Which Classes Mesh Well With "Way of The Shooting Star"? (Pathfinder Advice)

A little while back I put out the blog post Divine Fighting Technique: An Often-Overlooked Pathfinder Feat, and I was honestly surprised at the reaction. Because while this is a feat that hasn't seen a lot of love at my tables, it's apparently seen a lot of love from the community in general. That's on me... I got that one wrong. However, what really surprised me was that the favorite among everyone seemed to be Way of The Shooting Star, the feat associated with Desna and the starknife. That confused the hell out of me... but the more I thought about it, the more potential I saw in it.

So, I've seen the light on this one, and I thought I'd share some of the thoughts that came to me while it was rolling around in my head. I'm sure these will be old hat for a lot of folks, but for all the folks who were in the same boat as I was, I figured this might help mark out a few interesting paths for them to check out and explore!

This particular version of the feat should be in Divine Anthology, for those who want a copy.

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What Is "Way of The Shooting Star"?

For those who aren't familiar, the Divine Fighting Technique feat comes in two varieties. The one taken from Divine Anthology requires you to have the deity associated with the feat as a patron deity. The first ability this feat gives you when you take it (which can also be taken in place of a versatile performance if one is a chaotic good bard) is that when you make an attack with a starknife that you use your Charisma modifier for both attack and damage. The advanced benefit (which requires a Dexterity of 17, Point Blank Shot, Diving Fighting Technique, Rapid Shot, and Base Attack Bonus +11 or 11 ranks of Sleight of Hand or being a chaotic good bard at level 10 and replacing one of your versatile performances) allows you to throw a starknife as a full-round action, and if you hit roll 1d4 to see how many of the weapon's spikes strike the target. 

And, as a caveat, precision damage and critical hits only count once, even if you strike 4 times. So that does put something of a damper on the broken power of this feat's secondary ability.

Now, for my two cents, I'm not going to be focusing on the second ability of this feat. Sure, it's a fun trick, but the limitations on it can make it tough to really turn into a spinning death cloud (though if you have a combination that works really well for you, please leave it in the comments below!). I'm going to largely focus on the lower-level ability, as it's something you can build quite a solid character around if you choose to.

Which Classes & Abilities Pair Well With This Feat?

The ability to fight with your Charisma right out of the gate is a serious boon to high-Charisma builds. After all, if you can only have 1 attribute at a 20 (and you're going to focus on bulking it up as large as you can), then getting that +5 (or more) on attack and damage is a great way to compensate for the starknife's paltry damage die.

However, that solid start lends itself to some interesting class abilities. For instance...

Things are going to get a little... unusual.

One of the options at the top of my recommendation list is the Arcane Duelist bard archetype from the Advanced Player's Guide. Something of a proto-magus, this archetype lets you use the chaotic good bard option for both parts of the feat if you desire, and it gives you the ability Bladethirst. This class feature lets you add magical ability to your (and later to your companions') weapon, letting you make your starknife more deadly as situations unfold. And if you choose to get the larger ability of this feat, one of the abilities you can put on your starknife is returning, which can be very useful if you intend to be slinging it around the field.

When combined with spell storing put onto a starknife for a little extra oomph, this is one of my top-tier recommendations.

Speaking of the magus, another solid combination is the Eldritch Scion archetype from the Advanced Class Guide. This limits the spells you can cast per day, but it allows you to cast from your Charisma score, and it gives you a bloodline similar to a sorcerer. For those who want to make the use of the magus's spell combat feature, their ability to wear armor, and who like to be able to add magical abilities to their starknife in the midst of combat, this is another solid option to pursue.

My next recommendation is the swashbuckler, and for folks who want to get particular, the Flying Blade archetype from the Advanced Class Guide. While a standard swashbuckler will get a great deal of mileage out of focusing on sheer Charisma and using a starknife, combining that with their Precise Strike deed to get some extra damage out of such a relatively small weapon. The ability to use their biggest stat as the basis for their parry also makes the swashbuckler a fine choice defensively, as well as offensively. However, the Flying Blade archetype limits you to daggers and starknives, but it provides you with a list of interesting deed options, and lets you get more benefit out of throwing your blades (which will be particularly useful if you do want to use your starknife as a thrown weapon in combat).

While the swashbuckler lacks the magical options of the first two class choices, it makes up for it in martial versatility in a lot of ways that shouldn't be dismissed out of hand... especially since these abilities start out strong at first level, and grow with the character as the game progresses.

These were, personally, my top 3 choices for class combination based on the abilities. However, there are several that I'd give honorable mention to, while stating that these are not bad choices if you want to go that route (especially since more than a few of these came up in folks' favored picks).

- Oracle: Oracles are pretty solid in melee, and they're Charisma casters. When combined with an appropriate mystery like Battle, this helps give them a leg up over other divine casters who mix it up in melee. (EDIT: Choosing the mysteries Lunar, Nature, or Lore provides you some of the best benefits for this class. Prophetic Armor lets you use Charisma instead of Dexterity for your AC and Reflex saves, Nature's Whispers allows you to use Charisma instead of Dexterity for your AC and CMB, and Sidestep Secret allows you to use your Charisma instead of Dexterity for your AC and Reflex saves).

- Skald: With a lot of the same advantages as bards, skalds are a solid fall back choice. Their raging song, however, is a lot less useful if you're relying on your Charisma for your attacks and damage.. but if you have a lot of characters with Rage class features in your party, this could still be a smart choice. (EDIT: The Court Poet archetype from Heroes of The High Court alters Raging Song so it boosts Intelligence and Charisma, which can boost the skald up in effectiveness for this strategy.)

Before I finish out this section, I wanted to add the caveat that I am certain I missed certain class archetypes or features for clerics, cavaliers, rangers, slayers, and even fighters and bloodragers that make them ideal for this feat. There may even be a way to get a warpriest to cast off Charisma that I don't know... if you do know it, though, please leave it in the comments below with what book it's from (Paizo books only, please) so I can expand this list!

Feats and Boosts

Your character class isn't the only consideration when it comes to how effectively you can put this feat into play. You should ask what other feats support it, and how you can put them all together.

- Weapon Focus and Improved Weapon Focus: If you're going to be using a starknife nearly exclusively, might as well get the most bang for your buck with it.

- Weapon Specialization and Improved Weapon Specialization: If you qualify for it (and that's a big if) these can help you boost your individual attacks' damage.

- Pirahna Strike: While this one does have Weapon Finesse as a prerequisite (which you won't be using), the bonus damage is extremely helpful. This is basically a gimme option for swashbucklers, since Swashbuckler's Finesse qualifies you for this feat.

- Combat Reflexes: Though technically good for anyone with the feat slots to spare, this one is particularly important for swashbucklers (as well as any archetype with the parry deed).

There is also one, last trick I'd suggest for anyone planning to use this feat, and it comes in the form of one of my few, genuine contributions to Pathfinder as a game, and Golarion as a setting. In Bastards of Golarion I created a potent drug called Silvertongue. It provides a 1d2 alchemical bonus to your Charisma, in addition to granting a +2 alchemical bonus against mind affecting effects. The former bonus lasts for 1 hour, while the latter bonus lasts for 4. It does have some noticeable effects (1d4 Constitution damage and a DC 16 Fortitude save to avoid addiction), but it's not a bad thing to keep in your back pocket, especially if your Charisma is on one of those odd numbers and you're guaranteed that a dose will give you that extra +1 you need in a pinch.

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How Do You Play A Character That's Smarter Than You Are?

Our characters are often different from us in a lot of ways. But while a lot of players have no trouble with characters who are stronger, tougher, or quicker than they are in real life, it's those more ephemeral attributes that can sometimes cause a problem. How do you portray a character with an 18 in Intelligence if you don't have a degree in higher sciences? Can you believably act out an 18 Wisdom while knowing all those bad decisions you'd make in this situation? And what the hell does someone with an 18 Charisma even do?

Relax. Take a deep breath. You've got this. You just need to look at it from a different angle.

There are many sides to any endeavor, remember.

Being Smart Has No Set Appearance

Brief personal story, here. When I was in college, I had a professor whose classes I adored. She was short, broad-shouldered, black, and had a rather thick Louisiana drawl. She favored well-worn, comfortable clothes, and she had a no-bullshit attitude along with a plain way of speaking. The first day in any class she taught the first thing she did was introduce herself, tell us that she was well aware of how she sounded when she talked, but she was the one with the doctorate and two masters degrees, so we had better listen up when she had some shit to say.

Verbatim quote, there.

You also got full credit if you quoted her use of profanity on tests.

The point of that story is that just because someone is very smart, that doesn't mean they have to be dropping five-dollar words every time they open their mouth. We see that all the time in movies about child geniuses, and in TV shows about brainy folks who don't fit into the real world, but you could just as easily have a sharp and incisive mind inside someone who uses common, everyday speech. The sort of person who only pulls out the technical terms when discussing something complicated enough to require them, but who even then might try to keep things simple so everyone in the party can follow what they're saying.

The erudite scholar from the Academie Magique and the well-connected thug with tattoos on his knuckles both have a 17 Intelligence. They both speak several languages, and they both have an array of unique skills. While the wizard speaks dead languages, or tongues of power, though, the rogue focused on trading languages, and mastering the subtle double-speak of the street. While the wizard's skills lie in spellcraft and arcane knowledge, the rogue has learned to school their face to make lies seem truthful, and to get under someone's skin to make them afraid. Both of them have learned the ins and outs of magical devices, though, which gives them at least one area of expertise they can put their minds together on.

You have the same kind of wiggle room when it comes to your wisdom, or your charisma scores. For example, it is perfectly acceptable to go for the air of the calm-hearted priest who sees to the core of an issue, or the wisdom of monks who have long contemplated the inner workings of the mind and heart. On the other hand, the dogged private eye who's seen it all and done it twice could just as easily have as high a Wisdom score. And while lots of us think of characters with high Charisma as beauty queens or handsome princes, the rakish rabble rouser heading up the biker gang, or the hollow-eyed sorcerer with that strange, compelling air about him could just as easily fit those high numbers.

Remember to Separate Attribute From Training

Something that can help in this process is to remember that, while a raw attribute might make you better at certain tasks, the ones you've been trained in are the ones you're good at. And that training might make someone with a lower attribute better than you at a given task.

Stick with me, I promise we're getting there.

Take someone with that raw Charisma score of 18. That gives them a +4 bonus on an attempt to Intimidate someone. That's not bad. Now take their party cohort, who only has a 12 Charisma, but who is trained in the skill. That gives them a +5 to their checks because they've studied how to do this. They may lack the raw force of personality, but they know which words to use, how to invade someone's personal space, and even what facial expressions to wear when delivering a threat. Everything from tone of voice to whether or not to have a weapon in-hand is something they've learned how to do.

This can also help some players, who get too focused on the raw attribute instead of how the character has been trained to use it. Because while one person might be very intelligent, they won't have the depth of knowledge regarding religion of someone who was schooled by priests and teachers of a given faith if that other person has the skill maxed-out. Someone might be naturally athletic, but that raw talent won't allow them to get higher results than someone trained in how to climb, swim, tumble, etc. for many levels. And while someone might have a great force of personality, they simply won't be able to haggle for better prices the way someone who studied the art of deal-making can.

So, in addition to asking how your character's Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma manifests itself, you should also ask how they wield that attribute. Because while your sorcerer might rely on their Charisma to shape magic, do they use diplomacy in the same way? Are they subtle, leaving the person thinking they got the best of the bargain? Or are they overbearing, attempting to wear down resistance until they get what they want? If your paladin intimidates a foe, do they deliver booming threats, or do they simply draw their steel, and allow their absolute lack of fear make their foes think twice? The cleric and the monk may both be very wise, and they might both be trained in sensing someone's motives, but do they do it in the same way? Does the cleric notice the changes in voice and where the person looks, catching a lie? Does the monk have a way of saying or doing things that unsettle the other person, making them slip up?

It's important to remember that there are dozens of ways you can depict these mental stats. So if one way just isn't working for you, or you want to try something different, don't be afraid to stretch outside the box. And just because you've got a lot of raw ability in one area, it's important to remember that training and investment beats talent every, single time.

That's all for this week's Fluff installment! Hopefully some folks out there found it useful, and if there are any tips you've found to help with the gap between PC and player abilities, feel free to leave them in the comments below!

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Where Do Your Characters Get Their Standards of Beauty From?

Pretty much every roleplaying game on the market has some metric for how attractive you are. Sometimes it's a catch-all category, like how Charisma is your physical appearance, your force of personality, leadership skills, and personal magnetism all rolled into one. In other games, like the newer World of Darkness, your social abilities are broken down into separate categories like Presence, Manipulation, and Resolve, with merits like Striking Looks which specifically state how attractive other people find you.

It's the spikes. Gets them every time.

As anyone with even a passing interest in other cultures knows, though, standards of beauty vary wildly from one place to another. Not only that, but they change over time, and for numerous reasons. Just try to dress yourself by the standards of beauty in the early 1900s, and see how confused you quickly become. If you start mixing in immortal bloodsuckers, inhuman races, and other elements, it can cause a huge mess.

Fortunately, it's a mess you can fix by taking a moment, and asking what your characters see as beautiful, and why they feel that way.

From Fashion to Passion, What is Your Norm?

Beauty is, as they say, in the eye of the beholder. And those beholders are shaped by the cultures they grow up in, the norms they're brought up around, the interactions they have with other people, and the lessons that are ingrained into their minds.

What does that mean, exactly? Well, the clearest example in my mind is from an old Wizards of the Coast novel. There was this scene that took place in a temple to the goddess of beauty, and her high priestess entered with all the pomp and circumstance the ritual she was performing demanded. She was everything her faith held holy, from her thick auburn hair, to her narrow waist, and flared hips. Dressed in flowing silks, with all the poise and grace of the goddess herself. She was stunning, and she left the room in awe.

All except the protagonist's ogre bodyguard, anyway. He just snorted, and shook his head at the pretty, skinny thing that would probably break under a stiff breeze.

And that pretty much sums it up.

It's important to remember, though, that standards of beauty affect everyone. For example, in ancient Greece the standard of beauty for men was to be slender, youthful, and smooth. If someone showed up looking like a bodybuilder from the late 1970s (who were at the cutting edge of attractive in their own time thanks to a social shift), they would have been seen as barbarians, and likely gawked at in the streets. And that's just differences between two human societies.

It isn't always about body type, either (though a lot of it definitely is). Standards of beauty include everything, from eye color and makeup style, to what clothes someone wears (or doesn't wear). It's about how you sound, how you act, and about whether the culture or subculture approves of your looks and actions.

It Changes How You See Your Characters, And The World

Standards of beauty don't just affect the way your character sees other people; they affect how a character views themselves. That, if nothing else, is why they're worth thinking about.

He dressed like that on purpose, after all.

Take basic assumptions about beauty, and question them. Is long hair considered attractive on men where your character comes from? What about women? What about people who shave their heads? Are tattoos seen as an expression of artistic talent, or are they seen as ugly and uncouth? Is body hair something that's embraced, despised, or something no one even pays attention to? Is having a tan a sign of vigor and youth, or does their culture view pale skin protected from the harsh sun as a status symbol? Do men wear makeup where you're from?  Is a lean physique seen as attractive, or is bulkier muscle seen as more ideal?

Once you have that lens, take a look at the world through it. Things might look different than you expected.

Now, with that said, I'll happily point out that your character's standards of beauty may not affect anything mechanical (this is a Fluff week post, after all). However, it's still an aspect of your character's mindset and worldview that deserves some examination. Whether they're a world-traveler, who's seen beauty all around the map, or a fresh-faced farmhand getting away from their home patch for the first time.

That's all for this week's Fluff post. It's a little short for such a convoluted topic, but I might come back to flesh it out further depending on comments and reaction. If you'd like to see more content like this, then head to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron of mine. Pledge at least $1 a month, and I'll even throw in some sweet swag along with my eternal gratitude. Lastly, if you haven't done so yet, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter to make sure you don't miss any future updates of mine.

The Academic Sorcerer

Every member of the party is going on this treasure hunt for a different reason. Arnum Black, Brute of the Mistvale, signed on to fill his coin purse and wet his blade. Ameri Vaine is said to be the only thief to ever escape the Citadel, and you'll need that sort of skill if you're going to bypass the deadly traps and complicated locks that have stymied all other adventurers. Carnell Vino is rarely sober, but for bravery there is no holy man more willing to stand with his companions. Professor Alessa Greenbough is there as the expert on ancient lore and arcane knowledge... but her companions were expecting a wizened woman, half-lost in her robes and with spectacles that made her eyes look several sizes too big. The Professor, though, carries a presence with her. Striking and forceful, there is more to her than a great mind... there is power, roiling just beneath the surface.

Which kind of power that happens to be is up to the player.

 

The Academic Sorcerer

Because of the spontaneous nature of a sorcerer's power, most players assume they learn their magic in a hands-on way. After all, a wizard's spellbook is useless to a sorcerer, and if there's nothing to be gained in power from reading a book, then why would a sorcerer ever pick one up?

This is the soundest of logic.

 

It's important to note that sorcerers have Knowledge (arcana), Spellcraft, and Use Magic Device on their skill list. This is a practical concern, since a spellcasting class without these skills is going to be in deep shit quite quickly. However, for your story concerns, it's important to know how a sorcerer came by these skills.

One explanation is that your sorcerer went to school.

Consider the situation many sorcerers are faced with. They are born with power inside of them, and one day that power begins to manifest. These powers might terrify their friends and family, and could lead to witch hunts and lynch mobs as rumors about where the sorcerer's bloodline actually traces to. They may have no idea how to control it, and nowhere to turn. Of course, answers will lie at the institutions of great arcane learning, whose knowledgeable sages will be able to identify what is happening, and possibly shed insight into where a budding sorcerer's power actually comes from.

To the young sorcerer, the halls of academia may seem a refuge. A place where she isn't a freak, but rather someone to be respected. A student trying to harness a dangerous power, who is also seeking to solve the mystery of where said power came from. The sheer amount of research it would take to understand what she is would likely mean she'd gain real expertise in certain areas related to her bloodline (the undead, notable incidents of planar interaction and related offsping from infernal, demonic, or celestial heritage, arcane power and the functions of magic, the history of dragons and their dalliances with humans, etc.), as well. And, of course, the chance to study raw magic in its purest form might mean there's a hefty scholarship available if the sorcerer remains at the university, and at the disposal of the staff members.

With a lifetime of study, and knowledge gained through personal experimentation and exhaustive research, what institution wouldn't offer a place on their staff to a sorcerer with expertise? Especially if it meant the next time someone like them came through the doors that there may be even more help available?

Just One More Way To Play

You can't have just one.

 

As I pointed out in The Savage Wizard, we tend to get caught up in thinking of certain spellcasting classes in only one way. Wizards are erudite scholars, and sorcerers are wild cards. Those are valid ways to play them, but there are others. After all, why shouldn't your sorcerer be a learned scholar, with a great deal of knowledge in her specialized subject? If nothing else, it will leave your table scratching their heads while they try to figure out how sitting on a camp chair, listening to the bard play the violin while reading a book of poetry helps you prepare your spells for the day.*

*As I mentioned in What Does Your Spell Preparation Look Like, page 220 of the Core Rulebook clearly states that spontaneous casters like sorcerers, bards, etc., still have to go through a daily ritual to center, relax, and refresh themselves. It only lasts for 15 minutes, and you can do a lot with that quarter of an hour.

If you're looking for more inspiration, you should check out 5 Tips For Playing Better Sorcerers! Also, for those who are interested, Professor Greenbough has been featured on Dungeon Keeper Radio! If you liked the concept, take a listen to the Mythconceptions episode, "Scholars and Sorcerers."

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That's all for this installment of Unusual Character Concepts. Hopefully this one gave you something to chew over, whether you're a player, or a game master.

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my alley cat noir novel Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my most recent collection of short stories The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

How To Power Up Your Pathfinder Characters With The Eldritch Heritage Feats

One of the biggest differences between Pathfinder's sorcerers and those found in previous editions of Dungeons and Dragons was the idea of bloodline. In Dungeons and Dragons 3.0 and 3.5 sorcerers were assumed to be descended from an obscure magical lineage, which was most often draconic in nature, that allowed them to use magic spontaneously. Pathfinder decided to take that core concept and supercharge it, which is why we have dozens of different sources for where sorcerers' magic comes from. In addition to a specific heredity, though, sorcerers also gained bonus feats, bonus spells, bonus skills, and thematically appropriate bloodline powers around levels 1, 3, 5, 9, 15, and 20.

Mileage may vary.

What didn't change with sorcerers, though, is that they still have low hit points, and they still can't wear armor. This makes some bloodline powers, like the draconic bloodline's claws or the boreal bloodline's ability to give weapons the frost property for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your sorcerer level, thematically appropriate but practically useless.

Unless, that is, you decide to give them to a more martially-inclined class.

Eldritch Heritage

The eldritch heritage feats (eldritch heritage, improved eldritch heritage, and greater eldritch heritage, on pages 149 and 152 of Ultimate Magic respectively) allow any character, regardless of class to gain bloodline powers. If you take all three feats (which will require playing till at least 17th level), then you can gain up to the 15th level powers from any single bloodline.

So what good does that do me?

So you get a minor feature of the sorcerer class, big deal, right? Well, as with any other mechanical trick you need to look at all your options in order to come up with a long-term goal that will make your character more effective.

For example, let's say you wanted to utilize the most basic power of the serpentine bloodline (Advanced Player's Guide 139). This power gives you fangs that you can use as a natural weapon to deal 1d4 points of damage, and to deliver a poison which does constitution damage, and whose save is equal to 10 + 1/2 your sorcerer level + your constitution modifier. The fangs are eventually considered magical for overcoming DR, and your poison grows more potent the more levels you gain. This kind of ability isn't that big of a deal for a sorcerer, but what if you gave that ability to a barbarian with the brutal pugilist archetype, who also had abilities like Raging Grapple? Perhaps a wrestler from Sargava whose ropy muscles are ideal for wrapping around enemies before sinking his fangs into their necks, quickly draining their constitutions and leaving them unable to continue the fight?

There are dozens of combinations of class and powers you can create to boost your mechanical performance, as well as adding intriguing elements to your character's backstory. For example, a Kellid fighter with an eldritch heritage from the nanite bloodline (Pathfinder Player Companion: People of The River) gains powerful bonuses from the nanotechnology living inside of him, but did that same heritage get him cast out from his tribe for bearing the mark of the machines? A druid with the verdant bloodline gains a useful ability to disarm or trip enemies using a 15-foot vine, bonuses against sleep and poison, along with being treated as if they're wearing a ring of sustenance, which would give the character an otherworldliness as she snacks on fresh air and sunlight. A philosophical assassin who comes from the starsoul bloodline would be able to use gas weapons without risking harm to himself, or he could exist in a void such as the space inside a bag of holding without problem (which would allow companions, or even bestial familiars, to carry the assassin past human guards to infiltrate a target's home base).

Cautions and Costs

Nothing comes for free, and the eldritch heritage feats are no exception. They require you to take skill focus in the skill associated with a bloodline, and they have a steadily increasing charisma requirement that can be problematic for some class combinations. So you need to keep in mind that the bigger the power you want from the bloodline, the higher your charisma will have to be, and the more feat slots you'll need to take up.

All right, let's break this down...

Put another way, if you want to get the most bang for your buck out of these feats you should look for low-power ones that will naturally grow with your character level (the serpentine bloodline's poison is a perfect example of a power you get with one feat, but which keeps growing as your character level advances), or to combine them with classes that get other benefits from having a high charisma.

For example, a paladin with infernal heritage is both intriguing as hell (so to speak), and it provides a nice dovetail. Paladins gain a huge number of benefits from having a high charisma, and the infernal heritage provides the paladin with a debuff touch attack, poison and fire resistance, and if you make it all the way to 17th level, you can gain the ability to call down hellfire or to grow devil wings and fly. So if you're going to be using your charisma (swashbucklers, Mysterious Stranger gunslingers, oracles, bards, and any other dashing character classes... including sorcerers who want more bloodline powers), then you're already on the right path.

Half-elves are also a swanky choice, as you get that free skill focus feat out of the deal.

These feats won't be ideal for all classes/builds, and they won't be ideal for every campaign. For example, you might take rakshasa heritage to increase your bluff, but if most of your game is spent slogging through zombie fights then you aren't going to find that silver tongue very useful. If you take a fire heritage, but find yourself fighting demons at the Worldwound, then you're going to have an impossible time making those powers punch through your opponent's resistances.

Now that you've had your warnings, go forth, and create terrible combinations where your character's parents are more than just a convenient reason to adventure in the name of revenge!

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