Canonfire! Forums-viewtopic-Greyhawk 4e Backgrounds and Feats and the Character Builder

Has anyone worked up Greyhawk specific Backgrounds (per PHB2) or new Feats? If not, lets do so here! If, so, lets see them! As with everything else, I'm still re-learning hawk, so it may take me some time to post some ideas...

I use the Character Builder and one of the nice things is the Campaign Settings control. I hope to develop a small list of Backgrounds/Feats that will give the players the "Greyhawk Feel" - and that I can simply plug into the Campaign Builder.

I know there was a list of feats for 3.0/3.5 in an issue or 2 of Dragon or Dungeon...I'm rambling through my collection to see if I have those as a place to start...
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Wed Jun 17, 2009 12:46 am

The most recent update had some good generic backgrounds that are broad enough to cover Greyhawk without the need to be nation specific but it is a bit annoying that the standard text gets loaded onto the sheet. I recommend deleting the background box on the character sheet and writing up a manual description in the notes for now.

For example one of my pcs is a priest of Olidammara so I gave him the Entertainer background (he plays a lute) which gives him access to Bluff as a class skill. He's already multiclassed into Rogue for Thievery and bought Stealth with a feat.

It might be useful to have a Priest of Olidammara background with Bluff, Stealth, and Thievery to fit with the 1e versions of the speciality priests.

The issue is more a case of what bonuses you get for flavour. So a Baklunish plainsman will have athletics as a benefit but that needs to be recognised as horse lore so they get additional skill bonuses to nature and athletics when dealing with the animals.

Wed Jun 17, 2009 11:50 am

I've been doing much the same as Paul for backgrounds. The generic backgrounds are good enough, though are fairly lacking for setting specific stuff. I do like it though, because even though most of my players are from Salinmoor or surrounding provinces, they have widely different backgrounds.

I for one will be happy if and when they give us the ability to actually create feats and backgrounds of our own with mechanical benefit. I can put in a place holder and even put in a description of it, but I can't add that benefit to the character at all.

The only thing I've been able to add are languages, and place holders.

Wed Jun 17, 2009 11:54 am

Here's one I came up with back when 4E first came out. I think Paul may be using it, maybe not.

Wed Jun 17, 2009 11:56 am

Thu Jun 18, 2009 3:38 am

Yeah that works too - we converted some of these pcs from 1e - 2e - 3e - 4e so we all agreed that we wouldn't worry about building them as we played them, just the end result.

My pc was a 2e dual classed human rogue (scout) who changed class to become a wizard (who changed to a shadow mage following exposure to blackflame in Baltron's Beacon - basically the Spells & Power 2e supplement came out).

In 4e she is an infernal pact warlock with rogue multilcass (bluff from sly dodge) the hunter background (for stealth) and the ghost of Eventinde PP. We decided that the blackflame had altered her to be equivalent to a shadar kai in game stat terms and hey presto.

We are using a similar Channel Divinity power to the one you suggest (range 5 though - it's not a Monty Python joke). It will be interesting to see what new feats are in Divine Power.

Thu Jun 18, 2009 7:02 am

Wow. Just saw how truly crappy the character builder campaign manager is. Only real use is to limit things from published books. Mad

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Thu Jun 18, 2009 8:50 am

Functionality is improving with each update, subject to various bugs sadly. It's a good tool for levelling up more than anything else. Custom items need to be improved so you can occupy a body slot and calculate them in your attack bonuses. Custom languages weren't working last time I looked. Custom deities were ok.

I want the visualiser enabled more than anything else right now - over a year to get it sorted and it isn't even something they are actively working on - NOT impressed.

Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:17 am

Yeah, as I understand it - the visualizer and dungeon builder portions are dead? Now, supposedly, they are working on a campaign manager, which I suppose will just be .exe versions of the java applets on their site. Maybe then they'll have support for custom information in the builder. Sadly I'm sure I'll be done with my first campaign by then. Sad

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Fri Jun 26, 2009 1:42 am

Check out the preview on domains on WotC. Domain feats are a bit like combat style feats only better as they seem to grant a skill bonus too. Divinty feats are sticking with an encounter power usable if you use Channel Divinty - probably as minor or free actions. I think we should be able to map out the domains of the Greyhawk gods in due course. It looks interesting.

Wed Aug 05, 2009 5:30 am

Ok so Divine Power is out. The domains don't seem all that exhaustive or overly comparable but has anybody given any thought to adapting the Greyhawk Gods yet? I'm going to have a pop at Olidammara for one of our pcs but I probably wont have time to look at any of the others. It wont really matter for npcs since you can give them whatever powers and rituals you think appropriate from any class but I like to try and add a deity-specific flavour to my npc 'clerics' if possible.

Kord = Kord
Erathis = St Cuthbet
Raven Queen = Wee Jas
Corellon = Corellon
Sehanine = Sehanine

Wed Jun 30, 2010 2:27 pm

I gave Heironeous Justice, Protection, and War. Protection should perhaps be Strength, and I'd be interested in hearing viewpoints on that.

I reskinned Kord's Favor and the Bahamut multiclass feat from Dragon 378 as Heironeous feats; they seemed to fit well.

Thu Jul 01, 2010 4:00 am

The Traveler's Harlequin PP works really well as a choice for clerics of Olidammara.