Characters you've been waiting to play.

[Feverdream]

Considering that Farrow are basically the old-school D&D orcs of the setting, I think you'll have to wait until the wilderness (i.e. Hordes) -flavored book comes out, but heck yes. Farrow are awesome.

The original idea I had, though, was simply a brute with a rifle. Doesn't have a pet gun. Likes scavenging them from enemies. Basically a Farrow rifleman. But Farrow combat alchemist (BOOM!) is a close second.

[PG_Cloud-Gatherer]

A farrow combat alchemist would have to be considerably smarter than the average farrow... which is actually a pretty good reason for him to be out on his own rather than with the tribe. Powerful farrow seem to get pretty paranoid, and probably wouldn't take kindly to the presence of someone considerably smarter than themselves. You wouldn't even have to do the Drizzt routine. He could be every inch a real farrow, just smart and therefore not welcome among his own people... at least until he becomes powerful enough to go back and sieze power from the cretins that exiled him! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

*ahem* Could be a fun character, though there'd be the problem of his personal goals not being super compatible with the party's goals.

[Feverdream]

Egads, I would hope never to make an angsty Drizztesque character. I had thought, looking from both Carver and Rorsh's stuff that they're happy to pimp themselves out to paying customers. Heck, Rorsh will take work from the Protectorate. Gold and shinies spend. I'm more focused on the grunty scavenger rifleman. Kind of a Kell Bailoch, only more porcine. The leaders of the party tell him where to shoot or to fix their guns. In turn, they vouch for him in the city. Their goals are his goals. Explosions are a perk.

[Munindk]

I think a bonegrinder would be a better fit for a Farrow, its pretty much a low tech alchemist anyways.

[WarpedWolf]

I had this idea as I was riding the bus today...

An Iosan field mechanik, who's the last survivor of a Retribution strike force that was wiped out while on a secret mission deep in enemy territory. Now she's trapped in hostile territory, with little resources and her laborjack as her only ally. Of course the fact that it's obviously an Iosan laborjack doesn't help matters much.

[Septimus]

I've essentially been drafted by my game group to running a campaign when the new system is released, but looking over the archetypes and careers system, I was thinking it would be fun to do an intellectual career military character, sort of in the mold of Blackadder from "Blackadder goes Forth", a Cygnaran officer determined to keep him and his unit out of the most dangerous hotspots of the war and just hoping for a nice post on the Ordic border. Probably going to be making an appearance in my campaign as an NPC anyways.

[Killj0y]

If they had the rules for it, Revenant Crew Bosun.

I've been tempted by Iron Liches in the past.

Gun mage/Ironhead - with a mount for an ogrun battle cannon magelock.

Bardic Warcaster

Khadoran Kommisar/Political Officer

Tharn Frenzied Berzerker

Alpha Warpwolf

There's something very tempting about a Maxwell finn style trencher commando. part wetwork, part machinegun and part officer.

[StJason]

If they had the rules for it, Revenant Crew Bosun.

I've been tempted by Iron Liches in the past.

How about an independent? Say some guys who is delving into the Black Arts, on one hand not wanting to be caught by the Illuminated Order. On the other, being caught and lobotomized by Cryx is a really bad idea too. So he's running from both groups. Add in a dramatic story (He's studying necromancy to get back his kingdom/loved one/become a god) and it's quite good.

[Munindk]

I've been toying with the idea of a traveling Gobber storyteller, who doesnt just visit Gobber and Bogrin villages but also goes to human settlements. He's sort of a bard in that he tells stories but he's sort of a priest too, since these stories might have religious significance. Hes not old and wise but he know a lot of stuff, in the best Gobber tradition it isnt book-learning both the width and depth of his knowledge is random. The term autodidact scholar might be appropriate, he's sort of a librarian in a culture with no written traditions.
The idea originally sprang from wanting to make a Dhunian monk (in the dnd sense of the word), so I think I'll stick with him being trained in unarmed combat.

As you can see I haven't defined the character too much and I probably wont until I see the new rules, mechanically he doesnt really fit into dnd and I'm afraid he might not fit into IKRPG mk II.

[Whimper]

I've been toying with the idea of a traveling Gobber storyteller, who doesnt just visit Gobber and Bogrin villages but also goes to human settlements. He's sort of a bard in that he tells stories but he's sort of a priest too, since these stories might have religious significance. Hes not old and wise but he know a lot of stuff, in the best Gobber tradition it isnt book-learning both the width and depth of his knowledge is random. The term autodidact scholar might be appropriate, he's sort of a librarian in a culture with no written traditions.
The idea originally sprang from wanting to make a Dhunian monk (in the dnd sense of the word), so I think I'll stick with him being trained in unarmed combat.

As you can see I haven't defined the character too much and I probably wont until I see the new rules, mechanically he doesnt really fit into dnd and I'm afraid he might not fit into IKRPG mk II.

I played a character much like this in a now-defunct PbP game on RPOL. I statted him out as a multiclass Bard/Cleric of Dhunia.

[Munindk]

I could stat him out as a straight up bard (not warbard), as I dont particularly need him to have any spells. I would like to do a multiclass bard/monk, but the alignment restrictions makes that impossible.

[Whimper]

The d20 monk abilities and flavor don't really seem to mesh with the "Friar Tuck" thing anyway, which is how I made my gobber storyteller. I chose cleric and focused as much as possible on spells that would thematically fit with bards.

[PG_Gearjock]

Dwarf bard with meckanika lute/axe. He will bring metal to the world. See Soul Music by Terry Pratchett.

For a more serious character, I want to play a secret Circle Druid. His mission is to learn more about the cities and their weaknesses as well as causing destruction to any Menites he happens across.

[HellecticMojo]

I want to be a maguffin hunter like Zerkova.

gimme!

[Aggroculture]

A khardic Elven (oridinal half elf) warcaster that has to win the respect of his mother land while stopping the Ret from destroying the land of his ancestors. Probably an iron fang caster like Vlad

[PG_marijnh]

Half nyss Rogue (maybe a ranger lvl or two). Grown up on the north-border of Khador in a zealously religious old-faith village. Raised by her grand-parents (pretty much as a slave), since her nyss father was never seen again and her human mother died a few days after childbirth. Actually has a giant menofix burned into her back. The doctrines have her so much convinced that she herself is a zelous menite, and - being half-nyss- finds herself an abomination and wants to do pretty much anything to be accepted as a member of the sul-menite church. She wants to do her part for the northern crusade, just to prove (mostly to herself) that she can do something too.

A little far-fetched, but it's a fun challenge to play. If I ever get to play it.

[Munindk]

Is there any canon reference for half Iosians or Nyss? I have a vague recollection of Doug saying that there arent any halfbreeds in the IK, but I cant find it anywhere.

[Sosthenes]

Is there any canon reference for half Iosians or Nyss?

Lock & Load has a few short paragraphs about them, and the WFT features a half-elven crime boss (Selar). So interbreeding does work, although they seem to be pretty rare. So it's more a Dragonlance deal than the more multicultural recent default assumption of half-elven and half-orc communities "breeding true", apart from the interractial marriages and accidents (and, well, the r-word in case of half-orcs).

[PG_marijnh]

There's a short entry in the Character Guide as well IIRC, detailing that human-elven cross-breeding does happen, although on rare occassions. I use the standard PHB half-elf stats, with a few adaptations to make her more nyss-like.

[Psychomancer]

I seem to recall Doug saying once that you could count the number of half-elves in the Iron Kingdoms on one hand.
Of course, when players get involved, you hit the phenomenon known as "loose canon," and Half-Nyss Mechaniks with with wings and pet Infernals become the norm rather than the exception.

[Lord of ???]

You can count them on one hand, you can hold up 0 on one hand right?

[Munindk]

I knew we were on the 50% elf, 50% human - 100% snowflake country, I just wasn't sure that it was a possibility in the Iron Kingdoms.

Just to be clear I'm not trying to put anyone's character concept down, if it works for you and your group more power to you, but for me and the people I play with snowflakes have never worked

[Sosthenes]

I'm not the biggest fan of the half-draconic savage tiefling psi-lord, but in this special case it's not just about all over Iron Kingdoms rareness, it's about in-group weirdness. And thinking about this, I'd say that a Selar-like lost lovechild half-elf is still easier to portray and integrate than the majority of Iosan character concepts. (Not quite sure how I'd put the Nyss in this spectru, they're even more rare, but "vigorous barbarians" generally prove less of an issue, exotic-ness aside)

[PPS_Simon]

There are some good reasons for Nyss and Iosans to be a part of normal adventuring parties in 608 AR. Players portraying Iosans could be playing characters who were exiled after the War of Houses or even members of the Seekers. Even the Retribution makes use of a certain number of Iosans abroad who are quietly gathering information or acting as couriers for Mage Hunter teams. While Iosans are definitely exotic there's not totally unseen outside of Ios, even in the present. The Nyss actually make very reasonable characters. After the coming of Everblight, the refugee Nyss have been forced into close proximity with humanity and have spread in a limited diaspora through Khador and even into the northern reaches of Ord and Cygnar. The Nyss also have enjoyed a history of limited trade and interaction with human settlements in northern Khador, so the idea of dealing with humanity is not a new concept. The necessities of survival have forced many Nyss to seek employment as mercenaries, bodyguards, and trackers, professions for which they are extremely well suited.

[Fuchikoma]

This is good to hear, Simon. I'm really looking forward to the wide variety of player character options in IKRPG.

[PPS_Simon]

This is good to hear, Simon. I'm really looking forward to the wide variety of player character options in IKRPG.

On the other end of the spectrum there are some great incentives to play homogeneous groups. Because of the way Archetypes and Careers work you could make a really well-rounded set of Iosans or an all Rhulic party of Rhul-folk and Ogrun.

[PPS_Dougseacat]

The exiled/expatriated Iosans and refugee Nyss willing to group up with and coordinate actions together with like-minded humans probably numbers at least in the hundreds, which makes them several orders of magnitude more numerous than the half-elves in our setting. Indeed, for all practical purposes it's best to consider Selar unique.

[Sosthenes]

Well, if there are that many exiled/expatriated/lonely/depressed Iosans and Nyss, her unique nature will be temporary. I see a lot of elf/man love in the future. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

[PPS_Simon]

Well, if there are that many exiled/expatriated/lonely/depressed Iosans and Nyss, her unique nature will be temporary. I see a lot of elf/man love in the future. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Unlikely due to cultural taboos, mostly on the elven side. Beyond which, most of those unions would not result in pregancy, and those very few that do will result in sterile offspring.

[PG_Cloud-Gatherer]

There are some good reasons for Nyss and Iosans to be a part of normal adventuring parties in 608 AR. Players portraying Iosans could be playing characters who were exiled after the War of Houses or even members of the Seekers. Even the Retribution makes use of a certain number of Iosans abroad who are quietly gathering information or acting as couriers for Mage Hunter teams. While Iosans are definitely exotic there's not totally unseen outside of Ios, even in the present. The Nyss actually make very reasonable characters. After the coming of Everblight, the refugee Nyss have been forced into close proximity with humanity and have spread in a limited diaspora through Khador and even into the northern reaches of Ord and Cygnar. The Nyss also have enjoyed a history of limited trade and interaction with human settlements in northern Khador, so the idea of dealing with humanity is not a new concept. The necessities of survival have forced many Nyss to seek employment as mercenaries, bodyguards, and trackers, professions for which they are extremely well suited.

And even before the coming of Everblight, some Nyss became mercenary sorceresses living in Cygnar and named Lanyssa Ryssyl.

[PPS_Dougseacat]

Yes, there are exceptionally strong taboos against interbreeding between elf and human, and major fertility issues on top of this. In the entirety of the history of our setting I expect there have only been a handful of actual pregnancies, and only the smallest fraction of these would have been viable. Enough so, as noted, Selar should be considered unique. And she carved off the tips of her ears from self-loathing.

Basically, while half-elves are theoretically possible, they are not recommended as character backgrounds and certainly qualify as picking something that is beyond exceptionally rare and unlikely. There are more Nyss in our setting walking around with dragon athanc fragments than there are half-elves.

[Sosthenes]

Between all the fertility issues (sad elven swimmers) and social mores, am I reading a strong undercurrent of "If it were up to us, we'd nix it entirely"? There's little biological or divine reason why interbreeding would work at all, given what I understand of the Iron Kingdoms cosmology. (Which kinda makes me wonder what other abominations would be possible. Farrow street workers, anyone?)

Still, as a PC, I'd probably have fewer issues playing an half-elf than a true Iosan, especially if the former was raised by humans. Sure, outcast issues, but that's pretty bog-standard compared to weird immortals with dying Gods. As a DM, I'm obviously against all such shenanigans. Play humans, fertorukssakes.

[StJason]

It's not so much fertility, a perfectly viable Elf and viable Human can hook up and there would not necessarily be offspring. The species are too divergent, even though it's quite clear they are closely related.

It's like foxes. Wolves and dogs can interbreed. Wolves and coyotes can sometimes interbreed, and coyotes and dogs can sometimes interbreed. But foxes and dogs rarely can breed. Even if your fox has knocked up half of the females in the region, and your dachshund has had 30 litters, the species are too far apart, and only very rarely for specific individuals do offspring result.

Zebras and horses are another example. They are closely related, but just are too far from each other to reliably produce offspring, and those are generally sterile. Or the classic Donkey + Horse = mule.

[Sosthenes]

Granted, but in basically every setting I wouldn't call elves too fertile even within their own race. So I blame them, not our own fecund-yet-easily-seduced tavern wenches, nor general genetics (generally not so sure how far to go into all that sciency detail when it's quite likely that it's a Creationist setting, at least regarding the major races).

[PPS_Dougseacat]

There is actually a cosmological reason for a certain degree of very close similarity, in that the elven creation myth describes that Lacyr took inspiration from humanity when shaping the elves, but claimed to have improved upon them. In biological terms, the comparison of donkey and horse and zebra is probably not entirely inaccurate. (And I'd expect that what few half-elves have been born are sterile, as is the case with mules and zorses and most other hybrids.)

While personally I'd be just as happy if half-elves did not exist in the setting at all, it doesn't really matter. We have never really given much support to them as a suggested character option. Selar was present in the original WFT, and so was explained. In Lock & Load, which was printed in 2002, Gavyn Kyle says: "I've met exactly one [half-elf] in all my travels... I've heard it said these pregnancies have a high mortality rate as most half-elven 'offspring' are stillborn." It has been a consistent stance. I am fairly certain there is little to nothing about half-elves in the IKCG printed in 2004, and you can expect a similar lack of coverage in the new RPG for 2012.

Naturally folks can still decide to play whatever their GMs will allow in their own games. But from a setting standpoint half-elves are a very fringe character concept and one we've never endorsed. On the other hand we have always presented Iosans and Nyss as supported character options (albeit certainly in some cases challenging ones, and not suited to every campaign).

[Sosthenes]

Characters I want to play as a DM: Weird scientist/theologian who tries to cross-breed all kind of sentient races to fathom out the will of the gods and the nature of the universe. Possibly Skorne, sexy tuba bass lines optional.

[Pumanca]

I've recently been fleshing out a character who's a Cygnaran noble classically trained in fencing who has begun moonlighting as a Pistoleer; taking his fencing skills into sharp-shooting by using sword motions to place the trajectory of his shots (something akin to the "gun-kata" from the film Equilibrium), then switching to swords until he has opportunity to reload.
May be hell to work out rules for such, but makes for quite a power player at close-hand to mid-range combat. For character fluff I think I'll place him as an associate of King Leto, but have a tad of bad blood between them... I imagine him training with Leto, perhaps being taught by the same master-at-arms (ala Gurney from Dune; anybody else with me- Leto, Leto...?)
Sounds like fun. Room for intrigue...personal slight/extremely opposed position or something.

[PsychoLaughs]

I have been fleshing out my idea of an Ordic gunmage, an ex military commando type. so the magelock he carries is has mechanika on it to make it silent, and he carries around mechanika night vision goggles, and a stealth generating mechanika belt.

so i dunno what the second carrier will be, military/merc/pistoleer.

[Del Fuego]

One I wanted to make in the 3.5 supplement but never had the chance to was a Knights Exemplar Errant through the Knights Exemplar class mixed with a little Ranger. The backstory boiled down to since he was exceptional at avoiding detection and scouting, Gravus elected him for a mission outside Protectorate territory to recover pilfered Relic Blades. Since I never had the chance to play him, I'm incorporating him into my campaign that I will be DMing with the new book.

[Mysterioso]

I haven't ever played an RPG before, so not sure how much I can contribute with my limited perspective. But if people at my LGS are interested in playing IKRPG, I'd like to play one of these basic concepts

A guy working as a merc, maybe a Steelhead
A gunmage
Someone working in the Church of Morrow/PoM. Precursor/Exemplar/Exemplar Errant would be really cool
A Nyss on the run from Everblight's army