Carnival in Pathfinder

[Mortavius]

Taking inspiration from Ryan and other's posts converting and adapting Ravenloft NPCs to Pathfinder, I've decided to tackle the supplement Carnival.

I never realized how much work can go into one NPC, and I believe I've started with a simple one! Gives me a new appreciation of the work done already on these forums.

Without further adieu...

Hermos, the Amazing Man-Giant

Timeline
720 BC: Francis Ciantioux is born in the domain of l’Morai to abusive parents.
730 BC: Francis hides from his parent’s abuse for the last time; he is taken by the Gendarmes, convicted of disobedience and sentenced to be transformed into “Hermos the Amazing Man-Giant” then sent to live in the Grand Carnival l’Morai.
740 BC: Hermos kills Marie the blind juggler and leads the freaks from l’Morai into the Mists and emerges in Darkon.
740 BC: Hermos and the other members of Carnival are saved in Falkovnia by Isolde; she joins them permanently and Hermos becomes her closest companion, as well as the main person in charge of running Carnival.
760 BC: Present day.

Twisting: Emotional Aura

Base Stats
S 14, D 9, C 11, I 10, W 13, Ch 12
Racial: +2 Dex
Level: +1 Wis
Aging: Middle Aged
Giant template: +4 Str & Con, -2 Dex
Favored Class: +HP

760 BC (Current day stats)
CR 3; XP 800
Human Expert 5
NG, Large Humanoid (Human, Giant template)
Init -1 (Dex); Senses Perception +12

Defense
AC 12, touch 8, flat-footed 12 (+3 Natural, +1 Armor, -1 Dex, -1 Size)
HP 41 (5d8+15)
Fort +3, Ref +0, Will +6

Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee Unarmed Strike +5 (1d4+3 nonlethal)
Space 10 ft., Reach 10 ft.

Statistics
S 17, D 8, C 14, I 11, W 15, Ch 13
Base Atk +3; CMB +7; CMD 16
Feats: Alertness, Intimidating Prowess, Persuasive, Spirit of Light
Skills: Appraise +8, Diplomacy +11, Intimidate +14 (+18 vs. Medium-size and smaller), Knowledge (Religion) +8, Perception +12, Perform (Act) +6, Profession (Carnival Manager) +8, Sense Motive +12
Languages Mordentish*
SQ Emotional Aura

Equipment
Tidhare Amulet, Travellers Outfit, Potions (Cure Light Wounds, Hide from Undead, Obscuring Mist, Protection from Evil, Remove Fear, and Sanctuary), Bracers of Armor +1

Emotional Aura (Su): As a result of the Twisting, Hermos is surrounded by a constant Calm Emotions effect (Will DC 13), centered on himself and radiating out twenty feet, as the spell. He has no direct control over this effect, and it has contributed to him being such a good manager of the Carnival. It has also driven him out of performing anymore, as part of his audience is invariably affected by the aura and their antipathy often affects the rest of the audience to one degree or another. However, when Hermos gets angry (a rare occurrence) this aura changes and everyone within twenty feet begins to share Hermos' emotional state, becoming angry or agitated as well. This automatically changes the existing attitudes of affected creatures one step towards Hostile, as detailed under the Diplomacy skill. Every minute that an affected creature stays around Hermos when he is angry they get a new Will saving throw. If they fail, they advance another step towards Hostile; a successful save means they do not advance, but must continue to make saving throws. Hostile beings are much more likely to utilize violence to achieve their aims.



I chose to go with Expert for a class for Hermos for a few reasons. The main reason though, no other class or archetype seemed to fit well with his description. Secondly, I gave him a few levels of it, as I figured that even in twenty years of travelling with Carnival, he would have gained some experience.

[Nemesio]

Nice job!

[Mortavius]

Thank you! I know it's not a monumental effort, but I was still surprised at how much work it took just for that much.

I especially like how if you consider the timeline, these characters have all aged somewhat, and are older than they are originally presented in the books. Hermos is middle aged, and that's with me assuming that he was twenty when he led the freaks out of l'Morai. I wasn't able to find a record of his age at pretty much any time, so he could be even older!

[The Giamarga]

Very nice. No profession(carnival manager) skill?

For comparison here's my 3.5 version of Hermos, which is also expert 3. I did not do the timeline so i figured in no age mods, but also increase his size to L (effectively the giant template in 3.5).

I've fiddled with a few of these myself, mostly in 3E, but a few in PF. I'll see if i get any polished up enough to contribute them here. Can I reserve the Brute for now? I'm very interested to see what you come up with for a few of these...

I like the inclusion of the timeline, though i think Ryan only does them for darklords or at least for major NPCs.

[Ryan Naylor]

No reason Hermos can't have one though.

Hermos was warped into a giant by the Carnival l'Morai. He then needs something else to represent the Twisiting's effect on him. (Admittedly, he didn't have that in Champions of the ists, but he should have).

One idea I recall was a soothing aura most of the time (something like calm emotions, I suppose), which becomes an intimidating aura when he's angered. The gentle giant/team dad thing, I suppose.

Any other thoughts?

[Mortavius]

Very nice. No profession(carnival manager) skill?

I've fiddled with a few of these myself, mostly in 3E, but a few in PF. I'll see if i get any polished up enough to contribute them here. Can I reserve the Brute for now? I'm very interested to see what you come up with for a few of these...

I like the inclusion of the timeline, though i think Ryan only does them for darklords or at least for major NPCs.

In all honesty, the thought of that skill never even occurred to me. A great point in favor of posting these here for feedback from you folks.

Although I did not consider the skill, I'm a bit of two minds on the subject. On the one hand, it's a very good representation of his skills. On the other hand, I did pick his existing skills with what he does in mind, that's why he has Appraise and Diplomacy. Also Perform as a relic of his past. What do you folks think? Does the Profession skill represent training (which Hermos hasn't really had), and he should be represented by what he's got, or should I juggle the skills around and give him Profession?

I don't mind if you want to the Brute, Giamarga.

I thought about the timeline too, and initially I wasn't going to go with it, but I'm glad I did. I find the personalized timelines really give insight into the character in specific, a lot more so than a general timeline where everyone is listed. And, as I mentioned, it forces me to realize that some of these characters are now older than they were originally portrayed in the Carnival supplement.

[Mortavius]

No reason Hermos can't have one though.

Hermos was warped into a giant by the Carnival l'Morai. He then needs something else to represent the Twisiting's effect on him. (Admittedly, he didn't have that in Champions of the ists, but he should have).

One idea I recall was a soothing aura most of the time (something like calm emotions, I suppose), which becomes an intimidating aura when he's angered. The gentle giant/team dad thing, I suppose.

Any other thoughts?

Very good point Ryan. I never considered that. But there's examples of it happening before; the Vampiress had stunted wings until Isolde came along and they grew out. Hmmm...I'm gonna have to think on this one. Thanks for bringing it up!

[Ryan Naylor]

It needs to be subtle, I think, since there's no record of Hermos' shape changing or anything like that.

On Profession (manager) - I actually think a few ranks would be good to represent the skills Hermos has had to develop as manager of Carnival's day-to-day activities: finding enough food, making sure everyone sets up and pulls down in time, keeping the books, making sure everyone gets paid... Things that aren't covered by Diplomacy or Appraise.

[The Giamarga]

I also gave him craft woodcarving, gather info and know local. And I'm particularly proud of the feat choice in my 3.5 version...

The twisting effect is always the hardest part for me. It should be something with the calming effect. For what was his giant form curse chosen again? Twist that reason around into something positive/constructive/wise...

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

For what was his giant form curse chosen again? Twist that reason around into something positive/constructive/wise...

It was for hiding from his parents' abuse. So that he could never hide again. Not sure how to twist that part, but he definitely became the caring parent-figure that he never had, breaking the cycle of abuse.

[Eddyspaghetti]

To put a spin on the inability to hide- how about not wanting to? What if the Twisting gave him the ability to sense when he is needed or being looked for- so that he then appears? Quite paternal if you think about it, but definitely not incredibly powerful. You could even make it subconscious, with him unaware of it ever happening.

[Joël of the FoS]

Cool job

Indeed with profession (circus management)!

I would also augment his charisma toward children, he would seem of the caring and trusted type in the eyes of chilldren.

Frank's feats were quite fitting indeed.

Joël

[Mortavius]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

I altered Hermos' skills to reflect the Carnival Manager skill. I reduced his ranks in Perform to account for his lack of doing it for awhile, and switched them over; seemed a nice compromise.

I looked at your feats Giamarga, and I don't dislike them, but I feel they rely too much on the DM utilizing what I see as an optional system from HoL. I personally have never liked that system; I always thought it was a little shallow, and all we really needed was something to show normal folks and true innocents. I'm sort of going for a common-denominator baseline, so I want to try and use feats from the PF books or the Ravenloft core books that translate over easily. Some of the feats in HoL rely on the DM using that whole other system, and that's great if the DM wants to, but I don't want to assume that to be the case.

Why the skills in woodcarving? I admit, it's been a long time since I read Carnival of Fear; does he practice a lot of carving in that novel?

I also thought long and hard about the Twisting effect on Hermos, and I had to make a conscious decision to ignore his size; like Ryan said, it's not really related to the Twisting at all. Once I was able to eliminate that from my head, I latched on to Ryan's idea about emotions, and felt that was core to Hermos' identity, and that the Twisting would play off that. So although I really appreciate everyone's suggestions on his Twisting (I really do), I'm giving special thanks to Ryan for his suggestion germinating into the idea I put forth. But please everyone, keep the feedback coming!

[Mortavius]

Here is my attempt at the next Trouper,

Claude Rivale, the Imp

Timeline
729 BC: Claude and Importun born in Mortigny, Richemulot to horrified parents.
745 BC: Claude and Importun are abandoned at the Carnival the first time it comes to Mortigny; Isolde utilizes the Twisting and frees Importun from being powerless and gives him control of their shared body.
760 BC: Current day.

Twisting: Importun has gained control of the body he and Claude share.

Base Stats [Statistics in squared parenthesis refer to Claude when he is in control and the Imp is unconscious]
S 12 D 11 C 11 I 18 [10] W 14 [9] Ch 14 [7]
Racial: +2 Con
Leveling: +1 Wis
Favored Class: +HP, +Skill Ranks (x3)

760 BC (Current day stats)
CR 2; XP 600
Human Barbarian (Drunken Brute) 1/Expert 3
NG [CN] Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init+0; Senses Perception +9 [+7]

Defense
AC 10 [8 when raging], touch 10 [8 when raging], flat-footed 10
HP 30 [38 when raging] (1d12+3d8+5)
Fort +4 [+6 when raging], Ref +1, Will +5 [+3, +5 when raging]
Defensive Abilities Two Minds
Weakness Alcohol

Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee MW Silver Dagger +5 (1d4+1) [Dagger +7 (1d4+3) when raging]

Statistics
S 12 [16 when raging] D 11 C 13 [17 when raging] I 18 [10] W 15 [10] Ch 14 [7]
Base Atk +3; CMB +4 [+6 when raging]; CMD 14 [16 when raging]
Feats: Cosmopolitan (x2), Skill Focus (Diplomacy)
Skills: Bluff +9 [+5], Diplomacy +12 [+8], Disguise +9 [+5], Intimidate +6 [+2], Handle Animal +7 [+3], Knowledge (Local) +11 [+7], Knowledge (Nobility) +11 [+7], Linguistics +11 [+7], Perception +9 [+7], Perform (Act) +9 [+5], Ride +4, Sense Motive +9 [+7], Swim +5 [+7 when raging]
Languages Mordentish*, Balok, Falkovnian, Halfling, Vassi, Darkonese, Lamordian, Luktar, Sithican, Gnomish, Dwarven, Elven, Tepestani
SQ [Raging Drunk (5 rounds/day)]

Equipment
Traveler’s Clothes, MW Silver Dagger, Potions (Calm Emotions, Comprehend Languages)

Two Minds (Su): If a mind-affecting spell is cast upon the Imp, unless the caster specifies otherwise, it is cast upon Claude’s mind. Since Claude’s mind is impotent while the Imp is in control, in most cases the spell has no effect, although outside mental contact could be made with Claude (possibly revealing the Imp’s secret). If the spell is specifically targeted at the Imp though, it has its normal effect.

Alcohol Weakness: The Imp’s tiny body is easily overcome by alcohol. If tricked into drinking it, the Imp will be knocked unconscious for the duration of the inebriation, and Claude will be back in control of the body.

[Ryan Naylor]

Barbarian 1 might represent Claude's natural ability rather than training (that is, having a really, really bad temper and the desire to get the hell away from Carnival while he can), and would give him the very similar base stats to the Imp's expert 2 (e.g. hp would be identical, BAB identical...) .

It might be interesting to layer one over the other (like I did with Malken and Tristen) and see what you get.