I know, the novels are non-canon and horrible, but I need to stat up Mika Oba using Pathfinder RPG rules.
I have read just a part of one of the Estes novels so I am still unsure on what class levels should I give him.
According to Spellfire he's a level 7 wizard, and I think i remember a card game where he was statted as a 14th level ranger. Does anyone have official stats for this character?
Since he's a Wegwiur, I guess he could have a few levels of illusionist instead of plain wizard levels. He's also a shaman, so he might cast priest spells.
Since there's no "wolf mother" goddess in Oerik, which gods should he pray? Plain Baklunish? Maybe Istus?
If someone has endured all three novels could he suggest a character level based on the challenges he faced?
And the most absurd request of them all: when are the three (four?) novels set?
It's interesting you should mention this, since I am in the process of writing a "Redeeming Mika-Oba" sourcebook. (Don't get your hopes up - the project has been pushed aside in favor of several more urgent projects and must remain so for the foreseeable future).
The dating of the novels, IMO, should be somewhere around the time before Iuz became a demigod. As you may remember, he was in the service of another demon prince during the first novel and got killed by a mere dagger. Thus, he must've been quite weak in relative terms. However, he's described as having been a thorn in the side of the Wolf Nomads for some time. I'm placing him several centuries prior to the modern day.
In terms of his specific abilities, Mika-Oba is described as being both a warrior and a shaman. The 1e DMG describes a shaman as being nothing more than a tribal cleric. Witch doctors are described as having both clerical and wizardly powers. Thus, while Mika is called a shaman he is technically a witch doctor - yet another of Rose's gaffs. Then there's the problem of Mika's ever-present magical gem. Apparently it boosts his powers by several levels. Since at one point Mika casts a meteor swarm (9th level spell) his cumulative caster level must be at least 18.
And if you're using 3e or later (I use 3.5e myself), things get even more tricky. I'm a little short of time right now, so I'll give you the quick version: For the moment I've made Mika a 3rd level fighter, a 3rd level cleric, and a 10th level wizard. That makes him quite powerful, unfortunately. The magic gem boosts his casting ability 10 levels in each spellcasting class.
This is very interesting. Please keep me posted on the progression of this project! For starters, if one wants to revive the character, I assume he must rewrite his story from scratch by separating the parts which could be fitted as canon from the ones that are complete ludicrous (harpy rape anyone?), much in the same ways as Marvel comics regularly does with his old characters.
I haven't read all the books, but I would consider writing a timeline of what happens there and then start cutting and pasting mercilessly.
The wizard levels don't fit incredibly well with the wegwiur background, the way I figured them as a barbaric people, but I guess since the kahn is an illusionist, too, and the nomads have distant Baklunish origins, magic could be worked in their culture in some creative way (spellbooks written on animal pelts etc.).
And you're right with the time placement, I agree completely.
That brings me to the other Mika in my "old 90's" campaign. One of my players just arrived one day with a spellfire card and told me his character was called Mika, and that was his portrait (cover from one of the books). We statted in as a 14th level ranger and just played for some months assuming that was the REAL Mika. After so many years, I managed to buy the books and read a bit about the "REAL" Mika, which is completely different from the one we played! Never I would have guessed he was not a fighter or a barbarian.
Recently we're picking our old characters from dusty shelves and started playing again, in a world misplaced by 13 years in respect from the original campaign (the time when we stopped playing).
At this point, I can work out the ucronia In two ways:
1) My Mika is a different Mika from the one of the books. I see no reason to have him in current day, unless he was resurrected I guess, not to mention a 18th level spellcasting Wizard is definitely too much to handle, even as a NPC.
2) I could just have him being resurrected WITHOUT the gem. The other characters are high level too, and it could work.
Just for curiosity, why level 3 fighter instead of ranger? Do you have some basic stats written down to show?
Thanks for expressing an interest in the project. I hope I didn't get your hopes up too high, though, since it will likely be months if not years before I can pick it up again. I haven't even begun to think about the mechanical details yet beyond what I've already mentioned.
I'm trying to design his class according to his actual abilities and attitudes. In the books Mika displays no real outdoor skill beyond the ability to start a campfire, he has no particular interest in preserving or even being in the forest, and he has no spellcasting ability other than that which comes from being a "shaman" of his people. Thus, he couldn't be a ranger. I also hate to divorce mechanics from fluff, thus while the mechanics of the eldritch knight might appear to approximate his powers inasmuch as he could be a spellcasting sword-swinger the class does not adequately describe his real abilities. And he's level 3 because he never displays any particular skill with weapons. He's better than the average soldier, and he's better than the average bandit, but a handful of orcs forces him to resort to spell casting.
I've never had much problem with Mika being a wizard since the Wolf Nomads have long been associated with illusionists, at least to a small degree. My problem is with his cleric levels. In the novels Mika clearly has some healing ability, but he seems to almost completely lack faith. I can't imagine any self-respecting deity granting him spells just because his daddy was a shaman. It just doesn't make sense. But then again, what does in those novels? One can only assume that the Wolf Mother isn't particularly attentive.
Also, I wouldn't put too much stock in the canonicity of spellfire cards. Those cards were written as elements of a completely different game and thus must adhere to the mechanical needs of that rules system. They were not designed with an eye toward maintaining Greyhawk's (or any other system's) canonical integrity.
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