Elric

The Outsider · Post by **The Outsider** » Sat May 05, 2001 7:08 pm

Okay, with all the talk about custom NPCs, has anyone given somme serious thought into making an "Elric" character?

[for those who don't know, Elric is the central character of a series of stories by Michael Moor****. cool aspects of this character will come to light shortly]

It would, however, be an utter b*st*rd to implement. First of all, you'd have to create "Melnibonean" as a race / class. To make this easier, let's just go with a class, and make it restricted to elves / half-elves (because Melniboneans are described as being an elder race).

If we're working under the assumption that Melnibonean is a kit, which should it be? The initial temptation is to make a fighter/sorceror hybrid. However, if you read the books closely, you'll notice that Elric only summons allies, often elemental allies. Therefore, I think that it would be appropriate to include the kit under the "Druid" heading.

Now onto stat influences. I'd say, for the creation of Elric (who is, admittedly, an albino, and thus weaker than his brethren), there would have to be a strength penalty and a serious constitution penalty. An intelligence bonus might be acceptable. Also, the charisma stat should be dropped Melniboneans are mistrusted on the whole).

In brief:
STR: Max 16
CON: Max 14
INT: Max 19
CHA: Max 14

May only be of Chaotic alignment (the Chaos gods were the patrons of the Melniboneans).

Other attributes:

A high lore score, possibly +6 / level.
Summoning abilites- elementals, insect plague, and the like. Possibly a larger number of summonings per level (or, just more powerful ones- rearrange the percentages for the emergence of the various xHD elementals), but only summoning spells allowed. Plenty of demon-summoning spells, even though they're part of the cleric/mage books.

So far, though, this character class is heavily penalized, although the druid restrictions on armor / weapons could (should) be waived. The benefit of using this class comes with the possession by the character of Elric's sword, Stormbringer. That will be the subject of the next post.

The Outsider · Post by **The Outsider** » Sat May 05, 2001 7:17 pm

Stormbringer is a disgustingly powerful weapon. Read the books to find out more about it. Some of its abilities are, as far as I can tell, unimplementable (I'd enumerate, but it would spoil the plot for those who decide to read the books). Others would make great plot focii.

Even without the überpowers that the sword gives, it's still flaming powerful. Think of Blackrazor, and keep going. That should be the feel of the sword.

Initial ideas for equipped effects:

- +6 weapon, long sword
- +6 to THAC0
- immunity to mental effects
- 15% magic resistance
- save vs. death AND spells when struck, or die

When an adversary is killed / struck:

- +3 HP per strike
- +1 THAC0 per strike, duration 1 turn, cumulative
- improved haste the wearer for 30 seconds
- +1 STR, CON, duration 1 turn, cumulative

One of the central features of the books is the sword's near-sentience. This sword exists to kill, and doesn't care what it kills. Therefore:

- after each successful attack, save vs. spells or go beserk for 1 turn
- save as above after resting, at end of combat, and at occasional random times

Also:

- after resting, -3 to STR and CON until the wearer has used the sword in combat
- cannot be dual-wielded, except with its twin, Mournblade (ditto powers)

Impressions?

White Rabbit · Post by **White Rabbit** » Mon May 07, 2001 7:02 pm

Albinos arn't weak dude, they just have a lack of pigment. Pink eyes and white skin don't make you a weakling, although sun burns might be a problem. Hey thats a cool idea make him be stronger at night and in dungeons and weaker during the day.

Anglachel · Post by **Anglachel** » Tue May 08, 2001 5:56 am

In the old AD&D Deities and Demigods book it listed Elric and Stormbringer. The way it implemented the runeswords was to have a 50% chance of 1/2 the target's levels drained and a 50% chance of ALL levels drained on a hit. Also as kills were made it increased Elrics strength and constitution.

I highly recommend the Elric books.

hermetic · Post by **hermetic** » Tue May 08, 2001 8:47 am

Yes, Elric is easily one of the coolest and more complex fantasy characters ever. I think a simple Fighter/Mage multiclass would work for him, and as far as BG2 is concerned or 2nd Edition AD&D, he should be a human or a half-elf. 'Melnibonean' always seemed more a nationality than a superhuman race to me, a nation whose understanding of science and sorcery made them uniquely powerful. There are lots of BG2 custom character pics out there to download with the art from the Elric novels. I alternate between severel pics whenever I play my Elric solo game. He makes a pretty menacing child of Bhaal, considering his pedigree and personality. And yeah, Blackrazor is ideal for the character.

Manveru · Post by **Manveru** » Tue May 08, 2001 9:31 am

Hmm... interesting, though making of new classes is very hard - I heard that it requires changes in exe file - but making kit for such an NPC is possible of course..

Making new races is impossible so far (if someone knows how to do it then let me know)

The Outsider · Post by **The Outsider** » Tue May 08, 2001 4:09 pm

An effect that I think would work quite well for an Elric character would be to drop the party reputation by one, every time he gains a level. Adds to the sense of the world being very very uneasy of this guy; makes for an interesting role-playing if you're trying to stay chaotic good.