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My own favourite build was Beguiler/Assassin Moony with Aumaua body type, because, well --  imagine a huge brightly glowing dude trying to sneak up to someone.  He was also very good at chain-charming everyone and making them fight each other so we had tons of fun in Seeker, Slayer, Survivor.  :biggrin:

 

Romanced Tekehu for maximum awkwardness, what with the same mum and all. 

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My own favourite build was Beguiler/Assassin Moony with Aumaua body type, because, well --  imagine a huge brightly glowing dude trying to sneak up to someone.  He was also very good at chain-charming everyone and making them fight each other so we had tons of fun in Seeker, Slayer, Survivor.  :biggrin:

 

Romanced Tekehu for maximum awkwardness, what with the same mum and all. 

 

 I wish Moon Godlike had an option to call Tekehu 'big brother'. Or at least awkwardly call him out on religious incest when getting hit on.

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im trying to think where my roleplaying builds taking me next.

 

my mc until now was an attempt to recreate the original inquisitor - reborn and hunting for redemption. echoing the past without realising it - a former petty criminal turned priest of eothas.

 

she was a wood elf to match iovaras race. resolve was maxed to reflect the personal strength required to persist through lifetimes, even unknowingly. she had a sideline in mechanics and bows.

 

in poe2 i was torn between multi-classing to itinerant or zealot. went with ghost-heart itinerant in the end. had an antelope that i named iovara - a manifestation of forgiveness from beyond the grave.

 

now im feeling my mc has to reflect someone being screwed over by circumstances beyond their control. an unwilling vessel for a guilt-ridden soul, dragged into other peoples battles, lumbered with unwanted responsibility, forced to bear witness to world changing events - yet someone who survives and occasionally triumphs.

 

we had ulysses in new vegas. the poe mc is now starting to feel like odysseus. i need to come up with an appropriate class/race/stat combo. swashbuckler's feeling good atm, but we'll see.

I AM A RENISANCE MAN

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I can't imagine a Death Godlike growing up kind and loving haha.

 

Isn't that literally the godlike stereotyping that permeates several characters' negative experiences (esp pallegina and her questline in Deadfire) and is mentioned in character creation as basically the racism that results in the terrible treatment of death godlikes in many cultures (being killed at birth)?

 

You're even given a chance to be godlike-racist in Pallegina's quest line by making a comment about Skaen godlikes (basically as a rationalization for the research being done to identify godlikes preibrth) and you get angry commentary from some members of your party (e.g. serafen).

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More on topic - I've played a priest of skaen (multiclass) several times, and it's a very weird roleplaying tension, because cruel is one of your favored dispositions and some of the encounter outcomes are definitely cruel (e.g. oathbinder's sanctum as a skaenite, or the wapau jungle encounter as a skaenite), but the properly skaen-like outcome for some quests is definitively good (if not necessarily benevolent), e.g. helping Biha get on board the ship after Botaro is executed (you get Skaen-specific dialogue options that mentions helping her out). Not sure the writers completely figured out Skaen's portfolio.

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More on topic - I've played a priest of skaen (multiclass) several times, and it's a very weird roleplaying tension, because cruel is one of your favored dispositions and some of the encounter outcomes are definitely cruel (e.g. oathbinder's sanctum as a skaenite, or the wapau jungle encounter as a skaenite), but the properly skaen-like outcome for some quests is definitively good (if not necessarily benevolent), e.g. helping Biha get on board the ship after Botaro is executed (you get Skaen-specific dialogue options that mentions helping her out). Not sure the writers completely figured out Skaen's portfolio.

 

Skaen is not against doing good. As long as you do it by inflicting pain on the oppressors.

 

But considering that Skaen is Woedica's lapdog and you can't have a god of the oppressed without oppressors, then I guess hypocrisy is in his portfolio as well. :shrugz:

Edited by InsaneCommander
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 Not sure the writers completely figured out Skaen's portfolio.

 

But considering that Skaen is Woedica's lapdog and you can't have a god of the oppressed without oppressors, then I guess hypocrisy is in his portfolio as well. :shrugz:

 

He's Steerpike from Gormenghast imo.

 

also dont see "hypocrisy" here myself, just the dialectic.

I AM A RENISANCE MAN

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 Not sure the writers completely figured out Skaen's portfolio.

 

But considering that Skaen is Woedica's lapdog and you can't have a god of the oppressed without oppressors, then I guess hypocrisy is in his portfolio as well. :shrugz:

 

He's Steerpike from Gormenghast imo.

 

also dont see "hypocrisy" here myself, just the dialectic.

 

A matter of opinion, but I think all his talk of punishing the oppressors is bs.

 

See how he treated my character in PoE1:

 

 

 

She was an aristocratic Skaen priest.

Skaen.png

 

You can see his priority is serving Woedica and not punishing the oppressors. :facepalm:

 

 

Edited by InsaneCommander
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You can see his priority is serving Woedica and not punishing the oppressors. :facepalm:

 

Yep, I always viewed him as a god of sadistic schadenfreude. Would gleefully torture some formerly privileged sod when he's down, never actually rebel against the tyrant. He's just a lowly pressure valve of Woedica's.  :down:

 

Personally I find his kit --  kick someone who's down while resentfully licking the boots of your master -- particularly contemptible and cannot bring myself to play as a Skaenite, even though I had no problems Bleak-walking over everyone.

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Personally I find his kit --  kick someone who's down while resentfully licking the boots of your master -- particularly contemptible and cannot bring myself to play as a Skaenite, even though I had no problems Bleak-walking over everyone.

 

My character gave up after that dialogue. In Deadfire she became an Assassin.

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Skaen is not against doing good. As long as you do it by inflicting pain on the oppressors.

 

But considering that Skaen is Woedica's lapdog and you can't have a god of the oppressed without oppressors, then I guess hypocrisy is in his portfolio as well. :shrugz:

 

 

 

In defense of Skaen, he might just be biding his time, living under the oppressors thumb, waiting for the right moment to stab Woedica in the back.

 

Edit: On second though, that seems strange to me. Skaen is about the oppressed. If he kills Woedica, then he loses his status as opressed. So he clearly cannot rebel against Woedica. She - in the immortal words - complete him.

Edited by Frak
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Nerf Troubadour!

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Skaen is not against doing good. As long as you do it by inflicting pain on the oppressors.

 

But considering that Skaen is Woedica's lapdog and you can't have a god of the oppressed without oppressors, then I guess hypocrisy is in his portfolio as well. :shrugz:

 

 

 

In defense of Skaen, he might just be biding his time, living under the oppressors thumb, waiting for the right moment to stab Woedica in the back.

 

Edit: On second though, that seems strange to me. Skaen is about the oppressed. If he kills Woedica, then he loses his status as opressed. So he clearly cannot rebel against Woedica. She - in the immortal words - complete him.

 

Skaen is that which sacrifices itself to free others from oppression.  Ugly, bloody, spiteful, and brutal, but constantly fighting in the name of a freedom that he knows he can never taste.

 

He's Grimdark Moses, always dying once the promised land is in sight.  (Minus the lawgiving stuff.)

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In defense of Skaen, he might just be biding his time, living under the oppressors thumb, waiting for the right moment to stab Woedica in the back.

 

Edit: On second though, that seems strange to me. Skaen is about the oppressed. If he kills Woedica, then he loses his status as opressed. So he clearly cannot rebel against Woedica. She - in the immortal words - complete him.

 

Well said. My criticism is for the character, not the game or the devs. I think they did a very good job creating him ( and the other gods).

 

It was very interesting playing as one of his priests in PoE1. Specially because my character eventually gave up on the faith.

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I guess theres an argument to be made that woedica and skaen are twin aspects of punishment - one representing punishment from authority, the other, punishment from below.

 

The thing i find curious about skaen is that hes the kind of god i could see having traction IRL.

 

I feel anyone whos lugged pallets on a casual contract, kept their mouth shut out of fear and dreamt about justice could imagine worshipping him.

 

Credit to obs. Hes a divine archetype that seems incredibly obvious now hes been created, but before it wasnt widespread. Most revenge oriented gods are either lavey-esque sensualists or cold mercykiller types.

 

I suppose hes kind of a divine version of characters like De Flores from the Changeling or Caliban from The Tempest. Id already mentioned Steerpike elsewhere.

 

My mythology's not quite up to scratch re: finding an true equivalent. There have always been resentful trickster gods and hateful servants but im struggling to recall something that combines the two.

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I AM A RENISANCE MAN

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its not so much about punishment as they are both gods of justice, its the dichotomy of justice being a common good and a value to uphold but its gritty details are ruthless and dark too. really batman is a weird lunatic, when you think about it. Rorschach in watchmen is this idea taken to the most extreme ends, and is most congruous with skaen imo. perhaps skaen being an aspect of woedica is too simple but it does make sense that they are entwined as she is in exile, and it is her justified rule.

 

while a lot of the conceptualizing of the gods by the engwithans is deliberately made murky i think its similar to the way tech is discovering AI is just reflecting our own flaws because we built them into the systems, so their conception of justice had this blood thirsty bend to it, like a lot of societies do, and so the gods that reflect justice both woedica the queen and skaen the slave are very ruthless

Edited by Cartoons Plural
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Aaah ye id forgotten about rorschach. I dont think hed have much time for skaens class consciousness - which is one of the things that really sets skaen apart - but theyre not wholly different.

 

Think rorschach would worship woedica over skaen, if thats a remotely productive thing to contemplate, lol. Inb4 watchmen/pillars crossover.

I AM A RENISANCE MAN

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My next RP after 4.0 launches:

"The Woedican Bounty Hunter"
Class: Steel Garrote/Trickster (Holy Slayer)
Race: Meadow Human or Wood Elf
Sex: Male
Culture: Aedyr
Background: Mercenary (maybe Clergy)
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Dispositions: Cruel, Rational (natch)

During this run, I plan on making enemies with the Principi (wiping out Fort Deadlight on the first visit), Delver's Row, and Vailians (animancy being a big no-no) while siding with the Huana (Woedica worshippers) and keeping a close eye on the Rauatains. Any quest given by Aruhi and Onekaza must be finished to the fullest; those who operate outside the law, such as the denizens of Delver's Row, can be exploited. Steel Garotte synergizes well with Rogue; Trickster adds utility, and from a metaphoric standpoint, represents Woedica's cheater aspect.

Build-wise, the character will feature lock downs, damage over time, and good defenses and maneuverability.



 

Edited by Ophiuchus
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