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  1. #1
    Senior Member Arentak's Avatar
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    Class: Duskblade: Does it have a place in Cerilia?

    The PHB2 class Duskblade seems appropriately elven.

    The 2E typical elf warlord was ftr/wiz, which we don't have anymore.

    Does duskblade capture the essence of the Cerilian Elf magic?

    I'm thinking it doesn't, because of its lack of higher level wizard spellcasting.

    I suspect elf ftr/wizard types are prestige classes

    Like
    Elf Paragon 3, Wizard (Elf generalist) 6, Abjurant Champion 3 (giving bab +8 and caster level 11 at level 12)
    or
    Fighter 2, Wizard 4, spellsword 1, Abjurant Champion 5 (giving bab +10 and caster level 10 at 12th level)

    It seems like it shouldn't be all open and the DM makes each elf randomly.

    Fighter/Wizard conversions from 2E for cerilian elves ought to have a prestige class selected for the campaign to represent them.

    Bladesinger maybe works better then the others (but as an optimizer, UGH, bladesinger is a crappy prc)

  2. #2
    Birthright Developer irdeggman's Avatar
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    Beguiler came out after the magician class of the BRCS did.

    Also the BRCS specifically does not use any classes not in the core 3 books (or more specifically in the SRD).

    I do not think that the beguiler actually works for elves - it is far too human oriented IMO.

    Elves are more focused on charm and enchantments than shadow type of illusions.

    Oh - and by the way welcome to the boards.
    Duane Eggert

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    Senior Member Arentak's Avatar
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    Well, clearly there are no elf magicians.

    But those 2 half-elf ftr4/wiz4 in Aerenwe, are they now 8th level?

    Could they be Duskblade 4(or 5) instead?
    What fighter/wizard "gish" combo sufficiently capture the essence of the elven fighter/wizard in Cerilia?

    I really don't know, I'm just asking for opinions.

    I'm pretty sure it isn't duskblade.

    I'm pretty sure it isn't some bizaare fuffy 5 class combo either.

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    Site Moderator AndrewTall's Avatar
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    Depending on what magic system you use I'd either make them fighter +a few spells or mage + a little combat skill - going for a mid route is unlikely to be successful.

    Mage / thief is better imho than mage / fighter as the lack of heavy armour and hit points makes a front-line combat role dangerous - the mage/thief otoh will sneak around avoiding most combat and having plenty of skills for general use as well (high int and a few rogue levels go a long way skill wise).

  5. #5
    Member Kitch's Avatar
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    Lightbulb

    I was wondering the same thing for my own BR campaign as well (had a player ask me something similar about Duskblades).

    What I've gathered from it is that they are the general response to the unhappy 2e players that favored Elven Bladesingers but felt jipped by the 3e/3.5e Bladesinger Prestige Class.

    As for in Cerilia, I would find it a bit more fitting to replace the ever popular Elven Ranger simply due to the fact that the Ranger has Divine spellcasting/origins (which by Cerilia campaign settings, Elves don't have. Also causes some confusion about Druids in Elven lands as well.)

    Personally, I would allow Duskblades.

  6. #6
    Birthright Developer irdeggman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kitch View Post
    As for in Cerilia, I would find it a bit more fitting to replace the ever popular Elven Ranger simply due to the fact that the Ranger has Divine spellcasting/origins (which by Cerilia campaign settings, Elves don't have. Also causes some confusion about Druids in Elven lands as well.)
    Technically it is not that elves are forbidden from divine casting - but that they are forbidden from casting deity-granted spells.

    Now the BR setting also removed druids from getting their spells "directly from nature" and they had to get them from a deity (i.e., Erik) instead. This thus removed elves from being druids.

    Rangers on the other hand can still get their spells directly from nature. From a logic standpoint it is messy, but it is still "legal" and can be justified. I would go with the spell-less ranger variant instead.

    A case could also be made that the ranger's spellcasting is a remnant from the split of the Sie when they elves were formed (see Blood Spawn supplement). The Sie could cast all priestly and wizardly spells (in 2nd ed that is how spells were designated instead of divine and arcane). The elves retained the wizardly magic and the seelie-fairies retained the clerical (basically druid) casting. Since ranger's spells are so limited compared to those of the druid - it could be seen as remnant. Again - it is a way justifying things.
    Duane Eggert

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    Site Moderator kgauck's Avatar
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    This ranger reasoning appears tortured to me, when it would seem an obvious alternative exists. Elves are master arcanists because they already draw power directly from the land: Mebhaighl. Use the spells from nature argument is trying to use standard D&D when it really doesn't fit (as irdeggman suggests without entirely discarding). Instead, and remember were talking about elves, the nature race, elves draw their power from direct unmediated Mebhaighl. They don't need bloodlines, they can work with this material of the land (nature) directly.

    Its much easier to argue that Sidhe Rangers work with Mebhaighl directly as well. It already is a nature source of magic, grounded in the setting, and doesn't require going back to standard D&D cosmology (which is out of place in BR anyway).

    A spell-less ranger (and the Scout is the best of these IMO) is certainly a possibility, but since when are elves a less magical race, going spell-less more than other races?

    We already have a setting specific source of nature magic, Mebhaighl, and its already associated with the elves. I don't see a need to look further than that.

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