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Leonardo Da Vinci in the Forgotten Realms

LateralusLateralus Member Posts: 903
edited June 2013 in Off-Topic
I enjoyed the first season of Da Vinci's Demons, and I'm inspired (or perhaps just a fleeting curiosity) to model a character after that shows fictitious representation of the legendary artist.

What would he be?

My first thought is a highly intelligent bard, who perhaps follows the wisdom of Oghma, the God of Knowledge. He is quite the trickster but perhaps not the pilfering type. He is ambidextrous and very good with a sword, able to fight multiple foes at once, so with all of that in mind, a Blade is probably the best choice. He has several nicknames on the show, like "Meistro" and "Artista". So those might be cool names for the character. His weapon of choice is the rapier so I'll go with the scimitar group. In the show he uses his wits and brilliant inventions to solve problems and stay two steps ahead of his advisories. His past is largely unknown and he is haunted by visions, sound familiar?

I would give him maximum INT, DEX, and CHA with an above average STR and CON and an average WIS.

Alignment....that's a tough one. chaotic neautral, or CG...or TN...or NG...

There are other builds that are very intriguing as well. Swashbuckler turned mage...Illusionist...F/M..M/T.

Post edited by Jalily on

Comments

  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    Well, as far as I know bards are inspiring musicians, which wasn't Leonardo's case.

    He's an artist and a scientist/engineer, and didn't care much about religion, so I would have him as a Mage Thief (why thief? Come on, we all know he had secret connections, so a bit of subterfuge would help a lot.)
  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    edited June 2013
    Leonardo Da Vinci seems to me to have been a straight-up wizard, or Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep under NWN rules. (Pick your own specialty if you want one, but generalist mage seems to fit pretty well, since he would likely have been much more interested in collecting spells for his spellbook from all schools than in any kind of combat.)

    Leonardo was definitely an 18, or maybe even 19 Intelligence. His historical echo is still resoundly resonating in our EuroAmerican culture.

    I don't know enough biographical history about him to posit a guess as to his Charisma, but I seriously doubt that a Charisma-based spellcasting class like sorcerer, druid, bard, or favored soul fits him.

    I'm sure he had a very high Wisdom score, but that any deity-based divine class also does not fit him, unless maybe it would be Oghma.

    Bard doesn't work though, because the bard character class is supposed to be, role-playing wise, a ne'r do well, "unemployed poet and musician", like Alan-a-Dale from Robin Hood, or "the Narrator" of epic tales, such as Homer, Shakespeare, or Plato (who gave us stories of Socrates to promote his philosophy.)
  • MalicronMalicron Member Posts: 629
    I could see the argument for bard; he was quite the artist. Definitely Chaotic Neutral, and he really shouldn't follow any church. He might well be a Harper, he was rumored to be part of any number of "secret" organizations.
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    Malicron said:

    I could see the argument for bard; he was quite the artist. Definitely Chaotic Neutral, and he really shouldn't follow any church. He might well be a Harper, he was rumored to be part of any number of "secret" organizations.

    How could a chaotic neutral fellow have been so methodical in his projects? I'd say true neutral.
  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    If Leonardo was a bard, is there any biographical evidence of him as a chronically unemployed rogue to support that idea?
  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    @DJKajuru, "methodical" implies "lawful", to me. His secrecy and secret associations would have had to do with fear of censure from the Catholic church.

    Rebellion against an organization perceived as "evil" does not necessarily constitute a "chaotic" alignment, though you could make an argument that it does move the rebelling individual to neutral good at best, if that individual has an ordered mind, but uses it to make a moral decision to rebel against an unjust hierarchy.
  • LadyRhianLadyRhian Member Posts: 14,694
    Sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but there actually is a tribute to DaVinci in the Forgotten Realms. He's a gnome inventor named "Nadul DaRoni", and some of his inventions made it into Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue. Here's the 3.0/3.5 version of his character: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rp/20040114a

    He's a gnome rogue (thief)/illusionist/gnome artificer.

    You can download the catalogue here:http://www.scribd.com/doc/89695945/AD-D-Forgotten-Realms-Aurora-s-Whole-Realms-Catalogue-3
  • TeflonTeflon Member, Translator (NDA) Posts: 515
    Well looks like topic closed ;)
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    Unless we convert other renassaince artists to D&D =D

    Caravaggio, Michelangelo...
  • IllustairIllustair Member Posts: 878
    A good one, but I could imagine Da Vinci's D&D counterpart to be much much more learned than that. Imagine his brilliance, during his time, being some hundred years beyond his time...combined with knowledge of D&D magic. Limitless potential!
  • LadyRhianLadyRhian Member Posts: 14,694
    DaRoni has several of DaVinci's nastier killing machines in his arsenal, including one pulled by horses, the wheels power scything blades that whip around and chop people to bits. It's like being cuisinarted...
  • CheesebellyCheesebelly Member Posts: 1,727
    @Illustair usually though, people ahead of their time are either hunted by a religious group (like in Leonardo's time) or are completely and utterly crazy :p
  • LateralusLateralus Member Posts: 903
    The depiction of the young LDV in the Showtime series does very much resemble an impulsive blade. They do show a very gnomish, pipe smoking, tinkering side that he will age into.

    Seeing as how I just rolled a 95 CN beserker, I'm going in my own direction. ;)
  • SacherySachery Member Posts: 33
    I vote for Blade, he is good with a blade also:P
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