Mellow

Name

Hagai Mellow

Concept

Recruited when the party was in need of a rogue, I was requested to fulfill this role and took some liberty in doing so in order to be more useful to the party when not clearing trapped dungeons. I created:

1. Mellow the Roguelike - a spellcaster better at rogue tasks than a rogue
2. Slinky the Skald - a rogue/bard with a focus on party buffing

This is not that character. By the time the game started six weeks later, there was a real rogue in the party.

Consequently this page now presents a no longer roguelike Mellow the Spellcaster.

Sources

• System Reference Document
• Players Handbook: only for ability advancement
• Races of Destiny: 1 feat "Able Learner"
• Complete Arcane: 1 spell Repair Minor Damage
• Dragon Compendium Volume 1: 1 feat "Enspell Familiar"
• Spell Compendium: 1 spell "Divine Insight"
• Pathfinder Player Companion Alchemy Manual: Craft options
• Magic Item Compendium: 1 item Enveloping Pit

see Appendix 2

Liberties taken

• Craft Trapmaking:
  • Survival is about keeping oneself fed in the wild (The Fowler's Snare is a trap item that grants a bonus to Survival.)
  • 5 ranks in Survival could reasonably grant synergy to Craft: Trapmaking (Int)
  • I currently have noted +2 as a skill synergy and will check its situational applicability if I ever use the skill
• Magic items:
  • since I have spent Feats to be able to craft magic items, five magic items on my sheet have been DIY crafted
  • but 158 XP not deducted
  • this allows me to be level 8 with everyone else at the start of play, rather than level 7.98... aaand then level 8 five minutes later

Standard Operating Procedures

Unless described otherwise, Mellow:
• always has Divine Insight active and shared with Rowena
• sleeps in a Rope Trick with Gumby on watch all night (constructs don't sleep)
• has Gumby stowed at other times
• has Rowena perched on his shoulder normally
• has Rowena secure herself in the familiar refuge (total concealment) at other times
• has a skeleton horse carry his equipment (created with Animate Dead) ridden by Autopilot the homunculus
• parks the skeleton horse in the Enveloping Pit as it has no need to breathe
• casts Goodberry with all of his Level 1 slots remaining at the end of the day, and therefore generally has 280 goodberries on his person at the start of every day
• casts Unseen Crafter with all of his Level 2 slots remaining at the end of the day to perform 8 hours of crafting (each) while the party sleeps. Since Mellow only needs 2h sleep each night he can also Craft without slowing down the party's plans
• Shares with Rowena every Cure, Divine Insight, Produce Flame, and Polymorph spell cast on himself
• obtains Aid Another (+2) from Rowena on every test where it makes sense to do so
• Minor Shapeshift grants 1 temporary hitpoint per hitdie for four rounds as a Swift Action indefinitely. Therefore Mellow is considered to always have +9 temporary hitpoints while awake and conscious, so long as he has at least one level 4 spell slot uncast. When they are lost to damage, they are refreshed as soon as Mellow gets a Swift action.

Mellow the Fellow

Outlook

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Deity: Fharlanghn - God of Roads and Travel

To pull his weight in society, Hagai Mellow masters a trade constructive to both industry and art. Extravagance is the prerogative of the gentry. Their whimsies and acumen support an entire economic ecosystem. While the stability of court employment sharpens his wits, the gamble of adventure keeps his physique in shape. Balance in all things. Life's journey takes him to respectable career opportunities, gruesome dungeon challenges, and every step in between. He appreciates all of it. All experience equips him better - the strict, the good, the bad and the ugly - they all add perspectives he hadn't seen previously, and tools to bring to bear in future encounters. Each encounter is an opportunity to be true to oneself and further fulfill your potential, or to dismiss significant segments of reality by giving way to their opposition. He strives to resist the negligence that anthropocentric bigotry nurtures, since so many valuable lessons are learnt from Nature. He strives for victory without conquest - where everyone wins and nobody loses. He's a cosmic conservationist at heart.

Race

Human

By having a familiar with Low-light and Darkvision, he'll get a warning what's in the surroundings.

By having a homunculus with Low-light and Darkvision, he'll get to see what's in the surroundings via the telepathic link: it "can convey to him or her everything it sees and hears, out to a distance of 1,500 feet." This is probably inadequate for combat, but sufficient for most tasks.

By having Polymorph he gets Low-light and Darkvision himself for 10 minutes each time, three times a day. This is probably long enough to cover day-to-day combat.

Class

SRD Spellcaster:

• type: Arcane
• key ability: Intelligence
• class skills (4 + Craft, Knowledge, Profession):
  1. Autohypnosis (Wis)
  2. Concentration (Con)
  3. Diplomacy (Cha)
  4. Sense Motive (Wis)
  5. Craft
  6. Knowledge (all)
  7. Profession
• saves:
  • good saves: Will
  • poor saves: Fortitude, Reflex
• proficiencies:
  • armour: none
  • weapons: quarterstaff

Hitpoints

Minor Shapeshift grants 1 temporary hitpoint per hitdie for four rounds as a Swift Action indefinitely. Therefore Mellow is considered to always have +9 temporary hitpoints while awake and conscious, so long as he has at least one level 4 spell slot uncast.

These 9 temporary hitpoints are not healed by cure spells. However, they refresh fully the moment Mellow gets a chance to activate a Swift Action. This feat can therefore act a little like a weakened form of Complete Warrior p101 / Libris Mortis p27: "Improved Toughness" which increases hp by HD.

Abilities

Improvements: PHB p22 (the SRD doesn't provide ability advancement for legal reasons or even the XP table)

Saving throws

• Guidance grants +1 competence to a single Saving Throw for 9 minutes

Armour class

• Barkskin grants +4 natural AC for 90 minutes
• Shield of Faith grants +3 deflection to AC for 9 minutes

Attacks

The Balanced Gauntlets of Shillelagh function for 1 minute, thrice per day. They modify a non-magical (but masterwork) quarterstaff. If it is resized in the course of Polymorph, it gains 1d6 per size gained and the assumed Strength bonus applies.

The Quarterstaff is a double weapon:

• wielding it in one hand:
  • attack at BAB +Str
  • deals 1d6+Str / 20 ×2 Bludgeoning
• wielding it in two hands:
  • attack at BAB +Str
  • deals 1d6+1½Str / 20 ×2 Bludgeoning
• wielding it as two weapons:
  • is treated as a one-handed weapon and a light weapon
  • attack at BAB +Str -4/-8
  • deals 1d6+Str/1d6+½Str / 20 ×2 Bludgeoning

Minor Shapeshift grants +2 bonus on melee damage rolls, or a primary claw attack dealing 1d6 points of damage (assuming Medium size), so long as he has at least one level 4 spell slot uncast.

Spells per day

"The spellcaster most closely resembles the sorcerer, though she has fewer spells per day than that class."

"Some spellcasters (such as sorcerers and bards) have a natural talent for spellcasting and essentially employ a spell merely by completing its final portion. An instinctive caster readies spells each day rather preparing them (see page 179 in the Players Handbook). To ready spells for the day, an instinctive caster must first rest for 8 hours. After waking, an instinctive caster requires 15 minutes of concentration to make all his daily spell slots available."

• DC to resist: 10 + spell level + Int(+5)
• The only Spells Known that require saving throws are Sanctuary and Cure (against Undead).
• "When a spell has a target entry, the caster knows when the target makes a successful saving throw or not. When a spell can affect several targets at once, the caster notes each successful or failed saving throw. The caster does not sense successful or failed saving throws when a spell has an area of effect entry instead of a target entry."
• If possible, one level 2 slot is set aside for Rope Trick as a safe place to sleep.
• Any surplus level 1 slots at the end of the day are spent on Goodberry (2d4 (ie 4+1) berries * 8 slots per day, lasting (CL -1) days)
• "When selecting a spell to place into an available spell slot, a character can choose any spell of the slot's level or lower"

Spells known

"Whether arcane or divine, the spellcaster has an array of magical effects at her beck and call. Depending on her choice of spells, she can be a healer or an enchanter, a necromancer or a trickster."

"New spells can be common spells chosen from the sorcerer/wizard spell list, or they can be unusual spells that the sorcerer has gained some understanding of by study."

"Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered sorcerer level after that (6th, 8th, and so on), a sorcerer can choose to learn a new spell in place of one he already knows. In effect, the sorcerer "loses" the old spell in exchange for the new one."

• †: These spells are part of the Cleric or Druid spell list. The Spellcaster instinctively casts these as arcane (like a Bard casting Cure spells). Therefore arcane spell failure chance from armour does apply, even though it wouldn't matter for a Cleric or Druid.
• §: Share Spells allows the Master to cast the following spells and for the Familiar to get their benefit in addition to himself:
  • Cure spells: simultaneously heal Master and Familiar
  • Detect spells: get two chances to notice things as both Master and Familiar get the benefit (such as making a Spellcraft test with Detect Magic)
  • Guidance and Divine Insight: both Master and Familiar get a boost to a skill check each
  • Sanctuary, Shield of Faith and Barkskin: both Master and Familiar get a boost to defence
  • Produce Flame: both Master and Familiar get a buff that allows them to launch 9 flames (d6+5 Fire damage) within 9 minutes
  • Polymorph: both Master and Familiar can assume new forms for double effect or synergistic effect
• Animate Dead:
  grants up to CLx4 HD (ie 32HD) total skeletons and zombies that follow spoken commands.

  • Skeletons:
    • max 20HD base creature, set to d12s
    • requires a 25gp Onyx gem per HD of the skeleton
    • cannot fly with wings
    • NAC is set by size
    • immunity to cold
    • DR 5/bludgeoning
    • Dex +2
    • no feats, skills or special attacks
  • Zombies:
    • max 10HD base creature, doubled to d12s
    • requires a 25gp Onyx gem per HD of the zombie, ie twice the HD of the original creature
    • winged flight is clumsy
    • NAC is set by size
    • DR 5/slashing
    • single action (move, standard, or charge) per round
    • Str +2, Dex -2
    • no feats, skills or special attacks
  • Currently Mellow has 3/32 HD:
    • 3HD: skeletal light warhorse

  Seed of Undeath (Clr 4, Src/Wiz 4) from Complete Mage p116 also produces a controlled zombie (HD limited to your HD) but from a living being slain while under the effect. Its material component is only 1 25gp Onyx gem per HD, not 2.
• Next spells to learn:
  0. • SpC p130: Launch Item: if Shrink Item can reduce Gumby, this can accelerate him; otherwise it can deliver poisoned pebbles
     • BoVD p100: No Light: useful for Gumby's concealment
  2. • Alter Self
     • RoE p191: Unseen Crafter: useful within an Eternal Wand to continue working on craft projects while adventuring
     • SpC p164: Quick Potion: only useful at CL 9 or higher so that the potions created will last longer than 8 hours sleep (to carry over spell slots to the next day)
     • SpC p55: Create Magical Tattoo
     • CArcane p100: Chameleon*
  3. • Shrink Item: required to make Bag of Holding type items or Gloves of Storing; useful for hiding stolen items; would enable Gumby to be launched by Launch Item
     • PlHb p100: Light of Venya ^§ it is like the Cure Serious Wounds of the same spell level (same average healing: CSW 21; LoV: 2×10) but:
       • it has is ranged touch instead of touch
       • you don't get to heal on the first round, can do half the healing on the second round, and the rest of the healing on the third round
       • it has "Target: you" benefiting from Share Spells
       not setting-appropriate Complete Champion p118 "Darts of Life" (Cleric 5) produces a buff that grants 10d8 healing divided among allies, but by level 5, there is stiff competition for spells.
  5. • Arcane Fusion
     • Plane Shift*
     • Secret Chest: required to make Bag of Holding type items
  6. • Smoky Confinement

Languages

Common +Int (+5):

0. Common
1. Celestial (Good outsiders)
2. Infernal (devils, Lawful Evil outsiders)
3. Draconic (dragons, kobolds, troglodytes, lizardfolk)
4. Sylvan (fey, dryads, brownies, leprechauns)
5. Daan (the Plane of Law, Inevitables, formians). Yes, practically useless, I know, but this is a RPG.

Feats

Skill points

• 2 +Int (x4 at first level)
• +1 (+4 at first level)
• All skills are class-skills. (Able Learner: Races of Destiny p150)

• A natural roll of 1 is not an automatic failure.
• Masterwork Tools
• Skill Synergy (and for Autohypnosis)
• (F)amiliar within 5ft grants Alertness
• A Familiar has the same skill ranks as its master (and gains from Skill Synergy) and can Aid Another for a +2 bonus
• Raven Familiars grant +3 to Appraise
• Survival: you can automatically determine where true north lies in relation to yourself, obviating Know Direction.
• Decypher Script can decode a page memorised using Autohypnosis
• Guidance grants +1 to any skill
• Divine Insight grants +13 to any skill
• Polymorph grants racial skill bonuses in addition to +10 Disguise
• Ettercaps have +4 Craft(Trapmaking) racial bonus
• Detect Magic allows Spellcraft check of DC 15 + spell level to identify the strength and one category of the spell (effect)
• When making either a Listen or Spot test, additionally roll for Familiar and Homunculus both mentally linked to the character. (Familiar: +5 Listen; +7 Spot. Homunculus: +1 Listen; +1 Spot)
• This also applies to Search, trained Knowledge tests, etc. - get a second opinion from a Familiar perspective.
• Taking 10: When your character is not being threatened or distracted, you may choose to take 10.
• Taking 20: When you have plenty of time (generally 2 minutes for a skill that can normally be checked in 1 round, one full-round action, or one standard action), you are faced with no threats or distractions, and the skill being attempted carries no penalties for failure, you can take 20. Common "take 20" skills include Escape Artist, Open Lock, and Search.
• Items that might be touching the subject of a polymorph spell (or vice versa), but that aren't exactly equipment, usually don't change form along with the subject. For example, a character chained to a wall with a set of manacles probably ought to just slip out of the manacles (or pop them open) when polymorphing.
• Minor Shapeshift grants +2 competence bonus on Balance, Climb, Jump, and Swim checks.

Crafting

Familiar

Description

Rowena is a black raven perched on Mellow's shoulder, keeping up a running critique on everything going on in the vicinity. Unlike most familiars, she is capable of speaking Common in addition to master/familiar pidgin. She is empathically linked with her master within 1 mile.

Languages

• Speak Common (Su)
• Speak with Master (Ex)
• Speak with Animals of Its Kind (Ex)

Purpose out of combat

1. Aid Another
2. Speak with Animals of its Kind (birds) and anything that speaks Common using Diplomacy 11 +6 (Synergy) -2 (Cha 6) = 15
3. Alertness, with Low-light and Darkvision

Purpose in combat

1. Deliver Touch Spells by landing on friendly units within a mile
2. Join Grapples while polymorphed
3. Produce Flame:
   • Touching an opponent with a touch spell is considered to be an armed attack and therefore does not provoke attacks of opportunity. You may make a normal unarmed attack (or an attack with a natural weapon) while holding a charge. If the attack hits, you deal normal damage for your unarmed attack or natural weapon and the spell discharges. If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates.
   • The familiar can make a melee touch attack to deliver the spell, or the familiar can use a natural weapon to make a melee attack that delivers the spell. In the latter case, the attack must defeat the defender's normal Armor Class, but a hit deals the attack's normal damage plus the spell effect. If the familiar misses with the natural weapon, it is still holding the spell. If the familiar is allowed more than one attack, the first attack in the series that hits delivers the spell.
   • If your attack roll is high enough to hit your target's regular Armor Class (not just its touch Armor Class), you deal unarmed strike damage and you also deliver the spell. If your attack roll fails to hit your target's regular Armor Class, the attack fails. It deals no damage and you don't deliver the spell either. You are, however, still holding the spell, just as if you failed with a touch attack.
   • When considering which appendage of a familiar holds the charge on a touch spell, either use its natural weapon, or: For avians, treat the feet and legs as hands and arms and the wings as legs and feet.
   • Therefore to use Produce Flame from a Polymorphed form requires first Polymorph and then Produce Flame. After that point, any Natural Weapon attack that hits delivers its normal damage plus 1d6+5 Fire. Similarly so for each Grapple check that involves the limb holding the charge.
4. Polymorph:
   • You can share a polymorph effect you cast with a familiar, mount, or other companion with the share spells ability. Both Master and Familiar can assume new forms for double effect or synergistic effect.
   • Feats:
     • the Familiar loses its racial bonus feat: Weapon Finesse
     • the Familiar retains benefits derived from class progression: Use the familiar's Dexterity or Strength modifier, whichever is greater, to get the familiar's melee attack bonus with natural weapons.
     • the Familiar gains the racial bonus feats of its new form (but not selected feats in the monster entry)
   • Skills:
     • the Familiar loses its racial skill bonuses: Listen and Spot
     • the Familiar retains benefits derived from class progression: use either the normal skill ranks for an animal of that type or the master's skill ranks, whichever are better. In either case, the familiar uses its own ability modifiers.
     • the Familiar gains the racial skill bonuses of its new form (but not skill investments in the monster entry)
   • Natural armour:
     • the Familiar loses its racial natural armour: ie, none
     • the Familiar retains benefits derived from class progression: ie, +4 NAC to whatever its form comes with
     • the Familiar gains the racial natural armour base value of its new form
   • Hit points:
     • The familiar has one-half the master's total hit points
     • when the Master polymorphs: Use the master's permanent hit point total when calculating the familiar's hit points. Include hit points from all the master's Hit Dice, including race and class Hit Dice. Include bonus hit points from the Toughness feat and from the master's permanent Constitution score. Do not add or subtract hit points from temporary changes to the master's Constitution score from spells
     • when the Familiar polymorphs: They retain their original class and level, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, hit points, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, and alignment.
   • Natural abilities:
     • the Familiar loses its racial movement; natural weapons; reach; and abilities: fly 40; bite; 0 reach
     • the Familiar retains benefits derived from class progression:
       • Improved Evasion (Ex)
       • Share Spells
       • Empathic Link (Su)
       • Deliver Touch Spells (Su)
       • Speak Common (Su), Speak with Master (Ex), Speak with Animals of Its Kind (Ex)
     • the Familiar gains natural abilities and extraordinary attacks of the new form:
       • Size, Str, Dex and Con adjusting effective attack bonus, grapple mod, reflex and fortitude saves
       • movement modes and integral skill bonuses (eg +8 to Climb and Swim)
       • natural weapons; reach; and Extraordinary Attacks (Ex)
   • heal 1hp per HD
   • any held Touch spell dissipates

Share Spells

• it is a spell, not a spell-like ability
• the caster casts it on himself
• the familiar is within 5 feet 1 mile
• even if the spell description specifies "Target: you" or "Range: personal"
• even if the spell would not affect creatures of the Familiar's type (eg Enlarge Person affecting a Magical Beast)

Abilities

Saving throws

• Improved Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a familiar takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage even if the saving throw fails.

Armour class

• An Int 10 Familiar certainly has the smarts to interpose a shield between itself and the foes it is flying towards / over. A buckler is worn strapped to your forearm; for avians, treat the feet and legs as hands and arms.

Attacks

Movement:

• Average Maneuverability: The creature can fly as adroitly as a small bird.
• It can:
  • not hover on the spot: half speed per round required to stay aloft or fall 150
  • spend 5 movement to rotate its facing by up to 45° with a maximum of 90° turn in its space
  • after moving 5 in one direction, change direction by up to 45°
  • fly at any descending angle at double speed
  • fly at an ascending angle no steeper than 60° at half speed, after flying at least 5 horizontally before ascending
• Carrying Capacity & Encumbrance:
  • 0.25lb (current load)
  • 1.5lb (light load): can fly
  • 3lb (medium load): cannot fly; max Dex mod = +3; check penalty = -3;
  • 5lb (heavy load): cannot fly; max Dex mod = +1; check penalty = -6;
  • 25lb (push or drag)

Feats

• default selected Feats can be changed retroactively by using Psychic Reformation (but not Racial Bonus Feats)
  • this could be performed by a cohort if Leadership were taken
  • a NPC 7th level psion would charge 405gp for this service
• Combat Expertise would improve AC by 5, but a Familiar won't be intelligent enough to qualify for it until level 15.
• Savage Species p39: "Scramble" provides 1/day make Reflex (10+damage dealt from weapon or blow) to avoid its damage. This would mitigate 9-28hp for a critter with 12hp where death causes significant penalties for the master.
• Complete Warrior p101 / Libris Mortis p27: "Improved Toughness" increases hp by HD. Raising a Familiar's Con by 2 would not do this but raising the Master's Con by 4 would. This would improve 12hp to 20hp.
• A level 1 Eternal Wand (Magic Item Compendium p159) casting Augment Familiar (2/day; concentration +1 round / level; use Swift Concentration at level 9+) grants:
  • +4 Str (for melee damage)
  • +4 Dex (to hit, AC, Reflex saves)
  • +4 Con (Fortitude saves)
  • Damage Reduction 5/magic
  • +2 resistance bonus to saving throws
  and costs 820gp. Although this is a 2nd level spell for Sorcerers and Wizards, it is a 1st level spell for Hexblades. Since different classes get access to certain spells at different levels, the prices for two characters to make the same item might actually be different. Calculate the market price based on the lowest possible level caster, no matter who makes the item.
• another way to help a Familiar of pitiful ½d4 HD stay alive is: Planar Familiar from the Spellbook Archive. It:
  • is a Cleric spell that must be cast on your own Familiar (!) so cannot be hired as a service
  • costs 500xp
  • bestows the axiomatic template (from Manual of the Planes p197): it can't be Flatfooted/Flanked unless its Master is too
  • grants fire/electricity/sonic/cold resistance 15, spell resistance 2×HD (overlaps with normal Familiar SR), and a Smite Chaos (Su) attack once per day (add HD to damage)

• A natural roll of 1 is not an automatic failure.
• A Familiar has the same skill ranks as its master (and gains from Skill Synergy) and can Aid Another for a +2 bonus
• Share Spells allows the Master to cast the following spells and for the Familiar to get their benefit in addition to himself:
  1. Guidance grants +1 to any skill
  2. Divine Insight grants +13 to any skill
  3. Polymorph grants racial skill bonuses
  4. Detect Magic allows Spellcraft check of DC 15 + spell level to identify the strength and one category of the spell (effect)

When considering which Body Slots for magical items a Familiar has, for avians, treat the feet and legs as hands and arms and the wings as legs and feet.

Homunculus

Description

Gumby is a 1ft-high, asymmetrically sculpted, humanoid construct made of dark green clay. Unlike most constructs, he is intelligent which grants skills and feats. He is telepathically linked with his creator within 1500ft.

Abilities

Hitpoints

Skills

• Int +2 (x4 at first level)
• Int 10(+0) x 7HD
• = 20

Unusually intelligent for a construct, a homunculus shares its creator's mindset. It literally lives to serve. A homunculus's creator determines its precise features. Homunculi are little more than tools designed to carry out assigned tasks. They are extensions of their creators, sharing the same alignment and basic nature.

• Invisibility grants +20 to Hide and ends if the creature attacks. Gumby has 23 to Hide (+1d20) and takes -20 to Hide if he attacks
• A creature in an area of shadowy illumination can make a Hide check to conceal itself.
• Cloak Dance: You can take a move action to obscure your exact position. Until your next turn, you have concealment. Alternatively, you can take a full-round action to entirely obscure your exact position. Until your next action, you have total concealment.
• Compare this with the Skill Trick: Shrouded Dance "Use move action to gain concealment for 1 round"
• Concealment and Hide Checks: You can use concealment to make a Hide check. Without concealment, you usually need cover to make a Hide check.
• When moving at a speed greater than one-half but less than your normal speed, you take a -5 penalty to Hide. It's practically impossible (-20 penalty) to hide while attacking
• When moving at a speed greater than one-half but less than your full speed, you take a -5 penalty to Move Silently. It's practically impossible (-20 penalty) to move silently while running or charging.

Feats

• Savage Species p40: Virulent Poison adds +2 of the DC of the poison attack

Attacks

Special attacks:

• Spit Poison (Ex): (contact, ranged Touch, 15ft) Fort save DC17 (10 + half HD +2 racial +2 feat) 1 minute sleep (secondary +5d6 minutes). No attack-of-opportunity for natural weapons but -4 in grapples.
• Acid Breath (Su): (15ft line of acid breath weapon) Reflex save DC13 (10 + half HD) 4d6 damage (save for half). No attack-of-opportunity.
• Rapid Shot allows two ranged attacks as a full-round action at -2 to hit (for both attacks)
• Cloak Dance: You can take a move action to obscure your exact position. Until your next turn, you have concealment. Alternatively, you can take a full-round action to entirely obscure your exact position. Until your next action, you have total concealment.
• Facing an Unseen Opponent: (visually undetectable) When facing a totally concealed foe, a creature is denied Dexterity bonus (if any) to Armor Class and the attacker gets a +2 attack bonus as well.
• A tiny character only threatens its own square so can only make attacks of opportunity to opponents moving through its own square. A reach weapon gives it reach 5, so it threatens adjacent squares.
• A construct is immune to poison (especially its own), so suffers no risk from coating itself, door-knobs, thrown weapons, etc. in its poison (or even wyvern poison). It can be cleaned with Prestidigitation when necessary.
• If you shoot or throw a ranged weapon at a target engaged in melee with a friendly character, you take a -4 penalty on your attack roll. Two characters are engaged in melee if they are:
  1. enemies of each other
  2. with 5 of each other
  3. either threatens the other
• A character who shoots or throws a ranged weapon at a target involved in a grapple must roll randomly to see which grappling combatant the attack strikes. That defender loses any Dexterity bonus to AC.

Movement

• Good Maneuverability: The creature is very agile in the air (like a housefly or a hummingbird), but cannot change direction as readily as those with perfect maneuverability.
• It can:
  • hover on the spot: no need to keep flying forward to stay aloft
  • spend 5 movement to reverse without turning around
  • spend 5 movement to rotate its facing by up to 90° with no restriction on how far it can turn in its space (given sufficient movement to spend)
  • after moving 5 in one direction, change direction by up to 90°
  • fly at any descending angle at double speed
  • fly at any ascending angle at half speed, with no need to fly horizontally before ascending
• Carrying Capacity & Encumbrance:
  • 1.5lb (current load): Armour & Shield
  • 13lb (light load): can fly
  • 26lb (medium load): cannot fly; max Dex mod = +3; check penalty = -3;
  • 40lb (heavy load): cannot fly; max Dex mod = +1; check penalty = -6;
  • 200lb (push or drag)

Flightpath: fight or flight

Flightpath: duck roll

Flightpath: bombardment
Hide: d20 +23 -20
Vertical Reach (medium): 8

Saving throws

A creature with no Constitution has no body or no metabolism. It is immune to any effect that requires a Fortitude save unless the effect works on objects or is harmless. The creature is also immune to ability damage, ability drain, and energy drain, and automatically fails Constitution checks. A creature with no Constitution cannot tire

Armour class

Proficiencies

• Base:
  • Proficient with its natural weapons only, unless generally humanoid in form, in which case proficient with any weapon mentioned in its entry (ie, none).
  • Proficient with no armor.
• Penalties:
  • "A character who uses a weapon with which he or she is not proficient takes a -4 penalty on attack rolls."
  • Wearing defences with which the character is not proficient takes the armor's (and/or shield's) armor check penalty on attack rolls and on all Strength-based and Dexterity-based ability and skill checks.
  • The normal: reminder in Tower Shield Proficiency stating that armour check penalty applies "on attack rolls and on all skill checks that involve moving, including Ride" is bogus; there is no such rule.
• Reducing penalties:
  • Paying a premium price for Masterwork which reduce the armour check penalty by 1 (to zero in the case of particularly unimpeding items) mitigates the effect of non-proficiency through expending wealth, rather than Feats.
  • Paying a premium price for Special Materials which reduce the armour check penalty (to zero in the case of particularly unimpeding items) mitigates the effect of non-proficiency through expending wealth, rather than Feats.
  • Enchanting the item with Nimbleness reduces the armour check penalty by 2 mitigating the effect of non-proficiency through expending wealth, rather than Feats.
• Simulating proficiency:
  • Lesser bracers of Archery allow the use of bows as if proficient.
  • Master's Touch grants temporary proficiency with a specific item. It costs a standard action to cast (delaying your entry into combat) and lasts 1 minute per level. Using an Eternal Wand within a Wand Chamber would accomplish this for 920gp.
  • Proficient Weapon explicitly obviates the non-proficiency penalty with that weapon for the cost of an effective +2 enhancement.

Homunculus

Description

"Autopilot" is a 1-ft wide pair of flying goggles featuring the latest in Human-Construct-Interfacing. Unlike most objects, he is an intelligent construct gaining skills and feats. He is telepathically linked with his creator within 1500ft.

Unsurprisingly, these goggles can fly.

Purpose out of combat

1. steer, direct, park and retrieve skeletal horse used with pack saddle to haul sculpting laboratory

Purpose in combat

1. alert Mellow to incoming attacks superior to his armour defences, and reflexively steer him to dodge out of the way for an effective AC of 16 +1d20 against one incoming attack per round
2. push him to move faster for a round (+10 speed for 1hp damage) potentially gaining 40 movement when running

Abilities

Feats

Skills

• Int +2 (x4 at first level)
• Int 10(+0) x 2HD
• = 10

A homunculus's creator determines its precise features. Homunculi are little more than tools designed to carry out assigned tasks. They are extensions of their creators, sharing the same alignment and basic nature.

• Taking 10: When your character is not being threatened or distracted, you may choose to take 10.
• Taking 20: When you have plenty of time (generally 2 minutes for a skill that can normally be checked in 1 round, one full-round action, or one standard action), you are faced with no threats or distractions, and the skill being attempted carries no penalties for failure, you can take 20.
• Ride options include:
  • DC 15: Cover (rider gains +4AC).
  • DC 15: Spur Mount (mount gains +10 speed for the round; deals 1hp)
  • DC opponent's attack roll: Mounted Combat (prevent an attack hitting the mount once per round)
  • Allowing tiny intelligent creatures to mount and ride humanoids is a supported usecase: "You might want to consider letting your familiar use you as a mount. If it does so, it can make a Ride check to claim cover (+4 to Armor Class) for 1 round. This is "soft" cover, and the familiar does not get a bonus on Reflex saves while claiming cover from you."
  • Humanoid-Shaped Mounts: Pushing the bounds of what could be called a mount, some humanoid-shaped creatures can be ridden. Because of their shape and carrying capacity, such mounts are usually two size categories larger than their riders. The saddle for such a creature resembles an open backpack with leg holes. When covering distance, riders prefer to ride facing forward, looking over the mount's shoulder. In battle, riders often find it easier to fight back-to-back with their mounts, essentially riding backward. (Arms & Equipment Guide p91)

Attacks

To-hit and damage rolls in the table above are reduced from a standard homunculus because Autopilot the flying goggles are Pathetic (Str -2). However, if someone does steal Autopilot and wear them himself, once they are secured around the thief's head Autopilot will bite the bridge of their nose (is an attack roll even necessary when someone puts their nose on the tip of your weapon?) and send them to sleep with poison, repeatedly, using the telepathic link to his master in order to relay ambient environs and effect recovery.

Homunculus

Equipment

DIY item crafting and enchanting

All items restricted to characters with Neutral alignments: no extremists to benefit from these labours!

Background

Present Day

Hagai Mellow leant back against the legs of a skeletal horse, heavily laden with a dismantled sculpting workshop, but not the least bit tired from bearing it all day and all night for the past week.

Outside the tent, the rain spattered, masking sounds as he broke open some trail rations - first feeding Rowena, his raven familiar, before tucking in himself. The undead horse needed no food, and nor did the tiny construct in the saddlebags. Any weary traveller happening upon the two roadside shrines to Fharlanghn he'd passed that afternoon would find the handful of Goodberries he'd left.

Where would the road tomorrow lead? Perhaps adventure? But more likely he'd come across a village in need of statue repairs, or a temple with ambitious renovations - they were always lucrative. Whatever it turned out to be, it was bound to be a learning experience and a challenge. Covering the undead pack horse in cloth barding was effective in country lanes but wouldn't go unnoticed in an inn's stables; extremists might even take exception to its entire existence! What with hawkers urging unnecessary purchases to prove loyalty to the economy, many people despise him for repairing, recycling or repurposing to eek out utility a little longer. Mellow could put up with that; each to their own. Worse things happen at sea.

He withdrew a short length of rope from a pouch, hung it from a Rope Trick and crawled inside off the cold, damp ground. Once he and Rowena were settled, he pulled the skeletal horse in too, vanishing from the material plane for the next eight hours. He fell asleep to the patter of rain.

T MINUS 1 day

Mellow had been been leading the breathless horse along the country road as it entered a wood; up ahead the burbles of a river announced a ford was likely. The ever-vigilant Rowena alighted on Mellow's shoulders, describing an ambush prepared ahead.

Mellow had no bone to pick with bandits. He didn't want them injured or exterminated - there are countless reasons why someone would turn to a life of crime in desperate times, and corporeal punishment wasn't the solution, nor was he entitled to teach them a lesson. "Because I can" is seldom a valid justification to interfere with others. His journey may lead him back here to employ and train them one day if he got a chance, but for now he wanted to reach a town and set up shop. If an ambush damaged the horse and it dropped its load, there's no way he could continue unaided.

Reaching into the nearest pannier, Mellow felt the familiar plasticine construct that had cost him so much. "Gumby, up ahead are bandits hiding in shadows near the ford. Take your time." The one-foot-high clay figurine darted off obediently.

After five minutes, Rowena reported the all-clear and Mellow proceeded through the encounter unimpeded. The highwaymen would awaken some minutes later, none the wiser, and no harm done on either side.

He stowed Gumby back in the saddlebags and strode on. The horizon beckoned.

T MINUS 7 days

"There's been a change of plan," Gizmo exclaimed in agitation, bursting into their shared workshop. Gizmo was Mellow's collaborator and an artificer.

"Now they want a passive defence and warning system from pirates and land-based assaults, rather than mobile units?" Mellow was getting fed up of scope-creep.

"No - worse. Morag made adviser. She's questioned our operation. We're to present our progress in ten minutes to the court." Morag had had it in for them for ages.

Well, nothing could be done about it. Mellow gathered up the one prototype they'd completed, its schematics, documentation and basic equipment, dumped them in a box and headed down the helical staircase with his colleague. He sighed inside every time someone called it a spiral staircase - sure it looks like a spiral from one perspective, but it isn't really.

The court was assembled; Morag hovering at Lord Stonecliffe's elbow, gloating sweetly. Gizmo started distributing handouts while Mellow set the box down and took the floor: "My lord, may I present -"

"Just get on with it. Bring it in. Dispense with the histrionics - and we don't need whatever he's handing out. Let's see it." This wasn't going well.

"As you wish, m'lord." Mellow tipped out the box on the red carpet and began, "While we are still working on increasing telepathic range limitations, this prototype represents our work to date in early detection and defeat of coastal assaults and -"

"Very funny. It's an empty box. Now bring my prototype into the chamber... And you meant land-based threats."

Mellow scooped up the tiny clay homunculus and was surprised to hear shrieks of "it's alive!" from various corners of the room. He continued undeterred, "- and indeed land-based assaults by locating and compromising enemy forces so they are significantly weakened upon arrival if they persist. This prototype is the Micro Colonel."

"That? That toy is all you've got to show for the investment so far? I can envisage a world market for maybe five microkernels. I don't know what use one would be to me. It can't intimidate a fly!"

And now the delighted drawl of Morag's jurassic jowls broke into the conversation like a shattering glass bowl, "Is it true that a Golem Manual would cost a fraction of the cost of this prototype?"

Mellow could only nod.

"And that it would have twice the endurance, be able to ignore most damage types, be ten feet tall, and pulverise its opponents?"

There was a clear flaw with this suggestion he and Gizmo had considered initially, "But it would sink like a stone in the sea." The moment the words left his lips and Morag's eyes lit up like Will-o-wisps, he knew he'd fallen for her machinations. Marvelous.

"Nobody in this court has deemed the sea worthy of consideration since Marina. Your microkernel is obsolete. Dismissed." Well that had been anticlimactic.

"Very good m'lord." It pays to be gracious.

"Dismissed. From service. Today," he clarified, "and take that nasty gremlin away with you, and clear out the workshop from my tower - it is to be repurposed as a seer tower for my new adviser."

And that was that.

Appendix 1

[2016-05-30 02:51:34] <mainstreet>	btw, *do* you have interest in joining the group here? That hasn't really been discussed, and I can't, by myself, say it's good, but... you've watched a few games by now.
[2016-05-30 02:53:54] <MeatDog>	I'm interested, yeah, sure. But it seems you have a tight-knit group who all know each other well and coordinate well.
[2016-05-30 02:55:09] <MeatDog>	I am not feeling left out :-)
[2016-05-30 02:55:57] <mainstreet>	Well, the core group of me, Capn, BLusk, and Ieth have been playing for years. But TrueWolves and annafirtree have both only played one game each at this point. (Well, one plus a little for Wolves, as he was here for the start of the current game as well.)
[2016-05-30 03:02:43] <MeatDog>	Ah OK fair enough. Well, I'd be happy to join and play if people would be interested. I've played druids, rogues, a bard, monks, a hexblade (melee sorcerer). It's all been fun.
[2016-05-30 03:03:11] *	mainstreet nods. I suspect capn might appreciate you taking the rogue slot if Anna goes with her original Wizard concept :P
[2016-05-30 03:07:28] <MeatDog>	I was thinking a Neutral (but negative energy) Cleric with a small army of skeletons or zombies would complement the existing cleric quite well. But if thief type skills are required, there's a prestige class in Races of Destiny called Chameleon, open to Humans, which allows them to choose whether they are going to be a mage today, a rogue today, a cleric today, etc.
[2016-05-30 03:11:48] <mainstreet>	It's not a build that's ever occured to me. Could be interesting.
[2016-05-30 03:52:51] <mainstreet>	I start gaming Friday, 6PM
[2016-05-30 03:53:05] <mainstreet>	well, that's the official start time, it's usually closer to 7PM
[2016-05-30 03:54:12] <MeatDog>	Friday 6pm for you would be Saturday 11am for me, which is quite convenient!
[2016-05-30 04:04:19] <mainstreet>	and okay, yeah, now that Wolves won't be around at least to start, definitely a space, because that would make 5

[2016-06-10 04:38:55] <mainstreet>	Sika: Do you want to do a practice D&D run tomorrow? Shadowrun was canceled, but I can see the benefits in a one-off for D&D...
[2016-06-10 04:40:38] <Sika>	Should I play Vivian then?
[2016-06-10 04:40:46] <Sika>	(the wizard)
[2016-06-10 04:41:31] *	MeatDog has http://jackpoint.neocities.org/dnd/mellow.htm
[2016-06-10 04:47:27] <mainstreet>	MeatDog: So, generic spellcaster... is this like a wizard, or not?
[2016-06-10 04:47:43] <mainstreet>	Sika: Possibly. Either way might work. As far as the campaign is concerned it depends on what Capn does.
[2016-06-10 04:48:18] <MeatDog>	It's a Sorcerer (spontaneous casting) based on Int (not Cha) who can cast a small number of known spells, picked from Druid + Cleric + Wizard/Sorcerer spell list.
[2016-06-10 04:48:41] <MeatDog>	It gets no Familiar without taking a feat to do so, no armour, one weapon.
[2016-06-10 04:49:23] <MeatDog>	http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/genericClasses.htm#spellcaster
[2016-06-10 04:50:00] <mainstreet>	Interesting.
[2016-06-10 04:50:42] <MeatDog>	Yep, so it can cast Cure spells as arcane spells, just like a Bard can.
[2016-06-10 04:50:49] *	mainstreet nods
[2016-06-10 04:51:39] <mainstreet>	So, yeah, if Capn goes Ranger you *might* be better off with the Rogue if Mellow here works to do wizard things, but if Capn's character covers enough of the Roguey stuff Wizard might be better.
[2016-06-10 04:52:53] <MeatDog>	I've taken rogue skills. I can detect traps, use Knock to open locks, detect secret doors, all through magic. And I have a sidekick who can dish out the rogue kind of damage if needed - it's just expensive to repair if it gets damaged.
[2016-06-10 04:53:35] <MeatDog>	So my small list of known spells includes "do rogue stuff" spells, plus some backup healing.
[2016-06-10 04:59:04] <Sika>	Hmm. If I worked on a different character, which kind would *not* overlap with anyone? :)
[2016-06-10 05:08:50] <mainstreet>	I mean, the warblade fits the tanky role. We have a cleric. We have a monk (sort of, he'll be in and out). We have you. And MeatDog here. And Capn.
[2016-06-10 05:18:25] <MeatDog>	What about a Ranger/Barbarian? Get the Track feat. Mid-level armour. Rage for battle. Favoured enemies. It's a pretty decent mix.
[2016-06-10 05:18:36] <mainstreet>	Well, Capn might go Ranger.

[2016-07-16 13:22:25] <@Capn_Shoe> So...
[2016-07-16 13:22:33] <@Capn_Shoe> I have to ask this at the start of any new game.
[2016-07-16 13:22:39] <@Capn_Shoe> Who's character is whose, again? :3
[2016-07-16 13:24:17] <@Capn_Shoe> Sika is Vivi, and Meatdog is Mellow.
[2016-07-16 13:24:35] < Mellow_> I am new here, MeatDog, Tony, playing Mellow a male human sculptor (kind of sorcerer, but with a homunculus)
[2016-07-16 13:24:36]  * Capn_Shoe will have to get used to having another person in the party.
[2016-07-16 13:25:01] <@Capn_Shoe> Yeah, I remember you being around, I just keep forgetting you were joining us this time. :d
[2016-07-16 13:27:03] < Mellow_> So I am filling Rogue slot in the party, by request, only I am doing it rather unconventionally as a spellcaster who buffs himself to be rogue-like, but the rest of the time can be a little more flexible.
[2016-07-16 13:27:16] <@mainstreet> uh, Shoe's a rogue
[2016-07-16 13:27:17] <@mainstreet> >>
[2016-07-16 13:27:20]  * mainstreet shrugs
[2016-07-16 13:27:45]  * Capn_Shoe blinks.
[2016-07-16 13:28:12] <@Capn_Shoe> Yeah, I'm a rogue. A rather thiefy one, at that. Not that he steals stuff. Why, that would be wrong. And illegal. >.>
[2016-07-16 13:28:24] <@mainstreet> Eh, more spellcasty doesn't hurt, regardless of how it goes.
[2016-07-16 13:28:34] < Mellow_> Oh? Oh well if things have changed, I can drop quite a bit from my character sheet in that case.
[2016-07-16 13:28:51] < Mellow_> At the time though, the request was for rogue, so I took a little liberty with that :-)

[2016-07-20 22:51:50] *	MeatDog_ has updated http://jackpoint.neocities.org/dnd/mellow.htm now
[2016-07-20 23:37:30] <mainstreet>	So what change?
[2016-07-20 23:37:33] <mainstreet>	changed*
[2016-07-21 09:57:00] <MeatDog_>	mainstreet--AWAY: I dropped the rogue spells (Detect Secret Doors, Find Traps, etc.) and got more utility spells in their place (Repair Light Damage to fix objects and non-living creatures (eg constructs)). I used to have Scribe Scroll so that I could (for a small price) carry over unspent spell slots from one day to the next if I needed to do a lot of trapfinding one day or something; I don't need that now, so I dropped it and ins
[2016-07-21 09:57:00] <MeatDog_>	tead got Enspell Familiar from Dragon Compendium to extend the range at which I can share spells with the familiar - that way I can cast a Cure spell and designate my familiar as the Toucher even if it is further away than 5 feet. I dropped 11 ranks in Disable Device and Search, Open Lock, putting them into Craft, Knowledge Geography, Use Magic Device instead. I got rid of Masterwork Thieves Tools and crafted an additional Homuncul
[2016-07-21 09:57:00] <MeatDog_>	us instead. I added a brief summary of how the Animate Dead spell works so that I don't need to hunt through SRD when/if I use it.
[2016-07-21 10:23:28] <MeatDog_>	I am not entirely sure I need Repair Light Damage as I can use a Craft (20) check to repair a homunculus or I can spend 2000gp-ish to buy repairs for it. I think Produce Flame might be a better choice as I should be able to succeed on the Craft check. I'm uncertain.
[2016-07-21 10:25:09] <MeatDog_>	The spell is fast. The Craft takes time.
[2016-07-21 12:52:32] <MeatDog_>	I did have Unseen Servant to trigger traps; I think I'll drop that and get Produce Flame in its place. That'll work. Vivi may even have Unseen Servant herself.

Mellow the Roguelike (a spellcaster better at rogue tasks than a rogue) was consequently retired having only played the intro session and this Mellow generated instead.

[2016-06-05 07:08:26] <MeatDog>	So, what the set of rolls needed to create a character? 6x 5d6 drop lowest 2; followed by 7d(HD) + max(HD) for 1st level?
[2016-06-05 07:13:16] <mainstreet--AWAY>	yes
[2016-06-05 07:16:02] <MeatDog>	Sweet.
[2016-06-05 07:16:19] <MeatDog>	`roll 5d6 x6
[2016-06-05 07:16:20] <GameServ>	Syntax: XdY [ {-|+|*|/} Z ]
[2016-06-05 07:16:42] <MeatDog>	`roll 5d6 * 6
[2016-06-05 07:16:42] <GameServ>	Syntax: XdY [ {-|+|*|/} Z ]
[2016-06-05 07:16:47] <MeatDog>	`roll 5d6
[2016-06-05 07:16:48] <GameServ>	MeatDog rolled 5d6: 3 4 2 4 1  <Total: 14>
[2016-06-05 07:16:49] <MeatDog>	`roll 5d6
[2016-06-05 07:16:49] <GameServ>	MeatDog rolled 5d6: 6 1 4 2 1  <Total: 14>
[2016-06-05 07:16:50] <MeatDog>	`roll 5d6
[2016-06-05 07:16:50] <GameServ>	MeatDog rolled 5d6: 2 2 6 1 6  <Total: 17>
[2016-06-05 07:16:51] <MeatDog>	`roll 5d6
[2016-06-05 07:16:51] <GameServ>	MeatDog rolled 5d6: 6 4 1 2 1  <Total: 14>
[2016-06-05 07:16:52] <MeatDog>	`roll 5d6
[2016-06-05 07:16:52] <GameServ>	MeatDog rolled 5d6: 2 3 5 3 3  <Total: 16>
[2016-06-05 07:16:53] <MeatDog>	`roll 5d6
[2016-06-05 07:16:54] <GameServ>	MeatDog rolled 5d6: 3 1 1 6 2  <Total: 13>
[2016-06-05 07:18:48] <MeatDog>	So that looks like 11 12 14 12 11 11 to me.
[2016-06-05 07:24:05] <MeatDog>	Yep. OK so hitpoints are 4 + ...
[2016-06-05 07:24:11] <MeatDog>	`roll 7d4
[2016-06-05 07:24:11] <GameServ>	MeatDog rolled 7d4: 1 2 3 2 1 3 1  <Total: 13>
[2016-06-05 07:24:23] <MeatDog>	OK 17 HP. Sweet.

[2016-06-07 16:11:09] <MeatDog>	I'll reroll the 1s from the first character too:
[2016-06-07 16:11:14] <MeatDog>	`roll 1d6
[2016-06-07 16:11:15] <GameServ>	MeatDog rolled 1d6: 2  <Total: 2>
[2016-06-07 16:11:17] <MeatDog>	`roll 2d6
[2016-06-07 16:11:17] <GameServ>	MeatDog rolled 2d6: 2 2  <Total: 4>
[2016-06-07 16:11:19] <MeatDog>	`roll 1d6
[2016-06-07 16:11:19] <GameServ>	MeatDog rolled 1d6: 1  <Total: 1>
[2016-06-07 16:11:22] <MeatDog>	`roll 2d6
[2016-06-07 16:11:22] <GameServ>	MeatDog rolled 2d6: 5 4  <Total: 9>
[2016-06-07 16:11:24] <MeatDog>	`roll 2d6
[2016-06-07 16:11:25] <GameServ>	MeatDog rolled 2d6: 1 1  <Total: 2>
[2016-06-07 16:12:38] <MeatDog>	Wow - looks like 1s and 2s are my lucky number!
[2016-06-07 16:12:44] <MeatDog>	`roll 1d6
[2016-06-07 16:12:44] <GameServ>	MeatDog rolled 1d6: 6  <Total: 6>
[2016-06-07 16:12:46] <MeatDog>	`roll 2d6
[2016-06-07 16:12:46] <GameServ>	MeatDog rolled 2d6: 3 4  <Total: 7>
[2016-06-07 16:12:54] <MeatDog>	My first 6!
[2016-06-07 16:17:06] <MeatDog>	So that looks like 11 12 14 12 11 11 changes to 11 12 18 15 11 13, so 3 attributes rose.

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

The Pursuit of Happiness: a practical Guide to playing True Neutral.
When you find yourself in a morally demanding situation, you have to make choices, those choices will give you an alignment, and even doing nothing is a choice. They have a worldview; they're making a statement. They consciously reject Good values (self-sacrifice, uncompromising rejection of Evil) in favor of other values. And unlike Evil philosophies that, most often, make sense and enthuse you until you figure out that you had not realized all the implications and you don't wanna be such a jerk, Neutral philosophies are easier to follow through with, and actually make sense to most people. Everyone has something deeply important to them, something valuable. In your TN's character case, that's not going to be ideology or strong ideas about how people should behave, or how the world should turn. Because their personal ties is often what they most believe in. Besides, TN people won't alienate their friends by having radically different ideas, and they can understand or at least tolerate most worldviews, which means they can and will enjoy long-lasting personal commitments delightfully devoid of bickering about ethics. True Neutral doesn't have to be an excuse for roleplaying inconsistently, poorly or just dispense with ethical and moral issues entirely. If you're interested in psychological realism and would like to make a case study of how an average, normal, relatable person would react in a D&D setting, TN is your option. In eight cases out of nine, the alignment tends to mask or take precedence over the character; in TN's case, because its prescriptive value is so small, the alignment tends to step back and let the character shine. The truth he's interested in is practical rather than theoretical: theories are judged according to how well they perform in a given context. Various problems need various perspectives and various tools. It is reality's place to judge ideas, rather than the reverse. He's smart enough to realise that "Whatever works" is itself subject to context. It's viable within certain limits, but there are actions so extreme that you can't just treat them as means to an end, because they change you. It's just not worth risking. In such cases, it is better to choose another course of action slightly less efficient and direct, that preserves the person you are. This guy is either an intellectualist, or a sceptic/relativist. He is very good at reasoning and analyzing, and he mostly relies on that to determine his ethical and moral behaviour. Therefore all ethical and moral stances have the same value to him, that's to say exactly none until they're found rational and consistent. Rationality and logic is the criterion by which he sets his course, which makes him textbook TN (though he might drift a bit towards the Lawful side, but nothing irredeemable). Furthermore, seeing as we're not Exemplars made of pure Alignment matter, there is a part of Good, Evil, Law, Chaos in each of us and, like it or not, it's not going away. Thus, it is better to get to know it intimately, accept it and reconcile it with its opposite as parts of the greater whole When you try and ignore it or repress it, it creates imbalance and infighting and always backfires on you eventually. To such a character, what is wrong with the world is not Evil. It's the nature of the clash between Good and Evil (or Law and Chaos), when it's destructive instead of constructive. To restore balance is to be truly free (and yes, to such a character, Chaos threatens freedom as much as Law does, because the personal definition of freedom is not that of absolute indetermination, but that of a judicious action subtly worked into an existing worldly canvas, all things considered). With the wacky way D&D alignment is written (that is, human point of view becoming objective concepts with universal application), a lot of things with alien mindsets end up Evil. What you don't understand, and what seems to follow its own logic (which is very different from no logic at all), should be True Neutral, as a Chaotic label would indicate some patterns that a lot of people actually understand and identify with. Fundamentally, Nature is a primal force that long predates moral or ethical considerations. It's not a moral agent, and indeed it doesn't have an agenda. For the world and for the soul to function, balance must be found between the same forces: Good, Evil, Law and Chaos. Thus the soul and the multiverse mirror each other. This gives TN's spirituality a particular outlook: the multiverse is at once too great to be measured, and profoundly relatable. True Neutral is the alignment of a mortal who's recognized and embraced his condition. By this act of acceptance, he's already transcending it somewhat. Fharlanghn, God of Roads and Travel, resonates more with TN people. Indeed, he's concerned about the journey through life as well as the journey through space. His followers see him as the patron of human experience, who watches over them as they travel through their mortal life, pursuing balance and happiness. Often mock or criticize Good people for being naive, Chaotic people for being irresponsible, Lawful people for being uptight and Evil people for being jerks. Occasionally, applaud Good people for being just, Chaotic people for being free-spirited and Lawful people for being reliable. After all, they mean well and they're your friends.
(Seto)

• Chick publications publish urinary tracts with Richard Dawkins-esque attitude to "research":
  • Dark Dungeons
  • Straight Talk on Dungeons & Dragons
  • Should a Christian Play Dungeons & Dragons?
• Dead Alewives Watchtower:
  • Dungeons & dragons: Satan's Game (1996)
  • Dungeons & dragons (animated motion video, missing the introduction)
• Dead Gentlemen Productions:
  • The Gamers
  • JourneyQuest
• Commercial films:
  • Dungeons & dragons (2000)
  • Dungeons & dragons - Wrath of the Dragon God (2005)
  • Dungeons & dragons - The Book of Vile Darkness (2012)

Appendix 4

Appendix 5

• Realms Help:
  • Character builder
  • Feats
  • Skills
  • Skill tricks
  • Magic
• iMarvinTPA

Familiars:
http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050906a
	a familiar has Hit Dice equal to its own or equal to the master's character level, whichever is higher.
	reasonably assume that a familiar uses its own hit points if they're higher than half the master's hit points.
	A familiar uses its own skill ranks or the master's, whichever are higher.
	A familiar uses its own Intelligence score if it is higher than what its master's level allows.
Libris Mortis p30: Stitched Flesh Familiar
	Hit Points: Use half the master's total, or the familiar's normal, whichever is higher.

Craft Construct:
http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050816a
Homunculus improvements from PathFinder:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/item-creation-feats/craft-construct-item-creation

Homunculus customisation with feats and skills:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/typesSubtypes.htm#constructType
	Skill points equal to (2 + Int modifier, minimum 1) per Hit Die, with quadruple skill points for the first Hit Die, if the construct has an Intelligence score. However, most constructs are mindless and gain no skill points or feats.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/homunculus.htm
	A homunculus's creator determines its precise features. Homunculi are little more than tools designed to carry out assigned tasks. They are extensions of their creators, sharing the same alignment and basic nature.

Wealth by level:
https://www.dndarchive.com/forums/depth-roleplay-qa/character-wealth-level
Level	Gold
8th	27,000 gp

Armour and shields:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/armor.htm#nonproficientwithArmorWorn
	not proficient takes the armor's (and/or shield's) armor check penalty on attack rolls and on all Strength-based and Dexterity-based ability and skill checks.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/armor.htm#masterworkArmor
	All magic armors and shields are automatically considered to be of masterwork quality.
	armor check penalty is lessened by 1.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/armor.htm#armorForUnusualCreatures
	Tiny or smaller humanoid: half price
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/craft.htm
	Pay one-third of the item's price for the cost of raw materials.
	If you fail by 5 or more, you ruin half the raw materials and have to pay half the original raw material cost again.
	Craft: Armorsmithing	DC: 10 + AC bonus
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/usingSkills.htm#skillChecks
	a natural roll of 1 is not an automatic failure.

Enchanting armour and shields:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicArmor.htm#casterLevelforArmorandShields
	For an item with only an enhancement bonus, the caster level is three times the enhancement bonus.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/creatingMagicItems.htm
	Most of the time, they take the form of spells that must be known by the item's creator (although access through another magic item or spellcaster is allowed).
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm#spellcastingAndServices
	The indicated amount is how much it costs to get a spellcaster to cast a spell for you. Spell level x Caster level x 10gp.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/creatingMagicItems.htm#creatingScrolls
	Scroll cost: 12.5 × level of spell × level of caster
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/creatingMagicItems.htm#otherConsiderations
	Once you have a final cost figure, reduce that number if either of the following conditions applies:
	Item Requires Specific Class or Alignment to Use: Even more restrictive than requiring a skill, this limitation cuts the cost by 30%.

Spellbook archive:
	http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/sb/sb20030504x

Official character sheets:
	http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/charactersheets

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/2h3n0f/illegal_pdfs_and_you/
	Until 1984, it was potentially illegal to record something on a VCR, because you were 'pirating' the television broadcast.
	Until 1999 and RIAA v. Diamond Multimedia, it was potentially illegal to rip your own CD onto an MP3 player.
	Both of those have been determined to be legal Fair Use.
	Based on that, scanning your own copy of the book is Fair Use, under the concept of Format Shifting. Using someone else's scan is dubious,