So Blue Bell has won the race to become my PC for Tyranny of Dragons. My Elf Cleric fantasy will await a more compelling pantheon than the Forgotten Realms which is probably for the best.
I know I’ve posted about this build before but let’s recap. The build is, Eloquence Bard/Zealot Barbarian. Exact levels are an open question but I’d probably do either Bard 3/Barbarian 17 or Bard 6/Barbarian 14 if I actually went to 20. From Bard, you get Bardic Inspiration, Expertise, and spells like Comprehend Languages and Suggestion. The Eloquence bard specifically gets Reliable Talent for Deception and Persuasion and can use Bardic Inspiration to give people a penalty on the followup Suggestion spell. Going to Bard 6 gets you an ASI, Inspiration recharges on a short rest, and the ability to speak to creatures regardless of language AND people keep their bardic inspiration die if they still fail the check they spend it on. That’s some cool shit that makes for a dandy spy. And the entire point of the build is to put a minimum roll of 19 Deception and Persuasion on your Greataxe Swinging Barbarian.
I’m going Fierna Tiefling for Friends, Charm Person, and Suggestion. The Tiefling has not received an Errata to bring it in line with the other races that get spells in Monsters of the Multiverse which permits you to use spell slots to cast spells granted by the race but I’ve asked the DM. Good god I’m That Guy now. Pallid Elf would also fit with the Advantage to Insight but I’m saving that for my other Dragon Age Ripoff Character, The Cole Build.
One tough thing about this character is playing someone who’s literally a spy for Hell. In Dragon Age, The Iron Bull is a spy for The Qunari. He’s completely upfront about being a spy and doesn’t make a big deal about it. The implications don’t come until later. But I don’t think people will trust my character if I tell them I’m a spy for Hell.
The Qunari are not an analog for D&D’s Devils. But, at the very least before The Iron Bull the Qunari were a lot more ambiguous. You meet a few of them in earlier games. Sten in DA1, The Arishok in DA2. In the third Dragon Age game, the Iron Bull is the funny big guy on the team. If you pay attention, you realize how smart and insightful he is. Eventually the Qunari get around to offering you an alliance. It’s a mistake to take it. Objectively it’s a bad decision but it seems like a good one at the time. There is one line of dialogue in the first dragon age game where your Qunari companion straight up tells you, “The Qunari don’t make alliances.” They don’t view non-Qunari as people, how would they ally with them? It’s a blink and you’ll miss it, not on the test moment, no one was going to remember this two games and many years later.
My point in that tangent is that in Dragon Age you never realize you’re making a faustian bargain with the Qunari. With Devils it’s obvious they’re going to screw you. Who would sign up for that? This is why the character needs an arc. Blue Bell’s is the same as The Iron Bull. A struggle between Lawful Evil and Chaotic Good that they can’t resolve on their own.
Yeah I can say I’m definitely looking forward to this!