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honourablejester · 1 year

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Character Concept: Thief of Baghdad inspired Warforged Genielock

I mentioned this ages ago in my post on why a Sinbad the Sailor/Arabian Nights style campaign would be awesome. One of the movies I watched way back when was the 1940 Thief of Baghdad, in which there is a) a genie subplot, and b) an extremely memorable scene in which the evil sorcerer Jaffar builds and enchants a ‘Silver Maiden’ toy-slash-construct to assassinate the Sultan. Allowing for the 40s orientalism of it all, that scene really stuck with me. And I did wonder. What if that construct had been a thinking being? What if the Silver Maiden came to life in truth, not just under Jaffar’s enchantment, and grew to hate the purpose she was used for?

And with the Genie Warlock, the particular imagery of the Silver Maiden, with her blue face, gels quite nicely with the thought of a Djinn patron, another slave of the sorcerer whom she bonded with and freed when she freed herself, earning herself friendship and magic and favour from her elemental friend/patron. So. Fidah, the Silver Maiden.

(Note: playing around on PF2e’s Pathbuilder character builder has my brain thinking level-by-level, so I figured I’d change up the format and do Fidah’s build from Level 1 to Level 20)

Character Sheet: Fidah the Silver Maiden

Name: Fidah (This is an Arabic name. Persian would probably make more sense given the Thief of Baghdad inspiration, but I’m enchanted by a pair of very similar names in Arabic, Fiddah, meaning silver, and Fidah, meaning redemption, both of which dovetail with our theme so nicely. So Arabic it is)

Race: Construct (Warforged)

Age: 24

Background: Slave Assassin (custom background to fit the movie, in which the Silver Maiden lures victims close by a performance as a toy before stabbing them with a hidden knife, so we’ll take proficiency in Performance and Sleight of Hand, proficiency in a musical instrument (setar), proficiency in one language of our choice, and we’ll take the By Popular Demand background feature from the Entertainer background)

Class: Warlock (Genie)

Description: An elegant mechanical ‘performer’, Fidah looks like a feminine human made of silvery metal. Her face and hands are enamelled blue, as if she had blue skin. This was possibly intended as a taunt to her master’s djinn slave, that she was made partly in his image, but the djinn, on being freed, made the enamel more durable and beautiful with magic, essentially giving her his blessing.

History: Fidah was designed and constructed as a slave assassin by an evil sorcerer, intended to act as a magnificent mechanical toy/performer to lure wealthy targets into complacency before killing them. As the years went on, however, Fidah developed rather more self-awareness and will than the sorcerer had intended, and began to hate her role and fear her creator. At the same time, she developed a secret rapport and then battered friendship with another of her master’s slaves, a captured djinn named Azad. Eventually, unable to allow herself and her friend to be abused any longer, Fidah lured the sorcerer into complacency as she had lured dozens of other targets, and murdered him.

She took the ring in which he had imprisoned the djinn, who suddenly feared that Fidah meant to use him as her master had, despite their years of friendship. Power is tempting and addictive, after all. Nothing could be further from Fidah’s intent, however, and she immediately freed her friend as she had freed herself. In gratitude, and deep fondness, the djinn granted her a measure of his power henceforth. Initially, she feared it, for she had no desire to become a creature like her creator, a magic user to whom power was everything and lives nothing, but the djinn pointed out that he, too, was magical, and that it was what one did with power that mattered, not power in itself. So Fidah accepted his gift, and went out into the world with his ring on her mechanical finger.

Patron: Azad, the djinn who was her fellow slave under her old master.

Ideal: No one should be bound to another’s service against their will.

Bond: I will explore my freedom and honour my friend and the magic he gave me.

Flaw: The closest I’ve known to intimacy was luring dozens to die in my arms under the command of my old master.

Starting Stats: Strength 8 (-1), Dexterity 14 (+2), Constitution 16 (+3), Intelligence 10 (+0), Wisdom 12 (+1), Charisma 16 (+3)

Starting Proficiencies:

Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma

Skills: Deception, Intimidation, Performance, Sleight of Hand, Stealth

Armour/Weapons/Tools: light armour, simple weapons, setar/lute (instrument), poisoners kit

Languages: Common, Primordial, Infernal

Spells By Level 20:

Cantrips: Eldritch Blast, Mage Hand, Guidance, Mind Sliver, Message, Minor Illusion, Chill Touch

Spells: Armour of Agathys, Thunderwave, Hex, Comprehend Languages (ritual, Book of Ancient Secrets), Alarm (ritual, Book of Ancient Secrets), Disguise Self (at will, Mask of Many Faces), Silent Image (at will, Misty Visions), Invisibility (at will, Shroud of Shadows), Hypnotic Pattern, Fly, Thunderstep, Greater Invisibility, Sickening Radiance, Hold Monster, Flesh to Stone, Crown of Stars, Maddening Darkness, Wish

(Probable) Eldritch Invocations by Level 20:

Mask of Many Faces, Book of Ancient Secrets, Misty Visions, Ghostly Gaze, Gift of the Protectors, Eldritch Mind, Shroud of Shadows, Devil’s Sight

(Probable) Feats by Level 20:

Skill Expert, Moderately Armoured, Inspiring Leader

Features By Level:

Level 1:

Warforged: Constructed Resilience (poison resist, adv vs poison, no sleep, no disease, no eat/drink/breathe), Sentry’s Rest (6hr long rest, inert but not unconscious), Integrated Protection (+1 AC, armour integrated to body), Specialised Design (1 skill, 1 tool).

Slave Assassin: By Popular Demand (find place to perform for room and board, earn popularity)

Warlock: Pact Magic, Genie Patron (Djinn), Expanded Spell List (Djinn), Genie’s Vessel (ring with compartment), Bottled Respite, Genie’s Wrath (thunder damage)

Spells: We’ll take Armour of Agathys, because the Silver Maiden’s embrace is a deadly thing, and Thunderwave, to honour her patron, as well as the Eldritch Blast and Mage Hand cantrips.

Level 2:

Eldritch Invocations: We’ll take Mask of Many Faces, because she’s quite distinctive and a quick disguise option will likely be useful, and Fiendish Vigor, because we’ll be swapping that out next level for Book of Ancient Secrets.

Spells: We’ll take Hex for our third 1st level spell.

Level 3:

Warlock: Pact of the Tome. We’ll take the Guidance, Mind Sliver and Message cantrips.

Eldritch Invocations: We’ll swap Fiendish Vigor for Book of Ancient Secrets, and take the Comprehend Languages and Alarm rituals. I did think about the Unseen Servant ritual, which would have felt rather thematic, at least in terms of imagery, but I think Fidah as an ex-slave would not really approve. Oh, she could treat her non-sentient heap-of-force very well, but I think it would still hew too close. So. We’ll go with Alarm, for when she’s in her ring and wants to know if someone comes close to it.

Spells: We’ll take Invisibility for our first 2nd level spell.

Level 4:

ASI: We’ll bump Charisma to 18.

Spells: We’ll take Spider Climb, because an ex-assassin construct crawling around the ceilings is a slightly terrifying and very cool image. For our cantrip we’ll take Minor Illusion.

Level 5:

Eldritch Invocations: I should probably take one of the EB Invocations, but I what I actually want is Misty Visions, because I think Fidah is becoming very fond of illusion.

Spells: We’ll take Hypnotic Pattern for our 3rd level spell. Because of her history, I feel like Fidah leans quite heavily on illusions and deception to render people vulnerable to her. Not necessarily out of desire to live that way, and just simply because of training and habit.

Level 6:

Warlock: Elemental Gift (thunder resistance, bonus action for 30ft fly speed for 10mins prof/day). This possibly makes Spider Climb redundant, so we might retrain that for Fly instead, so we can spread the flight around. Which will, amusingly, make Fidah the slowest flier despite being the source of the flight.

Spells: She does still want to honour her patron, so we’ll go Thunder Step.

Level 7:

Eldritch Invocations: We’ll take Ghostly Gaze. By this stage, Fidah is pretty good an infiltration.

Spells: For our first 4th level spell, we’re going to take Greater Invisibility.

Level 8:

ASI: We’ll bump Charisma to 20.

Spells: Not going to lie, I’ll take Sickening Radiance just because I love the spell. Fidah as a silver avatar of the Plane of Elemental Air might also be rather thematic for a spell of killing light, in a dark sort of way that I’m not sure she’d been happy with.

Level 9:

Eldritch Invocations: I don’t have strong feelings on the 9th level Invocations. I might go with Gift of the Protectors, because Fidah might want the chance to protect rather than take lives. Or, I could go back and take Devil’s Sight, if I’ve been struggling with darkness, or Agonising Blast, if I want some extra damage.

Spells: For our 5th level spell, we’ll take Hold Monster. Again on a theme of holding people vulnerable to attack.

Level 10:

Warlock: Sanctuary Vessel (can bring up to 5 people into vessel with me, and if they stay 10mins they get a short rest).

Spells: For our final cantrip, we’ll go with Chill Touch. I could go Toll the Dead, because ominous sound effect, but I suspect Fidah values efficiency over drama, and Chill Touch prevents healing.

Level 11:

Mystic Arcanum (6th level): I debated a couple of options here, including Eyebite, because mechanical assassin with dread eyes, True Seeing, because Fidah relies a lot on illusion and might want to be able to see through to the truth, but I think in the end I might go with Flesh to Stone, because we have been running on a theme of rendering people vulnerable, and for some reason a silver assassin construct that turns people to stone gives me strong Ray Harryhausen, Sinbad, Thief of Baghdad vibes, which was the initial inspiration for Fidah, so I’m going with it.

Level 12:

Feat: We’re going to take Skill Expert. I know there are more interesting options, but I feel like Fidah can go a little classic. So we’ll bump Dex to 15, we’ll take proficiency in Perception, I think, or possibly Persuasion, and we’ll take expertise in Stealth.

Eldritch Invocations: Either Eldritch Mind for concentration spells, or either Devil’s Sight or Agonising Blast if we didn’t take either of them at 9th level.

Level 13:

Mystic Arcanum (7th level): I mean, I want Crown of Stars. I always want Crown of Stars. But Forcecage might be the more sensible option. (Let’s be honest, it’ll be CoS unless someone leans on me – also the imagery on the blue-faced, silver construct, quite angelic)

Level 14:

Warlock: Limited Wish (once per 1d4 long rests, get one casting of any 1 action, 6th level or lower spell)

Level 15:

Eldritch Invocations: We’ll take Shroud of Shadow to get invisibility at will.

Spells: Since we get invisibility for free now, we’ll retrain that for Tongues.

Mystic Arcanum (8th level): Not going to lie, I’m not that fond of any of the Warlock’s 8tg level options. Dominate Monster would be good, but I suspect Fidah, given her history as a slave, might draw a line at actually mentally dominating someone. Holding them is one thing, but charming them another. I might go Maddening Darkness. It’s got no thematic link at all, but it’s cool.

Level 16:

Feat: Couple of options. We could go Moderately Armoured to bring our Dex to 16 and get a breastplate. We could do Metamagic Adept to get subtle spell. Might do something weird like Mobile, or supportive, like Inspiring Leader. That last one might work very nicely.

Level 17:

Mystic Arcanum (9th level): We’re a genielock, so we will be taking Wish, and happily.

Level 18:

Eldritch Invocation: Whichever of the three floating options we haven’t picked up yet. So one of Eldritch Mind, Devil’s Sight or Agonising Blast.

Level 19:

Feat: One of the ones we didn’t take at Level 16.

Level 20:

Warlock: Eldritch Master (plead with our patron for 1min to restore all our slots 1/day)

#character concepts #d&d #warlocks #genie warlock #thief of baghdad #arabian nights

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