handy. On the other hand, Alanik Ray is not Sherlock Holmes, and the eladrin fey-step might be an interesting touch that separates him from his inspiration.

[Nikolas of the Mists]

Most people seemed to concur that the eladrin are "mystical" (as opposed to "refined") and the elves are "mundane" (as opposed to "woodsy"). I'm not entirely sure if I agree but it forms a nice standard for the moment.

This is not necessarily true mechanically or in existing flavour.

Eladrin receive extra training through their ability Eladrin education.
Sounds pretty refined the way they put it in the book. They also are referred to as city dwellers on more than one occasion and I feel this fits the stereotypical "elven" nobility quite well.

While woodland elves might seem more "mundane" they should still have mystical elements of nature playing into them. They are still a creature of Fey origins and while they may be more "mundane" to some adventurers, to the common folk they are no less alien. A woodland elf in Ravenloft truly has no place to feel home. Shunned by many common folk as outsiders, and facing the dark and foreboding natural world of Ravenloft would surely drive more than one visiting Outlander Elf into despair.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

How the ignorant see elves doesn't have to reflect what they actually are, though. Your typical backwoods peasant in Ravenloft isn't going to be too clear on where the lines are drawn between non-humans. Heck, many would confuse halflings with goblins, let alone elves with eladrin. So making Ravenloft's elves the more "mundane" race OOC doesn't mean they'd necessarily be treated that way by the human majority.

Me, I think it's best if some of Ravenloft's elves have no direct, extant connection to the fey ... not least, because Tepestani Inquisition-based subplots lose a lot of pathos, if they're correct to brand the elf PC as a "dangerous invader from the Feywild".

[Isabella]

Elves are Fey type in the 4e core rules. I don't know how many mechanics are based off of that in 4e, but I'd be hesitant to just throw that out.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

You know that and I know that. But people who actually live in Ravenloft don't get to consult the game rules. Why should anyone there -- even the elves, themselves -- know what an elf's creature-type is?

[Nikolas of the Mists]

The problem is that elves do have a lifespan greater than that of a human, coupled with a legacy of remembering their family and past. Their similarities and characteristics to Eladrin would simply not be overlooked, especially given the scholarly bent of many inside the demiplane of dread.

One thing that I would like to explore would be to use a break in the elven lineage not unlike the seelie/unseelie courts split. A tale of the progrenitors if you will for Ravenloft elves that may or may not reflect their actual origins. The woodland elves and Eladrin could have a (possibly false) racial history not unlike the legends of the Vistani origins.

[Jezred Metofus]

I haven't seen a discussion on Strahd in 4E (unless I glanced over it somehow). I would like to see Strahd presented as he is in I, Strahd and in the original Ravenloft material. His career was that of a military leader who conquered and subjugated Barovia. He was a noble and general long before he dabbled in arcana. The fact that material in 3E (and to some extent 2E) made him solely a necromancer didn't sit well with me.

In 4E, a multiclass Warlord would be a better representation of his past training and exploits. He could multiclass into Wizard, taking powers from that class instead of pursuing a Paragon Path. This gives him the dabbling in spells and rituals. Add the Vampire Lord template and voila.

Thoughts?

[Jester of the FoS]

Strahd, being a monster and NPC, doesn't follow class abilities at all. He's simply Strahd, not a warlord or a wizard. Picking a class would only happen when designing a PC or playable NPC (like vanRichten).
When designing him, warlord and fighter powers might be used (he should definitely have a solid melee attack) but he is predominantly a necromancer vampire and should focus on draining life and blood, domination, and summoning undead.

[Jester of the FoS]

And I know a lot of people will like this thread:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=232432

[Sorti]

7) Last but not least, his magic items. He had a +4 dagger, but I made it +3 (it does an extra 3d6 damage on a critical, so not much of a loss. I also tried to stick to the rules for creating higher-level PC's. I.E. a 10th-level character would get an 11th-level item, a 10th-level item, and a 9th-level item, along with gold equal to the value of a 9th-level item. And a +3 Magic Dagger is an 11th-level item. Everything else is below level, though. I figure if one wanted to, they could take the excess gold and buy him a pretty decent library of ritual scrolls.

And that's pretty much all I got for now. Appreciate any thoughts. Thanks.

I'd keep goldenfang as a +4 golden dagger, since I don't see why we should change our setting due to some PC balancing guideline... It's a signature item...

Ah, and what about a Detective paragon path?

[Rotipher of the FoS]

I second the motion: Goldenfang should stay +4. It's a dagger, after all; it's not as if Ray would be using it as his primary weapon, until he runs out of pistol shots. And he probably won't be wearing his armor under most circumstances -- magical or otherwise, it's hardly in keeping with Dementlieuse fashions -- so that lack should help make up for it, balance-wise.

[Jester of the FoS]

Changing the magical plus of a weapon is pretty minor. If you're going to update someone as a PC they should follow the same rules.