[CLASS BUILD] The Goldpact Commissar

[Ascaloth]

Wealth and riches has been the main driving motivation of Cromwell Corvida since an early age, and his avaricious nature has determined the course of his life. Despite showing signs of a gift for the eldritch arts of the Glanfathan mindhunters, Cromwell ignored his potential to follow in the footsteps of his clergyman father, pursuing a career as a preacher of Woedica… with a twist.

For you see, Cromwell was faithless in anything save gold, which led him into preaching that the Exiled Queen honored those who kept to their oaths with material blessings. Though this earned him a congregation of the wealthy faithful who gave the biggest tithes of any congregation in the Aedyr Empire, it also drew the consternation of the orthodox clergy wringing their hands at what is nearly tantamount to heresy. After much consultation and negotiations, it was decided that Cromwell would leave the Woedican clergy to join an organization with an ethos more in line with his personal philosophy; the paladin order of the Goldpact Knights.

Although the Goldpact Knights did nothing to temper Cromwell’s avaricious nature, it did instill in him the responsibility of fulfilling obligations in return for payment in gold. His latent cipher sensitivities also made him the Knight of choice for missions involving hostile ciphers. This was what led him to cross paths with Rhiannon, a dissident who inherited Glanfathan blood from expatriate ancestors who fled the rebelling Dyrwood in the distant past, and gathered a group of activists to agitate for reform in the political structures of the Empire.

The last thing either remembered of their first clash was Rhiannon attempting to cast a mindblast at the pursuing Cromwell, while he in turn prepared to counter with an exhortation. Both had to take the word of other people at the scene that they both collapsed to the ground at the same time, although Cromwell’s compatriots was able to capitalize on the opportunity to seize Rhiannon so that she may face justice. That was the point that the oddities mounted up; each had an inexplicable sense of the other’s general whereabouts, and the cipher somehow managed to break out of the most secure prisons in Aedyr no matter what, while at the same time never seeming able to avoid the paladin’s pursuit for long.

Their mutual frustration mounted, until a passing Watcher informed them of the awful truth; Cromwell’s latent talents had a bad reaction with Rhiannon’s own, causing the psychic backlash from their very first altercation to entangle their souls. They have literally become the playthings of the gods themselves; as long as Cromwell walked in the outside world, no prison can hold Rhiannon for long. And while Rhiannon can stay out of the clutches of the law as long as she can manage, she can never shake the zealous pursuit of Cromwell. And should one perish, so will the other. Both paladin and cipher are tied together in a bond of mutual antipathy, one not so easily unravelled.

Their only hope in getting free of each other for good lay in Defiance Bay, where the animancy research banned in the Aedyr Empire was flourishing; it alone offered any possibility for a solution to their conundrum. Grudgingly, the two agreed to work together in their goal to get free of each other; they would each make their own way to the Dyrwood, and rendezvous at a backwater town ironically named Gilded Vale for the last stretch of the journey...

 

 

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The Goldpact Commissar
aka An Elf of Wealth and Taste
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Difficulty: PotD v. 3.07
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Class: Paladin (Goldpact Knight)
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Race: Wood Elf
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Background: Aedyr - Clergyman
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Stats (char creation):
MIG: 18
CON: 10
DEX: 12
PER: 10
INT: 18
RES: 10
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Skills: Stealth 1, Athl. 9, Lore 8, Mech. 2, Surv. 9
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Talents (a=auto, r=recommended, !=important)

Enduring Flames ®

Critical Focus ®

Bond of Duty (!)

Marksman (!)

Deep Faith

Intense Flames ®
Scion of Flame ®
Weapon Focus: Adventurer


Abilities
Distant Advantage (a)
Faith and Conviction (a)
Flames of Devotion ®
Zealous Focus (!)
Liberating Exhortation (!)
Sworn Enemy (!)
Righteous Soul ®
Coordinated Attacks (!)
Sacred Immolation ®
Reviving Exhortation

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Items (*=additional echantments by me; !=important, r=recommended):

Weapon set 1: Cgadob's Hazel (!Marking, Spell Striking: Jolting Touch, *Shocking Lash, *Slaying: Spirit, *Exceptional)
Weapon set 2: The Blade of the Endless Paths (Speed, !Marking, *Burning Lash, Superb)

 

Alternative: St Garam's Spark (!Marking, *Shocking Lash, *Slaying: Kith, *Exceptional)


Boots: Boot of Zealous Command

Head: Munacra Arret

Armor: The Golden Scales

Neck: Erij's Radiance

Belt: Sentinel's Girdle

Rings: Ring of Changing Heart, Gathbin Family Signet

Hands: Spirit Spiral

Quick slots: scrolls & figurines
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A variant on the Counselor Ploi build which takes elements from the Darcozzi Commendatore, foregoing some Accuracy-buffing capability from the Darcozzi's Inspiring Liberation in favor of additional 'mind control' capability from the Goldpact's Bond of Duty. The Goldpact Commissar's role is to charm-crit targets of opportunity, protect his vulnerable party members from hostile mind control from a distance, and in lieu of the aforementioned duties, buff his shooting party's accuracy with a ranged Marking weapon.

 

The Goldpact Commissar has three main duties in his party;

 

1. Charm/Dominate CC and Counter

 

With Munacra Arret and Spirit Spiral equipped, the Commissar has 6 charges of Whispers of Treason, along with another 2 charge of Dominate from the Ring of Changing Heart. With Distant Advantage, Zealous Focus and Sworn Enemy, he has the ACC to make the mind control stick. And with Bond of Duty attached to his Liberating Exhortation, he can even perform 'friendly' mind control on his own party mates, to break them out of hostile mindwhammies. See the Counselor Ploi for how this works.

2. Ranged ACC Support

 

Between Zealous Focus, Coordinated Attacks and a Marking Weapon, the Commissar offers invaluable ACC bonuses to a shooting party. See the Darcozzi Commendatore for how this works. The only piece missing would be Inspiring Liberation from the Darcozzi order, but even what the Commissar has is enough to give him something to do when there's nothing for him to mind control.

 

The Commissar's bread and butter for most of the game would be St. Garam's Spark; it's a ranged Marking weapon that comes relatively early in the game, offers a high damage option coupled with Enduring Flames, and remains viable without Weapon Focus due to the combination of Distant Advantage and Marksman. In my game, I stuck with the pistol all the way to the maximum level of 16, which is only when I took WF Adventurer and dropped it for the Commissar's final set of weapons.

 

As and when you decide to take an WF, Adventurer is the optimal choice for the simple fact that only this WF has Marking weapons for both ranged and melee options; Cgadob's Hazel and the Blade of the Endless Paths respectively. Although Cgadob's Hazel gives the Commissar constant ranged damage, it removes the high alpha that St Garam's Spark had; the only high-damage option left is the Blade of the Endless Paths, which means Enduring Flames is now reserved for when enemies penetrate through the frontline, and the Commissar absolutely has to pick up a melee weapon and deal with the interloper(s) before they can take out the squishies he's with.

 

3. Looking Absolutely Fabulous

No armor suits a Goldpact Knight more, than the Golden Scales does (the fact that its Reflecting enchantment makes it suitable for a ranged specialist doesn't hurt). Add Erij's Radiance which is Paladin-only, offers an INT bonus which can only help with the mind control, but - most importantly - is a golden cloak to match the Scales. Complete the ensemble with a hoity-toity monocle (Munacra Arret), and you end up with what is truly an Elf of Wealth and Taste. 

[Boeroer]

Nice idea with the mind-control "ying-yang" apporach  with a Goldpact Knight.

 

And extra points for main duty number 3.  

 

Don't know if you know: before getting BotEP you can use the Spectacular Spetum from Vincent Dwellier (CRPGentlemen). It's also WF Adventurer (since its a pollaxe) and marking. Obtainable fairly early and not too bad as FoD variant.

 

One question though (because you took Scion of Flame): why put a shocking lash on the Hazel? For burn-immune foes?

[Ascaloth]

Nice idea with the mind-control "ying-yang" apporach  with a Goldpact Knight.

 

And extra points for main duty number 3.

 

Don't know if you know: before getting BotEP you can use the Spectacular Spetum from Vincent Dwellier (CRPGentlemen). It's also WF Adventurer (since its a pollaxe) and marking. Obtainable fairly early and not too bad as FoD variant.

 

One question though (because you took Scion of Flame): why put a shocking lash on the Hazel? For burn-immune foes?

 

I actually knew about Spectacular Spetum from the beginning, and was thinking of getting it... but I went with the Forgotten Tear of the Beloved with Outworn Buckler instead. That's because the 'experimental' party I was running the Commissar with needed the buffs from the Buckler, as well as the early Prayer Against Treachery the Forgotten Tear offered.

 

As for Shocking Lash on the Hazel... simple, really. The 'experimental' party included a Chanter rocking Stormcaller.