Something a touch different today for Fantasy Friday.
I was chatting with some Daggerheart fans, and they liked the Sonja build I had done. They suggested I should do Conan as well, but I got to thinking about my earlier statement of a connection between Kull, Conan, and Kane, and thought it might be fun to stat them all up in Daggerheart to see how I could represent the pinnacle of the Howardian "fighting men" in this new system.
 |
| Joe Kubert's Connecting Covers Featuring Conan, Kull, and Solomon Kane |
Caveat and Full Disclosure. I have read all of the Kull and Conan stories by Howard and most of the Kane ones. I have read some of his letters to others about these characters, but I know there is still an absolute ton I have not read. TL;DR I only marginally qualified to write them up as characters. Yeah I know what I would do with them, but there are people out there, people I am friends with, who are far more knowledgeable than I am about this. I apologize in advance for any mistakes I might make.
Kull of Atlantis
Kull spends most of the tales I read as King of Valusia and an exile of Atlantis. We know he has been a hunter, a gladiator, a soldier, a general, and finally a king. He is philosophical and brooding. He cares for his people even if he sometimes despises their civilized ways and the "masks" (though that turns out to be true later on) they wear. According to Wikipedia, his lifetime was some 100,000 years ago, or near the end of the Old Stone Age. The tales, of course, read more like Bronze Age.
For this reason I am choosing Guardian for him. The Domains are Valor and Blade, the two competing aspects of his personality.
Level 3
Class & Subclass: Guardian (Stalwart)
Ancestry & Heritage: Wildborne Human
Pronouns: He/Him
Agility: 2
Strength: 2
Finesse: 0
Instinct: 2
Presence: -1
Knowledge: 0
Evasion: 9
Armor: 5
HP: 9
Minor Damage: 15 Major Damage: 28
Stress: 7
Hope: 2
Weapons: Battleaxe, Strength Melee, +2 2d10+3 Physical
Armor: None
Experience
Fighting Man for Life +2
The Brooding King +2
Enemy of the Serpent Men +2
Class Features
Bare Bones (add STR to Armor), Not Good Enough (reroll 1 & 2 on damage), Bold Presence, Versitle Fighter, Soldier's Bond
Ok. I like this one. This is a soldier's soldier. This would be a fun character to play. Granted, he should be a bit higher level, but I wanted him lower than Conan.
Conan the Cimmerian
Howard's better known creation and maybe the Godfather of all D&D fighters. Now I feel better about doing Conan than Kull.
Conan is the archetypical barbarian. Yes he has been a soldier, general, thief, sailor, pirate, and eventually King, he is at his heart a barbarian.
Like Red Sonja, he would be a warrior with his Domains Bone and Blade, but he is a little different. I am giving him the sub-class Call of the Brave, because if nothing else Conan knows no fear.
Level 7
Class & Subclass: Warriror (Call of the Brave)
Ancestry & Heritage: Wildborne Human
Pronouns: He/Him
Agility: 2
Strength: 3
Finesse: 0
Instinct: 2
Presence: -1
Knowledge: 1
Evasion: 12
Armor: 4
HP: 10
Minor Damage: 14 Major Damage: 22
Stress: 7
Hope: 2
Weapons: Longsword, Agility Melee, +3 3d10+10 Physical
Broadsword, Agility Melee, +3 3d8+7 Physical
Armor: Chainmail
Experience
I have been everywhere +3
I will LIVE by Crom! +3
I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content +2
Polyglot +2
Class Features
Get Back Up, Not Good Enough, Ferocity, Brace, Scramble, Deadly Focus, Know Thy Enemy, Battle Hardened, Recovery, Rage Up
Again, this is a good character and a fun one to play. I tried to capture Conan's multi-lingual ability here in Experiences. This covers that fact that he knows a lot of languages, but no formal education in them. I spent the extra point to bump up his knowledge to 1 (from 0) to also show that he isn't a dumb barbarian.
I gave him chainmail, which he sometimes wears, but he is just as often in just a loincloth or even the garb of a sailor. Still, this is a good version of him I think.
Solomon Kane
Next is our dour puritan Solomon Kane.
For Kane, I also picked the Guardian class as I did with Kull. But where Kull is a Stalwart, Kane is dedicated to Vengeance. I mean, look at his single-mindedness in pursuing Le Loup. Kane sees himself as the instrument of God's will and often God's vengeance. He is more similar to Batman in this respect than he is say Conan or Kull.
With Kane, I went in a different direction. While I did what I could to increase Kull's and Conan's HP, I spent more time increasing Kane's Stress. Most of Kane's adversaries are a little more supernatural in nature and seem to be more taxing on his mind and soul than on his body.
To respect his Puritan background, I gave him the heritage of "Orderborne."
Level 6
Class & Subclass: Guardian (Vengeance)
Ancestry & Heritage: Orderborne Human
Pronouns: He/Him
Agility: 2
Strength: 1
Finesse: 1
Instinct: 1
Presence: 0
Knowledge: 0
Evasion: 11
Armor: 4
HP: 9
Minor Damage: 12 Major Damage: 19
Stress: 10
Hope: 2
Weapons: Rapier, Presence Melee, +0 3d8 Physical
Flintlock Pistols, Agility Ranged, +1 3d10+3 Physical
Armor: None
Experience
I am God's Instrument +3
Avenge the Weak and Defenseless +2
Wanderer of Africa +2
Scholar of the Occult +2 (this also covers his connections with N'longa)
Orderborne Dedications
Evil Must be Destroyed.
I am the instrument of God's vengeance.
Chivalry and Honor are not dead, not while I breathe.
Class Features
Bare Bones (add STR to Armor), Get Back Up, I Am Your Shield, Critical Inspiration, Deadly Focus, Rousing Strike, Champion's Edge
I like this version as well. Very solid.
Even among "Fighting Men" (to use the old term), there is a lot of variety and versatility in Daggerheart and I like that. Though each has their connections with the other. You could make a group of all "fighters" and still have plenty of differences between them to keep the game interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment