The Dragon Tablets: Nephithi Andas 2.0

Let’s see what Nephithi looks like now. With the new templates she is a Shadow Elf (racial template), Arcane Warrior (character template), and Chosen One (motivational lens), which will take most of her budgeted points and leave little room for any personal touches. And considering that she spent 554 points last time and now only have 500, there is much that has to be left on the cutting room floor.

Feriel by kerembeyit as Nephithi Andas.

Attributes

ST 11 [10]; DX 15 [100]; IQ 14 [80]; HT 11 [10].

Secondary Characteristics

Damage 1d-1/1d+1; BL 24 lbs.; HP 11 [0]; Will 14 [0]; Per 15 [5]; FP 11 [0]; Energy Reserve (Magicka) 10 [0].
Basic Speed 6.25 [0]; Basic Move 6 [0].
Move 6; Dodge 10; Parry (Broadsword)-14

Advantages/Perks

Absolute Direction [5]
Accessory (Map) [1]
Alcohol Tolerance [1]
Appearance (Attractive) [4]
Combat Reflexes [15]
Dark Vision [25]
Destiny [15]
Eidetic Memory [5]
Enhanced Parry 1 (Broadsword) [5]
Extra Attack 1 [25]
Luck [15]
Serendipity 1 [15]
Shtick (Absolute Direction and  your senses updates the Map automatically) [1]
Shtick (Absolute Direction shows the direction to all locations on the map) [1]
Silence 2 [10]
Sorcerous Empowerment 5 [60]
Sorcery Talent 3 [30]
Unaging [15]
Voice [10]
Weapon Bond (Sword) [1]

Known Spells

Affliction 1 (Advantage, Damage Resistance 5 (Magical, -10%; Maximum Duration, 10 minutes, -50%), +100%; Extended Duration, 3x, +20%; Magical, -10%; Selectivity, +10%) [21/5]
Burning Attack 3d (Damage Modifiers, Explosion, +50%; Damage Modifiers, Surge, +20%; Jet, +0%; Magical, -10%; Selectivity, +10%) [25/5]
Crushing Attack 3d (Cone, 5 yards, +100%; Damage Modifiers, Double Knockback, +20%; Damage Modifiers, Explosion, +50%; Increased 1/2D, 10x, +15%; Magical, -10%; Reduced Range, 10, -30%; Selectivity, +10%) [27/6]
Healing (Affects Self, +50%; Injuries Only, -20%; Magical, -10%; Temporary Disadvantage, Sessile, -50%) [9/2]
Regeneration (Very Fast; Magical, -10%; Magicka Only, -0%; Useless under stress, -60%) [30/6]

Disadvantages/Quirks

Code of Honor (Gentleman’s) [-10]
Obsession (Become the best sorcerer in the world!) (9) [-15]
Obsession (Become the best swordsman in the world!) (12) [-10]
Sense of Duty (Companions) [-5]
Social Stigma (Minority) [-10]
Unnatural Features (Large Ears) [-1]
Vow (Never refuse a challenge to combat) [-10]
Weirdness Magnet [-15]

Skills

Acrobatics (H) DX [4]-15
Alchemy (VH) IQ-1 [4]-13
Autohypnosis (H) Will-2 [1]-12
Brawling (E) DX [1]-15
Broadsword (A) DX+3 [12]-18
Carousing (E) HT+2 [4]-13
Cartography (A) IQ-1 [1]-13
Climbing (A) DX-1 [1]-14
Cloak (A) DX [2]-15
Connoisseur (Natural Environments) (A) IQ-1 [1]-13
Crossbow (E) DX [1]-15
Diplomacy (H) IQ+1 [2]-15†
Fast-Draw (Sword) (E) DX+1 [1]-16*
Fast-Talk (A) IQ+2 [2]-16†
First Aid (E) IQ [1]-14
Forced Entry (E) DX [1]-15
Gambling (A) IQ-1 [1]-13
Gesture (E) IQ [1]-14
Hazardous Materials (Magical) (A) IQ-1 [1]-13
Hidden Lore (Cryptozoology) (A) IQ [2]-14
Hidden Lore (Elementals) (A) IQ [2]-14
Hidden Lore (Free Spirits) (A) IQ [2]-14
Hidden Lore (Magic Items) (A) IQ [2]-14
Hidden Lore (Magical Writings) (A) IQ [2]-14
Hidden Lore (Restless Undead) (A) IQ [2]-14
Hidden Lore (Vampires) (A) IQ [2]-14
Hiking (A) HT+1 [4]-12
Holdout (A) IQ-1 [1]-13
Innate Attack (Beam) (E) DX+4 [2]-19‡
Innate Attack (Projectile) (E) DX+4 [2]-19‡
Intimidation (A) Will-1 [1]-13
Jumping (E) DX [1]-15
Meditation (H) Will-2 [1]-12
Occultism (A) IQ+1 [4]-15
Physiology (Vampires) (H) IQ-1 [2]-13
Research (A) IQ-1 [1]-13
Riding (A) DX-1 [1]-14
Running (A) HT-1 [1]-10
Savoir-Faire (High Society) (E) IQ [1]-14
Scrounging (E) Per [1]-15
Search (A) Per-1 [1]-14
Stealth (A) DX-1 [1]-14
Swimming (E) HT [1]-11
Thaumatology (VH) IQ-1 [4]-13
Throwing (A) DX [2]-15
Wrestling (A) DX-1 [1]-14
Writing (A) IQ-1 [1]-13
* Includes +1 for Combat Reflexes † Includes +2 for Voice ‡ Includes +3 for Sorcery Talent

Improvised Magic

The following are examples of improvised spells at Nephithi’s disposal.
Doesn’t Breathe (Gills, -50%; Magical, -10%; Maximum Duration, 1 week, -20%)
Infravision (Magical, -10%; Maximum Duration, 10 minutes, -50%)

Gear

I’m only listing combat gear. Encumbrance (24 lbs).
Clothes $0 2 lbs.
Thrusting Broadsword-19 1d+2 cut/1d+1 imp (reach 1) $600 3 lbs
Leather Armor DR 2 $100 10 lbs. torso, groin.
Heavy Leather Leggings/Sleeves DR 2 $110 6 lbs. arms, legs.
Boots DR 2* $80 3 lbs. $110

Notes

She has 6 unspent points and 4 remaining quirks.

Magicka, Absolute Direction, Accessory, and both Shticks are added outside the budget as they are setting switches. So there are no changes there.

In a general sense, she is less capable. But with almost 10% of her points gone, that wasn’t unexpected. But she is less capable to such an extent that one can assume that anything she was able to do before, she either cannot do at all or not as well.

She is still as strong, attractive, colorful, combat ready, but not combat precise, and lucky as she used to be. As the voice of the group, she is just as capable in that arena as she used to be. She knows monsters as well as she did, except demons.

She is more perceptive now, even in total darkness. And destiny is on her side. She is knowledgeable about cryptids, more undead than she used to be, and vampires. Vampires replace demons as her focus. She now know how to trance, use a crossbow, hike, ride, run, swim, and wrestle.

She is a sorceress instead of a wizardess. So the spells of the standard Magic system are gone and has been replaced by Sorcery. Which means it takes longer to pick the right spell, but she can improvise.

Her disadvantages are all there, but her desire to be the sorceress supreme is more severe and her main reason for being an adventurer. And we have added that shadow elves are not well liked and that her ears are much bigger than they should be.

The Dragon Tablets: Iteration Two – Templates the Old Way

Now that we have set the new rules we’re using with The Dragon Tablets, drawing on Action, Dungeon Fantasy, and Monster Hunters. It is time to update the templates.

When we started this journey, I was looking at 400 point characters, but due to the Dungeon Fantasy templates and the way I merged two of them together to get something workable, that ended up being closer to 500 character points, including racial templates for those that use them. Creating characters this way is still possible and that is why we’re going to go through the process that created Arthur Wing, Edward Ashcroft, and Nephithi Andas.

Let’s use Nephithi as our example. In Iteration One we used the elf template from GURPS Fantasy, but in Iteration Two we changed the racial templates. And as her inspiration came from the Elder Scrolls Dark Elf, she would be a Shadow Elf.

As a Shadow Elf, she has DX +1, IQ +1, Per +1, Dark Vision, Silence 2, Unaging, and Social Stigma (Minority). Which would remove the Elf template’s ST -1, Appearance (Attractive), Magery 0, Perfect Balance, Telescopic Vision 1, Voice, and Connoisseur (Natural Environments) from the Iteration One character.

We add the TES related traits, Absolute Direction, Accessory (Map), Shtick (Absolute Direction and your senses updates the Map automatically), Shtick (Absolute Direction shows the direction to all locations on the map).

We then go to the Dungeon Fantasy templates Swashbuckler and Wizard. We take the highest of each attribute from both templates, ST 11, DX 16, IQ 16, HT 13. The elf template gave ST -1, but I decided to skip that part in Iteration One so that the character didn’t have lower attributes than indicated by the templates. In Iteration Two this includes IQ +1.

Secondary characteristics go next. Again, use the best of each template. Damage 1d-1/1d+1, BL 24 lbs, HP 11, Will 16, Per 14, FP 13, Energy Reserve (Magicka) 14, Basic Speed 7.00, Basic Move 7. Including the Per +1 from her race and lowering FP to the Swashbuckler value as FP from the wizard has been moved to Magicka.

The next step is looking at the advantages, starting with the mandatory ones. Combat Reflexes, Enhanced Parry (Broadsword), Luck, Magery 3, Weapon Bond (Sword), and Weapon Master (Broadsword). And then picking optional ones: Eidetic Memory, Intuition, Magery 4 from Wizard and Alcohol Tolerance, Enhanced Dodge, Extra Attack, and Serendipity 1 from Swashbuckler.

Followed by the disadvantages. And neither have any mandatory disadvantages, so we’re going straight for the optional ones. Code of Honor (Gentleman’s), Obsession (Become the best swordsman in the world!), and Vow (Never refuse a challenge to combat) for a total of -30 from the -50 points for a Swashbuckler. And Obsession (Become the best wizard in the world!), Weirdness Magnet, and Sense of Duty (Companions) for a total of -30 from the -35 points from the Wizard template. There are another -25 points available in the templates, but I chose to skip those.

Skills are next, starting with the mandatory ones. From the Wizard: Hidden Lore (Demons)-16, Occultism-16, Alchemy-16, Thaumatology-16, Hazardous Materials (Magical)-15, Research-15, Speed-Reading-15, Teaching-15, Writing-15, Meditation-15. And from Swashbuckler: Jumping-15, Fast-Draw (Knife)-17, Fast-Draw (Sword)-17, Acrobatics-16, Wrestling-15, Stealth-15, Carousing-13. As IQ and Will have +1 in Iteration Two, but not Perfect Balance, some of the skill levels are different from Iteration One. And somehow Wrestling didn’t make it in Iteration One.

The optional skills, starting with Swashbuckler: Throwing-16, Broadsword-20, Cloak-17, Brawling-17, Savoir-Faire (High Society)-17, Climbing-15, Fast-Talk-14, First Aid-16, Gesture-16, Gambling-15, Hiking-12, and Search-13. And from the Wizard: Staff-18, Innate Attack (Beam)-18, Fast-Draw (Potion)-17, Cartography-15, Hidden Lore (Magic Items)-15, Hidden Lore (Magical Writings)-15, Hidden Lore (Spirits)-15, Diplomacy-14, Physiology (Demon)-14, Physiology (Mundane)-14, and Scrounging-14. As I would need it for my spells, I also added Innate Attack (Projectile)-18 outside the template. Some of the skill levels are different here too, due to higher IQ and Per, as well as no Voice.

And then on to the spells. All of these are from the Wizard: Armor-18, Breathe Water-18, Burning Touch-18, Concussion-18, Create Air-18, Create Fire-18, Create Water-18, Dark Vision-18, Deflect Energy-18, Destroy Water-18, Explosive Fireball-18, Fireball-18, Flame Jet-18, Heat-18, Ignite Fire-18, Infravision-18, Keen Vision-18, Lend Energy-18, Lend Vitality-18, Lightning-18, Major Healing-17, Minor Healing-18, Purify Air-18, Recover Energy-18, Resist Fire-18, Shape Air-18, Shape Fire-18, Shield-18, Sound-18, and Thunderclap-18.

Because of the more expensive racial template, she ended up being 15 points more expensive at 569 points. But as she already has Dark Vision, we can remove a few spells from her spell list: Dark Vision, Infravision, and Keen Vision. But as the template indicates that 30 points should be spent on spells, those three points have to be reinvested there anyway.

That elves are better looking than humans, is one of the most common traits of an elf in other settings. But that isn’t the case in TES or Dragon Tablets. At least not in Iteration Two. Is that something that needs to be considered for Iteration Three? If the image of Nephithi is considered Attractive in Iteration One, shouldn’t it be considered Attractive in Iteration Two too? Or can I use the same image even if she no longer is Attractive? The balance and voice of elves are also well known in some settings. But again, in Iteration Two that is not the case. And having the old Nephithi being 569 points and the new Nephithi being only 500 points, something has to change. But how that will happen is still to come.

The Dragon Tablets: Nephithi Andas 1.1

When I play Elder Scrolls, I normally play a male Dunmer with a sword in one hand and magic in the other, wearing light armor. So that’s the kind of character I want to start creating. I didn’t find any good images filling all the above criteria, so I made this character female.

Looking at the available templates, I’m going to use the Elf template in Fantasy and both the Swashbuckler and Wizard templates from Dungeon Fantasy 1 Adventurers, adding Magicka and some computer game related traits taken from The Elder Scrolls games. It will make her more powerful than I want her to be, but I can’t create the character I want with only one template. And even with two templates, she will still not be everything I need her to be. I’ll have to deal with that in some later iteration. She ended up being 554 points.

Feriel by kerembeyit as Nephithi Andas

Attributes

ST 11 [10]; DX 16 [120]; IQ 15 [100]; HT 13 [30].

Secondary Characteristics

Damage 1d-1/1d+1; BL 24 lbs.; HP 11 [0]; Will 15 [0]; Per 13 [-10]; FP 13 [0]; Energy Reserve (Magicka) 14 [12].
Basic Speed 7.00 [0]; Basic Move 7 [0].
Move 7; Dodge 12; Parry (Broadsword) 15

Advantages/Perks

Absolute Direction [5]
Accessory (Map) [1]
Alcohol Tolerance [1]
Appearance (Attractive) [4]
Combat Reflexes [15]
Eidetic Memory [5]
Enhanced Dodge 1 [15]
Enhanced Parry 1 (Broadsword) [5]
Extra Attack 1 [25]
Luck [15]
Intuition [15]
Magery 4 [45]
Perfect Balance [15]
Serendipity 1 [15]
Shtick (Absolute Direction and  your senses updates the Map automatically) [1]
Shtick (Absolute Direction shows the direction to all locations on the map) [1]
Telescopic Vision 1 [5]
Unaging [15]
Voice [10]
Weapon Bond (Sword) [1];
Weapon Master (Broadsword) [20]

Disadvantages

Code of Honor (Gentleman’s) [-10]
Obsession (Become the best swordsman in the world!) (12) [-10]
Obsession (Become the best wizard in the world!) (12) [-10]
Sense of Duty (Companions) [-5]
Vow (Never refuse a challenge to combat) [-10]
Weirdness Magnet [-15]

Skills

Acrobatics (H) DX+1 [4]-17‡
Alchemy (VH) IQ [8]-15
Brawling (E) DX+1 [2]-17
Broadsword (A) DX+4 [16]-20
Carousing (E) HT [1]-13
Cartography (A) IQ-1 [1]-14
Climbing (A) DX [1]-16‡
Cloak (A) DX+1 [4]-17
Connoisseur (Natural Environments) (A) IQ-1 [1]-14
Diplomacy (H) IQ [1]-15§
Fast-Draw (Knife) (E) DX+1 [1]-17*
Fast-Draw (Potion) (E) DX+1 [1]-17*
Fast-Draw (Sword) (E) DX+1 [1]-17*
Fast-Talk (A) IQ+1 [1]-16§
First Aid (E) IQ [1]-15
Gambling (A) IQ-1 [1]-14;
Gesture (E) IQ [1]-15
Hazardous Materials (Magical) (A) IQ-1 [1]-14
Hidden Lore (Demons) (A) IQ [2]-15
Hidden Lore (Magic Items) (A) IQ-1 [1]-14
Hidden Lore (Magical Writings) (A) IQ-1 [1]-14
Hidden Lore (Spirits) (A) IQ-1 [1]-14
Hiking (A) HT-1 [1]-12
Innate Attack (Beam) (E) DX+2 [4]-18
Innate Attack (Projectile) (E) DX+2 [4]-18
Jumping (E) DX [1]-16
Meditation (H) Will-1 [2]-14
Occultism (A) IQ [2]-15
Physiology (Demon) (H) IQ-2 [1]-13
Physiology (Mundane) (H) IQ-2 [1]-13
Research (A) IQ-1 [1]-14
Savoir-Faire (High Society) (E) IQ+1 [2]-16
Scrounging (E) Per [1]-13
Search (A) Per-1 [1]-12
Speed-Reading (A) IQ-1 [1]-14
Staff (A) DX+2 [8]-18
Stealth (A) DX-1 [1]-15
Teaching (A) IQ-1 [1]-14
Thaumatology (VH) IQ [1]-15†
Throwing (A) DX [2]-16
Wrestling (A) DX [2]-15
Writing (A) IQ-1 [1]-14


* Includes +1 for Combat Reflexes
† Includes +4 for Magery
‡ Includes +1 for Perfect Balance
§ Includes +2 for Voice

Spells*

Armor (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Breathe Water (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Burning Touch (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Concussion (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Create Air (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Create Fire (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Create Water (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Dark Vision (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Deflect Energy (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Destroy Water (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Explosive Fireball (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Fireball (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Flame Jet (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Heat (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Ignite Fire (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Infravision (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Keen Vision (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Lend Energy (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Lend Vitality (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Lightning (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Major Healing (VH) IQ+1 [1]-16
Minor Healing (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Purify Air (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Recover Energy (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Resist Fire (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Shape Air (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Shape Fire (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Shield (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Sound (H) IQ+2 [1]-17
Thunderclap (H) IQ+2 [1]-17

* Includes +4 for Magery

Gear

I’m only listing combat gear.
No  Encumbrance (24 lbs).

Clothes $0 2 lbs.
Thrusting Broadsword-21 1d+2 cut/1d+1 imp (reach 1) $600 3 lbs
Leather Armor DR 2 $100 10 lbs. torso, groin.
Heavy Leather Leggings/Sleeves DR 2 $110 6 lbs. arms, legs.
Boots DR 2* $80 3 lbs.
$110

Notes

Nephithi may be more than a starting Elder Scrolls character in some ways, but the restrictions of the templates makes her less than a starting character in other ways. She may have a lot of the spells I find iconic for my play style in TES, but her versatility in combat is paltry compared to the all capable TES prisoner. She wants to grow in power, similarly to a TES player who wants their character to increase in level. She’s someone around whom the strange frequently takes place.

Accessory (Map) gives her a mental map, as accurate as her senses and other maps available in the campaign. It is both a map of the world or city, as well as a floor plan of any building, cave, or similar that she is in, have been in, or have seen the map/floor plan of. The map doesn’t include anything that happened before the start of the campaign.

Shtick (Absolute Direction and your senses updates the Map automatically) means that her map instantly updates with information given by her senses and Absolute Direction.

Shtick (Absolute Direction shows the direction to all locations on the map) allows Absolute Direction to tell her the direction to anywhere on your map.