Hey @kryptix and @FinneousPJ! With your help, I think I've pulled it off! Here's a setup for the character that I am more or less happy with. I'd appreciate your feedback on whether she will be reasonably capable (too strong or too weak) for BP 1 and BP 2. Also if I may have missed anything that might mess things up later on...
Final Decision ... kinda
Name: Xiaolongnü (小龙女) Race: Half-Elf Class: Kensai/Druid Alignment:Chaotic Good
Str: 14 Dex: 17 Con: 12 Int: 14 Wis: 12 Cha: 15
Proficiencies: + Scimitar/Wakizashi/Ninjato + Darts ++ Single Weapon Style
Disadvantages: Poor Stats. lol I know Druid primary stat is Wisdom, but she is supposed to be pretty naive, having lived a sheltered life of seclusion, away from civilisation and the complexities of society, so I cannot justify giving her very high Wisdom. What wisdom she does have comes from extensive reading, meditation and knowledge of nature as well as her own arts.
Advantages: For the sake of flavour and to compensate for lost spells due to low Wisdom, she gets the following bonus spells and abilites (once a day). For innate abilities, I will activate them when she reaches the level of the innate ability. For spells, I will activate them when she reaches the druid level that would normally allow her to cast that spell.
lv1: + Hold Person (Innate): Represents the robes... but probably gonna be useless later on. Also it shows up as a spell in the UI, even though I added it as an innate ability.
+Slow Poison (Innate): Her sect appears to have the secrets to many poisons and their anti-dotes. This represents the mystical anti-dote potions she carries. This will probably be crucial in a party with no other divine casters.
lv4: + Poison Weapon (Innate): Represents the times when she occasionally uses the knowledge of poisons offensively, most typically through throwing needles (darts).
lv5: + Summon Insects (Spell): Her bees are iconic, this can represent unleashing a small swarm at a foe.
+ Defensive Spin (Innate): Seems fitting for some of her defensive moves, though having never used a bard, I'm not sure how powerful this is.
lv9: + Insect Plague (Spell): Again her bees, but this time, a much larger swarm.
lv14: + Creeping Doom (Spell): She unleashes ALL her bees! lol
The only thing I have to say is that I wish there was some robes she could wear but I guess that's not possible as a kensai Druid.
Also I think you could max her Dex and cha to be in character because she was pretty much considered one of the most beautiful women in the land and was one of the strongest fighters while relying mostly on speed and accuracy.
I'd personally use a wakizashi for the look rather than a scimitar. Also is still consider letting her get melfs meteors or energy blades but that might be overpowered. Maybe a use of haste? Iron skin will work well though to simulate defense.
I think, from what I've read of her, I'd put her as CN rather then CG (just did a lot of research). But that's just my personal opinion. She does good deeds at time, yes, but most of the time they're motivated by more selfish causes that are of concern to her.
I took BelgarathMTH's advice and EEkeeper'd her avatar into a Elf Female Mage, so she looks like she's wearing robes, even if she cannot actually wear any armour/robes.
Dex... maybe, I was being quite strict about mostly avoiding 18s, her AC is already 3 at lv1, thanks to Single Weapon Style and Kensai bonuses, which is pretty impressive, but I guess giving her 18 Dex is not unreasonable, given that if I made her an elf, she could have had 19.
As for Charisma, yes... she's described as beautiful beyond human norms, like an angel/goddess. However, I chose to keep her Cha down (min for a Druid) because she does not know how to use her beauty to influence people, and it's typically been more of a curse than a boon for her if u think about her storyline.
Instead of being somebody like Viconia (and Lilly Black), who uses her charms to get her way, manipulate and use others to advance herself, Xiaolongnu's beauty attracts the attention of various villains, and lands her in trouble at the hands of Daoist priest (forgot his name) and at the Passionless Valley.
I think, from what I've read of her, I'd put her as CN rather then CG (just did a lot of research). But that's just my personal opinion. She does good deeds at time, yes, but most of the time they're motivated by more selfish causes that are of concern to her.
Yeah I said LN because she's pretty strict about her sect's code but I definitely wouldn't put her as good.
I just came across this video (it's been a while since I watched this show and totally forgot about this fight) and now I won't feel bad about having her Dual Wield as she levels up! XD
The title is clearly made by an over-enthusiastic fan... she is not the strongest warrior in the Jin Yong setting. Not even close.
She definitely can't be Lawful, because she breaks one of the biggest taboos in Chinese culture and rebels against much of the Jianghu establishment, most notably against Daoists (Quanzhen Sect), who are literally supposed to be the 'Priests of the Way', and if implemented in D&D, would be a Lawful Good organisation as a whole. That said, in this show the Daoists are not portrayed very positively, and some members at least are 'corrupted', and do not uphold the strict moral principles they encourage/enforce upon others.
She kinda walks between Good and Neutral in my opinion. She is mostly driven by personal motivations, and clearly does not believe in forgiveness, and is quite willing to kill people she regards as having wronged her. But I do not recall any incidence of her lashing out indiscriminately, let alone committing any acts of evil. (In the above video, the man she accidentally kills raped her, and so she's been hunting him for revenge for some time anyway.)
Yeah, her husband becomes pretty insanely powerful. If I were to create him in BG, he'd be my first powergaming character with 18/18/18 for Str, Dex and Cons, lol.
Oh yeah, I forgot to ask, what do u make of Defensive Spin at lv5? That's the one bonus I'm most unsure about... it looks pretty good, would it be OP given she's already got Kensai bonuses?
I also get what you're saying about your interpretation of Lawful... but part of the whole point of Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu was their rebellion against the corrupt/intolerant system, in contrast to Guo Jing's (protagonist of part 1 of the trilogy) unquestioning obedience to authority, seniority and country.
Been a while since I've read/watched but I get what your saying. If I remember right from my one blade run defensive spin has some downsides that made me not like to use it. Try it out I think it will be fine. Fighter Druids are pretty awesome anyway, I always felt jaheira was the best npc frontline fighter because I give her hardiness, armor of faith, some good armor to make her immune to most elements, amulet of power and then with spectral brand plus belm she just rocks especially while stone skin and improved haste are running. You'll be even more offensive with the same defensive abilities.
Defensive spin means u can't move. I also realised that it won't work for her because the ability is described as "-1 AC per Blade Level"... and since she won't get any Blade levels, that means it's useless. The reason I added it was because I am worried about her survivability, given lack of armour and low Con, and the fact that the rest of the party is pretty squishy too...
Now I am wondering if I should just forget trying to use her as a tank and give her Offensive Spin...
Yeah I know about Kensai restrictions. I didn't mention it in the above list of advantages and disadvantages cos it's 'standard', just like I didn't mention that she cannot use longswords and all other 'metallic' weapons except scimitars due to druid restrictions.
What I am not sure about... is whether a Kensai=>Mage can wear robes? I swear I've seen mentions of Kensai=>Mage wearing Robe of Vecna, but according to Play it Hardcore, they cannot wear any torso armour/robes.
Comments
Final Decision ... kinda
Name: Xiaolongnü (小龙女)
Race: Half-Elf
Class: Kensai/Druid
Alignment:Chaotic Good
Str: 14
Dex: 17
Con: 12
Int: 14
Wis: 12
Cha: 15
Proficiencies:
+ Scimitar/Wakizashi/Ninjato
+ Darts
++ Single Weapon Style
Disadvantages:
Poor Stats. lol I know Druid primary stat is Wisdom, but she is supposed to be pretty naive, having lived a sheltered life of seclusion, away from civilisation and the complexities of society, so I cannot justify giving her very high Wisdom. What wisdom she does have comes from extensive reading, meditation and knowledge of nature as well as her own arts.
Advantages:
For the sake of flavour and to compensate for lost spells due to low Wisdom, she gets the following bonus spells and abilites (once a day). For innate abilities, I will activate them when she reaches the level of the innate ability. For spells, I will activate them when she reaches the druid level that would normally allow her to cast that spell.
lv1:
+ Hold Person (Innate): Represents the robes... but probably gonna be useless later on. Also it shows up as a spell in the UI, even though I added it as an innate ability.
+Slow Poison (Innate): Her sect appears to have the secrets to many poisons and their anti-dotes. This represents the mystical anti-dote potions she carries. This will probably be crucial in a party with no other divine casters.
lv4:
+ Poison Weapon (Innate): Represents the times when she occasionally uses the knowledge of poisons offensively, most typically through throwing needles (darts).
lv5:
+ Summon Insects (Spell): Her bees are iconic, this can represent unleashing a small swarm at a foe.
+ Defensive Spin (Innate): Seems fitting for some of her defensive moves, though having never used a bard, I'm not sure how powerful this is.
lv9:
+ Insect Plague (Spell): Again her bees, but this time, a much larger swarm.
lv14:
+ Creeping Doom (Spell): She unleashes ALL her bees! lol
Summary:
Ignore the portrait.
Also I think you could max her Dex and cha to be in character because she was pretty much considered one of the most beautiful women in the land and was one of the strongest fighters while relying mostly on speed and accuracy.
I'd personally use a wakizashi for the look rather than a scimitar. Also is still consider letting her get melfs meteors or energy blades but that might be overpowered. Maybe a use of haste? Iron skin will work well though to simulate defense.
I took BelgarathMTH's advice and EEkeeper'd her avatar into a Elf Female Mage, so she looks like she's wearing robes, even if she cannot actually wear any armour/robes.
Dex... maybe, I was being quite strict about mostly avoiding 18s, her AC is already 3 at lv1, thanks to Single Weapon Style and Kensai bonuses, which is pretty impressive, but I guess giving her 18 Dex is not unreasonable, given that if I made her an elf, she could have had 19.
As for Charisma, yes... she's described as beautiful beyond human norms, like an angel/goddess. However, I chose to keep her Cha down (min for a Druid) because she does not know how to use her beauty to influence people, and it's typically been more of a curse than a boon for her if u think about her storyline.
Instead of being somebody like Viconia (and Lilly Black), who uses her charms to get her way, manipulate and use others to advance herself, Xiaolongnu's beauty attracts the attention of various villains, and lands her in trouble at the hands of Daoist priest (forgot his name) and at the Passionless Valley.
The title is clearly made by an over-enthusiastic fan... she is not the strongest warrior in the Jin Yong setting. Not even close.
Also... English sub-titles are pretty bad.
@Twani @kryptix
She definitely can't be Lawful, because she breaks one of the biggest taboos in Chinese culture and rebels against much of the Jianghu establishment, most notably against Daoists (Quanzhen Sect), who are literally supposed to be the 'Priests of the Way', and if implemented in D&D, would be a Lawful Good organisation as a whole. That said, in this show the Daoists are not portrayed very positively, and some members at least are 'corrupted', and do not uphold the strict moral principles they encourage/enforce upon others.
She kinda walks between Good and Neutral in my opinion. She is mostly driven by personal motivations, and clearly does not believe in forgiveness, and is quite willing to kill people she regards as having wronged her. But I do not recall any incidence of her lashing out indiscriminately, let alone committing any acts of evil. (In the above video, the man she accidentally kills raped her, and so she's been hunting him for revenge for some time anyway.)
She is probably top 10 powerful at the end of her story arch among contemporaries though and her husband is definitely top 3 all time.
Yeah, her husband becomes pretty insanely powerful. If I were to create him in BG, he'd be my first powergaming character with 18/18/18 for Str, Dex and Cons, lol.
Oh yeah, I forgot to ask, what do u make of Defensive Spin at lv5? That's the one bonus I'm most unsure about... it looks pretty good, would it be OP given she's already got Kensai bonuses?
I also get what you're saying about your interpretation of Lawful... but part of the whole point of Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu was their rebellion against the corrupt/intolerant system, in contrast to Guo Jing's (protagonist of part 1 of the trilogy) unquestioning obedience to authority, seniority and country.
Defensive spin means u can't move. I also realised that it won't work for her because the ability is described as "-1 AC per Blade Level"... and since she won't get any Blade levels, that means it's useless. The reason I added it was because I am worried about her survivability, given lack of armour and low Con, and the fact that the rest of the party is pretty squishy too...
Now I am wondering if I should just forget trying to use her as a tank and give her Offensive Spin...
@FinneousPJ
Yeah I know about Kensai restrictions. I didn't mention it in the above list of advantages and disadvantages cos it's 'standard', just like I didn't mention that she cannot use longswords and all other 'metallic' weapons except scimitars due to druid restrictions.
What I am not sure about... is whether a Kensai=>Mage can wear robes? I swear I've seen mentions of Kensai=>Mage wearing Robe of Vecna, but according to Play it Hardcore, they cannot wear any torso armour/robes.
Edit: Typo
You can use near infinity to make a custom defensive spin based on fighter level I guess...