Introducing Guðleifr the útlegð AKA Gleb the Exile

So last Saturday was the character creation session for the new D&D game that inspired my last two character creation manifesto posts (parts 1 and 2).  As previously threatened, I made good on my promise to Citizen Ben to hijack the game, standing before the seven other players and pontificating about what I thought the party goals and game plot should be, as well as shepherding all through the character creation process.   The other players decided on the following:

• Aldous Kordam - Satyr Skald
• Alora Aluringcast - Eladrin Arcanist
• Samir Dastinky - Dwarf Slayer
• Hyrulan - Elf Sentinel
• Ichiro Katsou - Half-Elf Swordmage
• Zarach - Githzerai Avenger
• ??? - Halfling Storm Sorcerer

And I, of course, went with my plan to play Guðleifr the útlegð AKA Gleb the Exile, Goliath Barbarian.



Since I was forcing all the other players to go through my character creation process, I also took Gleb through, though I had made many of the decisions beforehand.

• For Gleb, I chose the Thaneborn Barbarian build, Gleb is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield for his enemies, but I want him to be an inspiration to his party mates and the Thaneborn build lets him be an effective battle leader.
• I went with Goliath, as being a non-human will help me to differentiate him from my previous Thaneborn Barbarian, Amleth, and gives me a chance to create/borrow/steal an interesting culture for him to come from.
• I’ve already convinced Ben to let Gleb go without armor, having tattoos that give him an armor equivalent that will let me revel in the armorless barbarian and let Gleb revel in the gloriousness of his (nearly) naked body.
• I had already come up with the name Guðleifr the útlegð AKA Gleb the Exile to give me a name that felt very reminiscent of Croach the Tracker from the Thrilling Adventure Hour Serial,Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars, and for it to be, like Croach, a name that I could constantly insist the other characters were not correctly pronouncing.
• As I intend to play Gleb as a heroic, but long suffering sidekick, I went with Good.  Several of the other players went with Unaligned, and Gleb shall be making sure that they don’t stray too far from the heroic path by insisting they do what’s right.
• For background I went with ‘Parentage - Noble’, to give Gleb a bonus to his Perception (always a handy skill) and because I imagine him as a Goliath Prince in Exile, seeking the treasure that will free his tribe, who he is under great Onus to, from the bondage of the Frost Giants who control their ancestral lands.
• For Deity, I know that Gleb will pay homage to Kord, under the guise of ‘K-ord.
• As I said before, I’m basing Gleb’s personality largely on that of Croach the Tracker from TAH, so for personality traits, I largely let that guide me.
• In social interactions others perceive Gleb as Dry or Emotionless.
• It was tough to decide how optimistic Gleb would be, but I finally went with Brooding.  
• Because he is unused to normal Human and demi-human emotions I decided that Gleb will be Gullible.  This will be tricky to play as outright lies about observable facts won’t trick him, no Ogre is going to convince him that the pit he can see is not there, but he will be unused to reading emotions and deceits, so a wily Drow could talk him into believe it to be honorable and giving back a weapon.
• Gleb will be Humble but Insistent at decision points.  He will speak his opinion and try to convince the Sorcerer, whose sidekick he is, since he is under great onus to her, but will not go his own way, rather he will dryly remind others that he proposed a better alternative.
• For how conscientious are you about following rules, I know that Gleb is Honest but Pragmatic.  Being from an alien culture, he will be willing to question human rules that he thinks are ridiculous, but will always be honest about it and generally follow along with the rules.
• Gleb is courageously Steady when faced with Dire Straits
• And Stoic when faced by setbacks and
• possesses Unshakeable nerves.
• I have a wealth of Mannerisms for Gleb, most of which are just stolen from Croach (When in Doubt, Borrow and Steal)
• Like Croach, he will be under Onus, both to his Tribe, the Stoneskin tribe, and to the Halfling Storm Sorcerer whose sidekick he’ll be as she saved his life twice.  He’ll also keep track of the Onus he bears to the rest of the party, or that the rest of the party bears him, as the game goes on.
• He’ll correct other characters, PCs and NPCs, on the pronunciation of his name, his deity, Onus and his home village, Galut Proct Ah.
• He’ll exclaim “Bagropa!” when surprised/shocked.
• When asked about something, he’ll often dryly comment that he does what he does because “I’m.... from Fjords”
• He will seek to be as free of clothing as he can get away with, reveling in his glorious body.
• He will designate others in the manner of his people, the Skald will be Kordam the Singer, the Storm Sorcerer whose boat they are travelling on will be designated “Captain”, etc.
• For Gleb’s language, I went with Giant, since the Frost Giants are oppressing his people.
• For the boring mechanical stuff, I breezed through that:
• For his handful of skills, I gave Gleb training in Athletics, Endurance and Perception.
• I took Two-Handed Weapon Expertise since it will give a +1 to almost all my attacks and a bonus to damage when charging, which Gleb will do a lot of.
• Since there will be two healers in the group, I decided not to take the At-Will that gave me Temp HP, instead taking Howling Strike, my favorite Barbarian At-Will which deals an extra d6 dmg and can be used as part of a charge and Pressing Strike, which will let me knock enemies back, useful for keeping them away from the squishier members of the party.
• For Gleb’s encounter power, I took Vault the Fallen which will let me attack two enemies, moving between them.
• For Gleb’s daily Rage, which I decided is less a Rage and more Gleb letting one of his honored ancestors inhabit and strengthen him, I chose Thunder Hooves Rage which will increase the damage of his charges as he runs over enemies.
• Ben had asked the group to consider these questions for their PCs:
• What 5 words describe your PC?
• Dry, Humble, Steady, Honest, Stoic
• What has been your life's greatest accomplishment so far?
• Escaping the prison camp the Frost Giants imprisoned him in.
• What has been your life's greatest failure so far?
• Seeing his brothers, sisters and cousins slain by the Frost Giants when Gleb tried to lead an attack on the Giants.  This event led to Gleb’s father, the chieftan of the Stoneskin Tribe, placing Gleb under Onus to locate the legendary sword Jotnarsbane and then exiling him until he did so.
• Who is one person who is important to your PC and why?
• The Halfling Storm Sorcerer, as Gleb is under great Onus to her for saving his live twice.
• What is your PC's greatest strength?
• His strength of body and of character.
• What is your PC's greatest weakness?
• His unfamiliarity of the strange ways of Humans and their related ilk.
• What are your character's thoughts on;
• Religion
• ‘K-ord is a mighty god to whom homage must be paid.  Other gods are strange and their ways are not to be trusted.
• Politicals
• Gleb cares little for politics.  He only wants to find the treasure that contains Jotnarsbane and will work with any good person to do so.
• The Afterlife
• If Gleb dies gloriously in Battle he will join his ancestors in ‘K-ord’s great cave and if he becomes a legendary hero, ‘K-ord will send his spirit to strenghen his descendents, much as ‘K-ord sends Gleb’s ancestors to strengthen him.
• Wealth
• If Gleb has a sword to swing he has little use for wealth.  His tattoos are his armor and he has little need for luxuries as they make those who enjoy them soft and weak.
• I also, as I do with all my PCs, made a playlist/soundtrack.  At first I had thought to do something elaborate like this old Last.fm post that I found, but then I realized that it would be way, way too long, so I narrowed it down to half a dozen songs:

• Theme Song - “No Land's Man” by The Young Gods
• Song about your childhood/homeland - “His Teeth Did Brightly Shine' by Earth
• Combat Montage Song - “Tenter le grillage” by The Young Gods
• Introspective Moment - “Home is Far from Here” by Crime & the City Solution covered by Mick Harvey
• Song you tip the Bard to play in the Inn - “Another Sky” by Akron/Family
• Closing Credits - “State of Non-Return” by OM

I’ll elaborate on Gleb more as I begin to play him, but I have a very definite idea of how I want to play him and I’m excited to play him with the group and see how the other characters react and how often I can get other players to giggle as a I talk about Onuses.