#RPGaDay2022 How Has The Character Changed?

 

When Ulic started his adventuring career he saw things in black and white. As he traveled more he learned that it was possible for bad people to do good things. He also became less naive about how the world works. Last time I used Ulic he’d also become a bit less free spirited, because of the loss of his family (whom he believed were dead but were actually transported to an alternate dimension). 

#RPGaDay2022 Why Does Your Character Do What They Do?

Ulic was born into a life of adventure. His mon and dad were heroes and he was born on a flying ship full of heroes. While he grew up with a chip on his shoulder because of his father's exploits, it was never a question on whether he would follow in the "family business."

#RPGaDay2022 Where Has That Character Been?

 

Going to continue with Ulic for this one. Ulic was born on the Sword Coast. He's traveled across Faerun and visited most of the continents and major cities. He's also been to the Astral Plane and was trapped in the Abyss for a while.

#RPGaDay2022 When Did You Start Playing This Character?

 

I don't like this week's line of questioning. I don't have a character character, so I can't really answer. I'll just go with a random character I love. I started Ulic Razorwing when I was in high school. While I had to write some things in on the character sheet he was made with the character creation software that came with the D&D 3.0 Player's Handbook. I'm pretty sure it was 2001, because our friend Josh was the first to get the books and he got them for Christmas the year they came out.

#RPGaDay2022 Why Has Your Favourite Game Stayed With You?

 
The game that sticks the most with me is the Veritable Conglomeration of Badasses.  Technically this was just one game.  One of the early games Wirty, Chad, and I had involved my first D&D character, Will, meeting Wirty's prismatic dragon (created using Council of Wyrms). Both had flying ships and worked together. We had other characters that we played, but it always came back to those characters and their ships. New characters would be created and they would end up joining up with the crew. There were humans, dwarves, drow, saurials, and even Storath's adopted son, my thri-kreen Karn. At some point, we started referring to the group as the Veritable Conglomeration of Badasses. Eventually Storath ascended to godhood and we went into the next generation. My favorite character from that time was Ulic Razorwing, Will's son. Ulic is one of my all-time favorite D&D characters and was the inspiration for the Wandering Nephil. Below is some Ulic artwork. The first two pieces were done by my little brother, Devan. The last was done by one of my dearest friends, Amber.

As you can tell, I have a lot of great memories and time invested in this ongoing campaign and the guys and I like to reminisce about it every now and again.

Avariels for Swords & Wizardry

I've previously discussed my love for avariels. I've decided to extend that love to Swords & Wizardry.

Elf, Avariel
Hit Dice: 1+1
Armor Class: 4 [15]
Attacks: Sword (1d8) or 2 arrows (1d6)
Saving Throw: 17
Special: Elf Traits
Move: 12, 18 (Fly)
Alignment: Law
Challenge Level/XP: 1/15

Avariels are a rarely encountered group of elves. In ancient times they ruled the skies until a war with dragonkind nearly wiped them out. Avariel are champions of good, though they are quite aloof for groundlings (their name for those that cannot fly). They have a particular hatred for giants, whom like to use their wings to decorate their helmets.

#RPGaDay 2016 - Day 5

Day 5 - What story does your group of players tell about your characters?

Normally if someone brings up one of my character's it's Ulic. He was my Mary-Sue character. Essentially he was the me that I wanted to be. He was quick, intelligent, and handsome.  He was also very angsty. I played him in high school and college and I was very angsty. Still he's the son of my first character and I love him. He still shows up in games, though I've never used him in one of mine. He recently made an appearance in my best friend's game as a tattoo artist friend for an assassin's guild master.

Damn, he looks angsty.

D is for Dwarven War Mug

"It was truly a sight to behold. The biggest, ugliest half orcs I'd ever seen drew their blades and cornered Rathgar. They just laughed when he pointed his mug of ale at them. They weren't laughing moments later he soundly thrashed them with it, though. He didn't spill a drop either. I may need to procure one of those fancy drinking steins. Dwarves... they know how to fight and they know their booze."
-Cade Ashworthy 

Simple Melee Weapon
Name               Cost          Damage              Weight
War Mug        20 GP    1d4 Bludgeoning   1 lb. (empty)

Diplomat's Friend
Weapon, rare

Though it looks plain, the Diplomat's Friend is actually a +1 war mug. The original mugs were given to dwarven emissaries as gifts to foreign VIP's. When the command word (the dwarven word for thirst) is spoken the contents of the mug are turned into dwarven ale. This ale must be imbibed immediately or the liquid with transform back into its original state.

Gregor's Cup 
Weapon, very rare (requires attunement)

This +2 war mug was enchanted for a human barbarian by his avariel bladesinger adventuring companion. Crafted from stone blessed by clerics of Moradin (the barbarian's patron). While attuned to this weapon the owner gains the benefits of the Tavern Brawler feat and none of the disadvantages from being drunk. In addition an enchantment prevents beverages from ever spilling from the mug, even when it is used as a weapon.

Battle Stein 
Weapon, rare
These +1 war mugs are made of the finest metals and gems. Despite their construction beverages in the stein always taste excellent. Beverages (including potions) in the stein can be imbibed as a free action once per round. The steins have secure lids, to prevent spillage. Unlike normal war mugs, battle steins do 1d6 bludgeoning damage.
------------------

This is a revision of a post I made right after 5E came out. I feel like I have a better grasp on the rules now.

Ulic Razorwing - 5E Conversion

"I've been away,
Searching for a reason,
Another purpose to find.
I've sailed the seas,
Fought my many demons,
I've looked to gods in the skies.

I've stood in hell,
Where many had to suffer,
I stared the devil in the eyes.
Walked many roads to witness ancient idols,
And found the great gates of fire.

Had many storms question my conviction,
Gave armies reason to rise.
The hangman's searching for bones he can borrow,
While I escaped in the night,
Fight or flight."

Avenged Sevenfold - Coming Home

I sat down with the 5E Player's Handbook and Ulic's character sheet and converted him to 5E. Originally a fighter/wizard/bladesinger I turned him to a fighter with the eldritch knight build. Essentially he has the same core abilities. Because of how it appears that magic items work, I toned down his equipment section.

The overall process took less than an hour. Honestly, not counting the fluff part of his character sheet, it probably only took 30 minutes.

Ulic - Character Sheet
Ulic - Character Details
Ulic - Spellcasting Sheet

Don't be surprised to see an npc write-up of Ulic in the future as well.

#RPGaDay 8

Day 8 - Favourite Character

I've talked about this before and it comes as no surprise to anyone that knows me, but my favorite character is Ulic Razorwing. Ulic is an avariel bladesinger, and the son of my first D&D character, Will. He's wish fulfillment and all those things I want to be (or did when I was in high school and made him). He's handsome, quick, popular, and heroic.

I played Ulic until he was about 16th level in various groups. He fought orcs and goblins, assassins and pirates, and teamed up with Drizzt and Wulfgar. After I stopped playing him, I continued his stories in fiction with one of my closest friends, Amber. Ulic met his wife, Titania, daughter of a succubus, went to the Abyss (a few times), and became a father. Amber and I stopped talking for a while and she wanted to continue with the characters she'd created so Ulic's life fell apart. Believing his wife and daughter were dead, he decided to turn his roadside inn/tavern into an orphanage and community for those without family.

His enemies (and he had many) destroyed this community and killed many of the residents. Ulic has since rebuilt it. These days he's bitter at the losses he's suffered but he still fights the good fight. He divides his time between recruiting warriors to defend the realm and serving as bartender to his tavern, The Diamond. Ulic was created during 3rd Edition and lived through the Spellplague (which was tough on him because his magic faltered). He's still alive in 5th edition and I'm thinking that I may have a sidetrek encounter in my Tyranny of Dragons game that includes him and his inn.

BTW, his wife and daughter are still alive and one of these days Amber and I will reunite them.

New Games on the Horizon

I've been hanging out with an old friend and I'm pretty excited about two games that she and I have in the works. The first game is a yet to be titled cinematic unisystem game. While I'm technically using Buffy as the core rulebook, the setting will be an amalgamation. I'm pulling things from Ghosts of Albion and Army of Darkness as well. I'd like to get a hold of Eldritch Skies too. The game will be set in the fictional town of Brouillard Rouge (Red Fog). Blame it on my recent addiction to True Blood and the movies I've watched recently. It's just a one on one games, and my player is super psyched. She created a outcast/new girl high school student returning to her hometown after years of living in the big city. She's a gypsy by nature (and blood) and has some unknown ties to the supernatural. The character's been made and she has unspent quality points. Her powers/abilities are up to me. I have some interesting things in mind...

I want to include some southern monsters and legends, so the skunk ape and a few other creatures will be making appearances. I'm going definitely include some of the things I've learned studying voodoo as well. I'm expecting to use werewolves, zombies, vampires, and deep ones. I may even include a mermaid or two.

The other game we're working on (again another one on one) is a revival of our favorite characters. Ulic is going to reunite with his tiefling wife (after many years). I will be the player for the first part of the game (which will use 3.5 rules). However, we're giving the characters another go and after a few sessions they will get a reboot and start as level 1 characters on Golarion (using Pathfinder). I'm even taking his wings away. I will be running the early sessions of Pathfinder and then we'll switch off. This may seem lame to some. Why not just make new characters? I will tell you why. We love these ones and want to give them another shot.

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop - Day 5

First Character to go from 1st to the highest level possible in a given edition (Or what's the highest level character you've ran?)

I've never "maxed" out a character. I believe that highest I've had a character reach is level 16. This feat was accomplished both by Will and his son Ulic.

 I know I repeat myself a lot but Will was a level 16 2nd Edition avariel fighter. His son Ulic is a level 3.5 avariel 6 fighter/5 wizard/ 5 bladesinger. I guess technically speaking with level adjustment Ulic is higher level, though Will had to earn an extra 15% or 20% worth of experience to gain levels so I'm not sure.

My goal is 5th edition to take a character from 1st level to whatever the cap is. It would seem that making Ulic's son (or daughter) would be the route to go with that (keeping the tradition alive), but I think I'm going to break the cycle.

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop - Day 4

First Dragon Your Character Slew (or Some Other Powerful Monster).

I'm a bit embarrassed by this but I can't remember the first dragon I slew. I remember facing them and other powerful creatures in 2nd edition, but I can't remember specific encounters. It kind of makes me sad, but most of my memories of anything before 3rd edition.

Most of my gaming took place during the 3.0/3.5 days. The first truly memorable fight against a powerful opponent I can remember would be when one of the parties Ulic was traveling with took on a balor. This fight was particularly frightening because Ulic was several levels lower than the rest of the party. I believe he was around 12 or 13 and the rest of the party was 16+.  The battle was a long and there one of our rogues, Alexander died. Ulic did the best he could, providing aerial support. When the balor finally died his explosion almost killed Ulic as well. I took more than half hitpoint damage, while flying. I fell unconscious and many feet. Luckily I woke up in time and slipped on a ring of feather falling in time.

30 Day D&D Challenge, Day Fourteen: Favorite NPC

Day 14 - Favorite NPC


I didn't even have a second thought when trying to decide who my favorite NPC of all time is. His name is Gregor.

Gregor is a Moradin-loving human fighter. He's stronger than an ogre and has a good sense of humor. He can throw a hammer like no other (I really think he could give Thor a run for his money). Thanks to the robe of eyes he wears, he's rarely ambushed. Despite being an npc, he started at 1st level like the party and wore the same (non-magical) chain shirt for at least 9 levels. His armor actually has a bit of iconic status in our hearts. He's also my character Ulic's best friend. The pair met while Gregor was working for a thieve's guild. He was the protector of a rogue named Quentin, who was played by the DM's uncle, Daniel. He and Ulic became friends and when Daniel stopped playing Gregor started adventuring with Ulic.

I've never really thought of Gregor as an npc. To me he's always been Wirty's character (which makes sense because Wirty was the DM). I still remember driving to town with Wirty when we came up with the idea of D&D: The Musical based off of our characters. I can't remember all of the lyrics (and I really wish we'd recorded it), but I remember Gregor kept interrupting Ulic and singing "Hail Moradin! Hail Moradin."

30 Day D&D Challenge, Day Eight: Favorite Character You Have Played

Day 8- Favorite Character I Have Played

This one is not going to come as a shock to any of my friends. My favorite D&D character that I've played is Ulic Razorwing. Ulic is a second generation D&D character that I played during the 3rd Era. The last time I played him I believe he was an avariel 6th level fighter, 5 level wizard, 5 level bladesinger (Races of Faerun version). He's had many adventures and traveled across Faerun. He's met famous heroes and villains (Drizzt, Wulfgar, and Jarlaxle), and become a hero in his own right. He's not a one track hero either. He can fight with sword, blade, and words. He also understand the value of stealth. 

I love Ulic. I really do. He still lives in my head, even though I don't get to play him (and haven't in years). I even wrote a novella about Ulic (though it's been lost). 

Below are some pictures of Ulic created by my friends. The colored pictures were drawn by my friend Devan and the (mostly) black and white was drawn by my friend Amber (the co-author of the lost stories). 

New Look and Cool Whovian News

First I'd like to point out my amazing new banner. My good friend Devan,  made it for me. Originally I asked him to sketch my favorite D&D character Ulic(my second generation avariel bladesinger). The pic I've posted here is the WIP. After seeing it I asked Devan if he could make me a banner for this and my Tumblr pages. Being the amazing guy he is, he made one. I think it looks awesome. Now to mess with the rest of the code to get this blog looking spiffy.

In other random news Cubical 7 made a really cool announcement today. In honor of the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who they are going to release source books for each Doctor. They even have a couple of "subscription" packages. I will admit that I'm still going back and watching the original series, but simply from a gaming standpoint I think this idea is fantastic. While the price tag my seem a bit high, they're actually giving a nice little chunk off the total price. Plus they'd look great on a shelf. Here's a pic of the spines of all Eleven books.

U'lik the Razor

I thought I was going to get to give Barbarians of Lemuria a go yesterday, but due to inclement weather my friend couldn't come into town.One of the things I was going to do was create Lemurian versions of characters from our past games. One ally I was going to introduce is my BoL take on my favorite D&D character, Ulic Razorwing. In D&D, Ulic is a one-eyed avariel (winged elf) bladesinger (fighter/wizard). He's youthful, verbose, and heroic (yeah he's my Mary-Sue character, deal with it). A second generation D&D character, Ulic spent much of his youth in Zakhara (which is where he lost his eye).When I played him last, he was the captain of a flying ship. Wanted to tie some of this info into the BoL version. If I ever play BoL, this will be my character.

U'lik the Razor

Attributes		Combat
Strength	0	Brawl	0
Agility	1	Melee	2
Mind	1	Ranged	1
Appeal	2	Defense	1
Careers
Minstrel	2	Lifeblood	11
Mercenary	1	Hero Points	5
Sorcerer	1	Arcane Points	11
Sky Pilot	0

Protection: d6-2 (light armour)
Weapons: Razor (d3)

Languages
Spoken: Beshaari,Lemurian, Sorceric:
Written::Beshaari,  Lemurian, Sorceric

Boons: Carouser
Flaws:

Background
U'lik doesn't know much about his origins. He spent much of his early life among the nomadic tribes of the Beshaar Desert. F'alhlhalan the Poet raised him. He only spoke of U'lik's parents once, saying that they were heroes from beyond the Empty Lands. From his adopted father, he learned the ways of poetry and song.

At the age of 14, U'lik left his tribe and sought to travel the lands of Lemuria. He worked as the sword boy for a mercenary company for a time. It was on an assignment with his company that he was lost in the Kasht Swamp. He was discovered by the crone, Dagda. Admiring the boys quick tongue and sharp mind, the witch saved him and taught him the basics of sorcery. He spent a few years with the witch before his wanderlust overtook him he left.

U'lik tends to project a devil may care attitude. He is just as quick to cut someone down with a sharp retort as with his trusted razor. However, despite his adventurous and outgoing demeanor has a strong sense of right and wrong (which tends to get him in trouble). 

Nostalgia - Avariels

I was looking for something earlier and came across this picture:

I'd forgotten about this pic.It's the avariel picture from the The Complete Book of Elves. The elf book was the first D&D book  I bought. I love(d) that book and as strange is it sounds this picture changed me. It started my obsession with avariels which later turned into an obsession with angels and nephilim.

I've played two avariel.

The first (which I used the Complete Book of Elves to create) was Will, the avariel fighter. Yeah I know the name is original. He was a fun character and of all my character's he's the only one to get to level 20 (we didn't cap levels in 2nd edition).

My other avariel was Will's son, Ulic Razorwing. Ulic was first played in 3.0 and later converted over to 3.5. He's a (homebrew stat) avariel fighter/wizard/bladesinger. He is my all time favorite D&D character and when I think about him it is like thinking about an old friend.


My later Mutants and Masterminds characters, the Wandering Nephil and Kid Nephil are basically my supers versions of Will and Ulic.