Hey all, I'm using Melf Brightflame as an NPC in an upcoming adventure, and I'd like to have his stats handy in case they're needed. I play 2nd Edition, so 2E stats would be ideal, but I could convert other versions (I think, v3.5 stat blocks still confuse me)...
Melf, Prince Brightflame: AC –3 (Dex 18, elven chain mail +4); MV 12"; F13/W12; hp 65; THAC0 8; #AT 2; Dmg 1d8+3 (long sword of sharpness +3); Str 14, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 15, Cha 15; AL NG (CG).
Spells: 4 each of levels 1–5, 1 6th (typically: charm person, detect magic, magic missile (x2); detect invisibility, ESP, knock, Melf's acid arrow; dispel magic, fireball, fly, Melf's minute meteors; Evard's black tentacles, ice storm, polymorph self, Rary's mnemonic enhancer; chaos, cone of cold, hold monster, teleport; flesh to stone).
Magical items: elven chain mail +4, long sword +3 of sharpness, ring of free action, ring of water walking, wand of enemy detection (44 charges), beads of force (7), carpet of flying (3 person capacity), amulet that can cast change self 2/day at 18th level ability.
Prince Brightflame, better known as - "Melf of the Green Arrow"
He is a a grey elfin fighter/mage of at least thirteenth level as a mage in Artifact of Evil. He is 165 years old. He is very modest. He has given up all royal titles and claims and dislikes being called by his true name.
He has sworn fealty to Lord Mordenkainen to whom he must ocasionally report. He gives Gord a scroll with a few useful spells. He has a cousin, Silverthorn, with whom he left the Five Dragon Bowl. He is tracking Obmi and kills Gleed.
Equipment: He carries a holy symbol of Fharlanghn. He has a spear which can magically change into a lance. With the lance version, he was capable of mortally wounding Gleed with a charge. He has a slender adamantine wand with a pale crystal tip that can cast Wall of Force. [Note: The spear is a Staffspear, it's in the 2E DMG under Staves.]
Spells: (True Seeing?)
First Level: Magic Missile,
Second Level: Invisibility,
Third Level: Fly, Fireball, Dispel Magic
Fourth Level: Evard's Black Tentacles, Wall of Fire,
Fifth Level: Cloudkill, Teleport,
Sixth Level: Chain Lightning, Stone to Flesh
The 3E Living Grehawk Gazetteer notes that he's a NG male elf Wiz14/Ftr4 (CY 591 iirc), which would translate to Mage14/Fighter13 in 2E.
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Last edited by Thanael on Mon Feb 06, 2006 4:20 am; edited 1 time in total
The 3E Living Grehawk Gazetteer notes that he's a NG male elf Wiz14/Ftr4 (CY 591 iirc), which would translate to Mage14/Fighter13 in 2E.
The conversion rules say you divide the lower-level class by three, add up the class levels and assign them however you want, so it translates into 14th level something/12th level something; apparently he's gained a level since 2nd edition. Edit: Or maybe Mage 14/Fighter 13; you could be right.
In 3.5 he'd probably be something like Fighter 1/Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 10/Archmage 2; his High Arcana would be Arcane Fire and Mastery of Elements. Or maybe acid arrows as a spell-like ability.
I did consider adding some Eldritch Knight levels. But I'm not sure if I would take that many, or only 1 fighter level. With Rip's build he looses out on bonus feats considerably! Another question is would he have weapon specialization? OTOH his caster level gets boosted to 17, a bit high imo.
I'm not so sure about the Archmage levels either. Does he meet the requirements? Spell Focus twice? Which schools? He would need to be able to cast 7th level spells before entering Archmage. In the 2E builds he had no 7th level spells at all yet.
Rick's build has a lower caster level than the LGG stats while being CL 21 and a bit too many Fighter levels imho.
I'd probably take one of the following builds:
Wiz5/Ftr4/EK9 BAB 15 SV 11,5,8 CL 13
-- Bonus feats: 3Ftr, 1Wiz, 1EK WSpec available
Wiz6/Ftr2/EK10 BAB 15 SV 12,5,8 CL 15
-- Bonus feats: 2Ftr, 1Wiz, 1EK no WSpec
Wiz10/Ftr2/EK6 BAB 13 SV 11,5,9 CL 15
-- Bonus feats: 2Ftr, 2Wiz, 1EK no WSpec
Wiz10/Ftr4/EK4 BAB 13 SV 11,5,9 CL 13
-- Bonus feats: 3Ftr, 2Wiz, 1EK WSpec available
for comparison:
Wiz14/Ftr4(LG) BAB 11 SV 8,5,10 CL 14
-- Bonus feats: 3Ftr, 2Wiz, - WSpec available
Ftr1/Wiz5/EK10/ArM2(Rip's) BAB 14 SV 13,4,7 CL 17
-- Bonus feats: 1Ftr, 1Wiz, 1EK no WSpec
BTW he would absolutely have to have the Companion Guard Style Feat from the Greyhawk regional feats articles from Dragon. Perhaps also Well-Read and Elflore.
Companion Guard Style [General] [Fighter]
You’ve been trained in the combat style of the gray elven Companion Guard of Celene.
Prerequisites: Proficient with longsword and longspear, base attack bonus +4.
Regions: Celene, elf, half-elf.
Benefit: When fighting with a longsword or longspear, you may use your Dexterity modifier instead of your strength modifier on attack rolls. If you use a shield, its armor check penalty applies to your attack rolls. Additionally, you gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls made to confirm a critical hit with any bow.
Special: You may take this feat as a fighter bonus feat.
Last edited by Thanael on Mon May 21, 2007 6:20 am; edited 5 times in total
With Rips build he looses out on Bonus feats considerably!
Yes, but that's not a big deal. He seems to be a mage, primarily. I think he should have the minimum amount of fighter levels and rely on eldritch knight levels to gain BAB.
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Another question is would he have weapon specialization?
No, he wouldn't. He could get a few archer feats, that's all.
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I'm not so sure about the Archmage levels either. Does he meet the requirements?
He does, but only barely. That's the main reason I don't want to waste any more fighter levels on him; archmage is more interesting, allowing him to use his signature magic with more flair. Obviously, invocation is an important school for him.
Ah! A conversation after my own heart as Melf is my favourite character in the DND multiverse (after Eclavdra).
A few years ago I had a crack at doing a stat block but didn't take it too seriously as Melf, like all good NPCs, was never intended to be killed. I followed the 4 / 14 description for the gazeteer and found the fighter feats the hardest to allocate, but he ended up looking like this (and assuming the FTA attibute stats):
Skills:
Concentration +9, Decipher Script +11, Diplomacy +12, Handle Animal +10, Knowledge (Arcana) +16, Knowledge (Local - Celene) +10, Knowledge (History) +8, Knowledge (Local - Circle of Eight) +8, Knowledge (Local - City of Greyhawk) +6, Knowledge (Evil Organisations) +12, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +13, Ride +14, Sense Motive +8, Speak Language (Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Dwarf, Elf), Spellcraft +20
As for feats:
Wiz:
(1) Spell focus - Evocation (agree with Rasgon on this)
(2) Spell focus - Enchantment
Level:
(1) Combat Casting
(2) Spell Mastery (Acid Arrow, and I fancy Dispel Magic and Magic Missile) or the skill focus prerequisite for archmage
(3 and 4) Greater spell penetration
(5) Brew Potion (or Craft Wand)
(6) Craft Wondrous Item
(7) Still spell (or Quicken or Maximise)
Feats I would have loved him to have had but had no space for were: Animal affinity; Combat reflexes; Magic Affinity; an array of metamagic feats; and Mounted combat.
In terms of 3.5, I am not sure I fancy Melf as an Eldritch Knight, as I see the class as more of an advantage for an equal levelled fighter / mage where (as others have already pointed out) Melf is more of a wizard. Certainly the better HP of the EN appeal, but it robs him of feats, and that is more of an advantage.
I see him qualifying as an archmage but not quite taking the step, as I think sacrificing spell slots would rob Melf of versatility and preparedness. He ain't quite ready to throw spellfire around but the advanced counterspelling, elemental mastery (Melf's Force Arrows anyone?) and shaping mastery are all good.
Thanks for sharing Manic! What ability score did you give him i.e. where did you put the 4 ability increases? Also unless I'm wrong he already qualifies for one age increase after the 3E rule set at age 165. I'd put one into Int and the others to compensate for the physical penalties due to age.
And where do (all of) you get the notion that Melf is more of a Wizard? He's a normal multiclasser in 2E, and he fights quite often and effectively with his spear in the Gord novels. His personal spells all rely on some fighter skills as they profit from a high attack bonus (and dex) and are very applicable in combat.
As for his feats I'd switch Companion Guard Style [see my edited post above] for Weapon Specialization. He benefits greatly from it and it supports spear fighting too (He does favor the spear in the Gord books). For Spell Mastery I'd include the other Melf-spell in it: Melf's Minute Meteors.And I don't think Melf needs Combat Reflexes , Animal Affinity or Mounted Combat.
As a Wizard14/Fighter4, he's a damned good weapon wielder compared to most folks. That's the same basic combat bonuses as a Fighter 11 (though not quite as many combat feats, of course).
The fact that someone is portrayed as a competent and effective warrior in a novel does not mean they automatically must be a high level fighter. All the character classes in D&D are designed to represent *adventuring* versions of that role (ie those living a relatively violent life up to and including regular participation in small commando unit type operations). The Wizard class in not what your average labrat mage has, living his comfortable life of research and experimentation.
Although the comment on Melf's fighting ability doesn't directly stem from this fallacy, it did prick on of my personal pet peeves: namely, extrapolating about how the world works based on the idea that the core character classes are somehow the norm. Just because adventuring clerics are skilled warriors with vast magical capabilities does not mean that priests in general are.
What ability score did you give him i.e. where did you put the 4 ability increases
I just went with the FTA stats which were already pretty generous (thus assuming the increases were all spent). I cheated slightly by assuming that he was something of a prodigy and always had an intelligence of 18 to max out his skill point bonuses.
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And where do (all of) you get the notion that Melf is more of a Wizard?
There are lots of subtle reasons. He has more wizard levels than fighter, elves are known for their magical affinity, he has ties with the Co8 (and they are mostly single classed wizards) and he is a spell inventor! Everyone loves his spells and he is certainly known more as a wizard than a fighter. Even if you take the old D&D rules (non advanced) where many of us started - elves split their skills equally between fighter and mage. I remember the name Melf was being bandied around and he was known as more of a wizard.
As for your point about feat substitution, you are quite correct (I left leadership out of desirable feats). For my Eclavdra stat block only half of her feats were from the core rules. I thought she could benefit from daylight adaptation (Realms HC), multi-cultural (evil giantkind - ditto) and Dark Speech (BoVD). Incidently, no-one (not even Melf) beats Eclavdra!
I found that multi-classed characters under the 2e had many advanteges over the single-classed pcs. At most, their highest class was one class level below the single-classed pcs at any one time. As such, I used the level limits from 1e and halved all xp earned for that class once they reached the upper level for race and stats, which helped to keep them in check.
I used the suggested conversion rules that you take their character level at the level of their highest class. This adversely affected spell-casters although only slightly if they didn't mind sacrificing fighter attack bonuses in conversion. Some of the PrCs have now removed much of that disadvantage.
I noticed a real reluctance to reduce the spell-casting levels of any major npcs when converting them (except for Archdruid Immonnara who was single-classed and reduced from 16th Level to 14th level in a misguided attempt to mimic 1e driud rankings, leaving Greyhawk with no powerful Druids at all - duh).
Melf was originally Fg13, Wz12, which said to me that he was a formidable fighter, and a reasonably powerful wizard with a character level of 13. However, in conversion, he could be a powerful fighter without becoming a much less powerful wizard. Making him an 18th level character seemed extreme and bumping him up to make him a 14th level wizard puts him up there with junior members of the Circle of Eight and I for one was a bit fed up of so many powerful wizards when there are so few other character classes of such high levels.
My own conversion was Fg4, Wz11, NG, which meant he was a 15th level character (having gained some experience since 585 CY) and he was a less powerful wizard than Queen Yolande.
We can look at Cymria's class listings in the recent Age of Worms feature on Magepoint for an idea of a comparable conversion using a PrC. Melf has no familar and appears to spend most time fighting evil rather than studying magic, so bonus wizard feats do not appear to be a priority.
So my version will probably end up being Fg2, Wz5, Ekn8, NG, based on a 15th level character, which gives him the casting ability of a 12th level wizard, I think? I'd be happy with that.
Still, as it has been said, Melf is a plot device, so it doesn't really matter!
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