Few on the field of battle can combine the power, grace and beauty the way the Valkyrie can. She comes, like a Jove, dealing out slashing, bludgeoning, divine, and sonic damage against the writhing legions of darkness.
The Valkyrie Barbarian 5 Bard17 Champion of Torm18
Playable: 1-40, PvM Alignment: Non-Lawful, Non-Evil Human
Str16 (26) Int14 Wis8 Dex10 Con14 (18) Chr14 (16)
1 Barbarian1, Weapon Focus: Longsword Heavy Armor Prof 2 Barbarian2 3 Barbarian3, Knockdown 4 Barbarian4, Str17 5 Bard1 6 Bard2, Curse Song 7 Bard3 8 Bard4, Str18 9 Champion1, Extend Spell 10 Champion2, Improved Knockdown 11 Champion3 12 Bard5, Toughness, Str19 13 Champion4, Blindfighting 14 Champion5 15 Champion6, Extra Smiting, Improved Crit; Longsword 16 Bard6, Str20 17 Bard7 18 Bard8, Still Spell 19 Champion7 20 Barbarian5, Str21 21 Champion8, Great Str I, Epic Weapon Focus: Longsword 22 Bard9 23 Bard10 24 Bard11, Great Str II, Str 24 25 Champion9 26 Champion10, Epic Prowess 27 Bard12, Epic Energy Resistance: Cold 28 Bard13, Charisma 15 29 Bard14 30 Champion11, Great Str III 31 Champion12 32 Bard15, Charisma 16 33 Champion13, Great Str IV 34 Champion14, Armor Skin 35 Champion15 36 Champion16, Great Con I, Con16 37 Bard16 38 Champion17 39 Champion18, Epic Toughness, Great Con II 40 Bard17, Con18
**Note: This does not include enhancements to Charisma.. A +4 item will allow you to pick up an extra 1st, 4th, and 5th level spell slot (provided you do not take it off).
“…And Hell’s Coming with Me!” Mode
AB: 40 +10 Divine +2 Bard Song +2 Rage +2 Bulls -5AC Curse Song, +2Warcry = 63AB (with no items)
AC: 31 +5 Bardsong +4Mage Armor +2 PfA, +2 Curse Song = 44 (no items) *****
A cold moon crept quietly above the mountains. It spilled its argent light upon the valleys below where it was reflected by the white, marbled stillness. The hills and slopes emanated an otherworldly light, while flakes of crystal ice shimmered in the swirls of windswept snow. One would never guess that beneath the layers of ice and snow were the frozen corpses of fallen warriors who had fought that day before.
Nothing stirred but a slow gnawing cold that crawled across one’s flesh.
Finneas huddled deeper into his bearskin cloak and wiggled his toes to see if he could still feel them. He could not. He turned, no, shuffled, to glance at Solemn James, his sergeant, who shared the watch with him this night atop the battlements. His cheeks were glazen over, his eyes were frozen tight, and a frost decked his shoulders like some Barrow Wight.
“Sleepshorn this night,” he muttered as ice cracked from his gums and teeth. “For cold creeps on all fours—a damned alabaster beast!”
“This is a fool’s mission, James,” Finneas gritted through chattering teeth. “Even the Frost Giant’s are around a fire tonight! Don’t tell me that Lord Arkynius shares the same madness as our Emperor. The Barbarian Chieftain is dead! We saw him crucified! These mountain people are broken. There will be no attacks on our outpost. You and I—“
“Steady on, lad,” Solemn James whispered as he shifted ever slightly in the bulk of his furs and cloaks. “We’re not sentries this night.”
Finneas studied his sergeant for a moment, observed the small subtle movements he made with arms and legs to keep warmth and feeling in his extremities, and noticed the length of time between each breath he took, each icy exhale he made, how he made sure to inhale and exhale through his mouth so as not to freeze his nasal passages. Mucous that had dripped from his nose earlier that day had congealed to ice and dangled, like icicles, from his gray beard and upper lip. Solemn James had seen many seasons, many campaigns, and was always trusted to the front by advisors and war commanders. He knew the mountain tribes well enough that he could speak their tongue, knew their rituals and death rites, and could disappear among them if he wished. Some even surmised that he was once one of the savage folk.
“Not sentries?” Finneas asked. “If we’re not sentries then what in blazes are we doing up—”
“Shhh!” Solemn James held a wrapped finger to his cracked lips. “There! There is why we are here this night!” And he pointed to the valley below.
Finneas followed his finger through the moonlit night to the valley below, and there he saw something quite miraculous, and an image that will haunt him until his dying days. There amongst the icebound hills he saw walking, nay, gliding across the drifts the most beautiful creature he ever saw. She was tall and fair, and he could spy her golden hair glisten in the eerie snowlight of the moon. She floated, like a silver swan, across the icy expanse, and though she moved he never saw her make movement. And she wore a lustrous armour, like resplendent pearl and gilded platinum, while in her left hand she carried the aegis of a frosted wolf, and in her right she gripped a boreal blade of incandescence.
But what riveted Finneas, what held him spellbound, what intoxicated more than anything, was her voice, her song, her melody—this tragic aria that sprang from the depths of her being and whose resonance bounded across the glacial slopes to his hoar-frosted ears atop the battlements of the Outpost. Surely this was some goddess, some ancient, some remnant spirit of the Ice Peoples from a time gone-by.
And then Finneas rubbed his eyes, thinking that the frigid air played tricks with his mind. But he felt the firm clutch of Solemn James' hand on his shoulder, and he heard him whisper, “Lords of Light, but it is her! It is her!”
“Who is she?” Finneas asked, transfixed. He could not understand her song, but he felt a power from it, like a surge, a warmth, a solace and a strength, and something stirred deep within him. He felt a longing suddenly, a longing both for her and for the mountains, and the cold numbness suddenly melted from his limbs.
“It’s been twenty-three winters since I saw her, “ said Solemn James. “I was but a boy, and yes, I, too, was the son of the heathen mountain folk that now threaten the Empire. Our village was the gathering site for a coming battle against the giants who dwelt even deeper in the mountains than we. There were many among my people who feared this confrontation—there were many who thought we were doomed. For you see, the giant-kin were numerous in those days, and they were strong, and they feared not the resourcefulness of man, and they came upon us in the darkness, and destroyed my people, and they abducted into the night our women and children. But then she came. She was only twelve, perhaps thirteen, and she walked among our warriors and told them not to fear, that she prayed for them, and that if they fell upon the field of battle that she would come to them, and personally insure their safety to the Halls of the Warrior Kings--the great afterlife of our people. And this inspired many men, and many young warriors took to heart her pledge and fought knowing that she would be there to guide them should they fall..
"And I remember her coming to me, and kneeling before me. She took my hand in hers and she searched my eyes, and I could see her soul reflected in hers-- she was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. And she knew my name and she said, 'James, you will face many trials, but not this day. Look to your mother, see to her.' And I began to weep, but she squeezed my hand tightly and said, 'We will meet again, before the end, and when we do you will have a choice to make, and it will be difficult, but you will find a strength in you.' “That was the last I saw her, for the Giants came, and she was among the captured, and she disappeared for many years and was all but forgotten. My family was also taken from me that day, and I was orphaned. I became an angry boy, and I grew into an angry man, and I left my people because I thought they were weak. I vowed never to be on the losing side again, and so was conscripted into the Empire's legions when I was but a young man. Tis a decision that haunts me still.
"But to my surprise I discovered that she had returned, after seventeen long winters. She said that she had been a slave among the Giants, and that she was made to work, and cook, and mend, and entertain them. She said that the King of the Giants had claimed her as his own, and that each night she was forced to sing him a song of sleep, or else another of her people would die, or they would launch a new assault on her tribe. And so she sang, and worked, and cooked, and fueled the fires of their forges, and trained their younglings in the use of weapons, until she became so integral, so indispensable, that she was like one of them, and the King called her Freyhilda, which meant Battle-bird.
“Until one day, when the King of the Giants lay upon his deathbed. He looked to his people, and they were happy, and he looked to his family, and they were happy, and he looked to his kingdom, and it was rich, and everywhere he had touched all was prosperous.... all save his Freyhilda. Now fully grown and in the blossom of her womanhood, she alone of his entire kingdom was mirthless. And he said unto her, ‘Battlebird, the Kingdom of the Giants has never known peace and prosperity such as this. We trade with the Dwarves, we have built alliances with other Giant-kin, and everywhere my people are happy. Tell me, before I join my Grandfathers in the Sky, what, my Freyhilda, what would bring you happiness? What would drive the melancholy that looms around your heart?’ And on this question she smiled, and she kissed his great brow and sang for him the lullaby of kings, and said simply, “My people. They need me, too.” And the King of the Giants brushed a great hand across her cheek and said, “Go. I release thee of service. Return to your people, and if it be in my power still, I grant that which you have given to mine and my people be returned thricefold upon your own.’ “And so she was given freedom. And she returned to the Mountain Folk only to find them broken and dissolute. For you see, unbeknownst to her, they had been in solid war for the last decade with the Empire, and their chieftain, the Barbarian Lord, had made a mockery of our legions. That is, until he was captured and crucified upon the Hill of Ravens ( See The Revenant ).
"And it said that she walks among the mountain folk and rekindles the fires that were snuffed, and that she restores hope to the hopeless, and that she teaches the youth an art of war that was thought forgotten. It has been rumored that she walks, like a ghost, among the fields of the fallen in the dead of night, and escorts the spirits of the slain warriors to the Halls of the Warrior Kings...."
"Freyhilda...what is her real name?" Finneas asked "My people refer to her only as the Valkyrie," James said. "The cold-- the frost-- it does not touch her," said Finneas in wonder. "See how she walks? It's as if she strolled in a field of flowers on midsummer's eve." "Aye," James said, "Her blood flows with a fire-- it is no wonder that she endured so many years among the Frost Giants." "Sergeant," Finneas began, "You said we weren't sentries this night. What is our mission?" "Lad," and Solemn James took a deep breath, then grabbed a flickering torch from a bracket on the parapet. "I am to light a beacon when we spot her. It is to signal Lord Arkynius and his men that she is here. He wants to take her in chains before the Emperor." "Sir!" Finneas whispered harshly, "We can't allow that! It feels wrong somehow." "Aye, lad. Seeing her again, after all these years, after all these battles and campaigns, after abandoning my heritage and pledging allegiance to the Empire, I--I cannot do it. I think perhaps this is what she meant when she said to me, so long ago, that we would meet again, and that I would have a choice to make." And he returned the flickering torch back to the wall. "I've made my choice. I will not betray her."
And then a cry rang out from the far side of the keep, and the grinding creak of great chains rumbled, and the groan of the gates echoed through the stillness, and the thunder of horses' hooves pounded through the night. James and Finneas peered over the parapets and saw a dozen heavy riders gallop across the snow, and at their head rode a figure in clad in platemail and who wore a great horned helm upon his head. "It's Arkynius!" Finneas cried. "Apparently we weren't the only sentries this night," James muttered. "We must help her! We can't let them take her!" And Solemn James whirled on him and clutched him by the throat and pulled his face close. "Don't you think I know that? What would you have me do? Run out there and tell Arkynius to leave her alone, or worse, fight Arkynius and his men? That's treason, Finneas, and we would both be dead ere the sun rises!" "So be it!" and he broke free of his sergeant's grasp and scrambled down the steps. He paused for a moment and looked up at Solemn James who stood there watching, and he said to him, "All my life I've fought, and I've fought, and I know not what I fight for. Here is the first time in my life that I see a reason to fight! I will fight for her, James, I will fight." And then he was gone.
Finneas pumped his legs through the deep drifts of snow, following the track of the horses. His chest heaved, and the blood pounded in his temples, and as he ran he saw flashes of white light stab the darkness ahead of him and he could hear the familiar ring of steel on steel.
And then there she was, surrounded by a ring of enemies, and she was both beautiful and terrible, and she radiated a soft white light. All around her the snow was trampled and red, and four Galadonian Knights lay lifeless at her feet. And she sang as she slew, and her sword flashed in the moonlight. Another knight fell to his knees, his armour rent by a dozen blows of her keen blade.
"Bring her down! Bring her down!" It was Lord Arkynius who barked from the edge of combat, a greatsword gripped in his hands.
And the maiden's song filled a void in Finneas' heart, and a fire was kindled in his blood, and without thought he rushed the attackers, and he knocked one to the ground, and he brought his sword down upon the knight's helm and cleaved it in twain.
He whirled around to face the next opponent, but it was Arkynius himself who faced him. "You are making a big mistake boy," he said calmly. "She is the enemy." "She has done you know harm!" Finneas cried. "I will not let you take her!" "Then you shall perish, boy," and Lord Arkynius saluted him with a kiss to his blade, and fell upon the valiant Finneas with a surprising fury. Finneas never knew that a man in armor could move so fast, and he tried desperately to parry his Commander's attacks, but they were too many. He felt the blade rip through his shoulder and then a return stroke caught his knee and he dropped to the ground. He watched his blood drain into the snow and a steam rise, and he looked up to see Arkynius tower above him. He watched him raise the blade high above his head, and Finneas closed his eyes and waited for the deathblow. "Stop!" It was the Valkyrie.. "I surrender to you, Arkynius," she said. And Finneas looked up to see her standing beside him, and she placed a hand upon his shoulder and a warmth spread across his body and the pain in his shoulder subsided. "Let him live, let him free, and I will go with you willingly." "Witch!" Arkynius growled. "I know better than to trust you! Drop your weapons and get on your knees, and I will let the boy go." Quietly she let fall her sword and shield, and she dropped to her knees before him. The four remaining knights seized her arms and pulled her to her feet. Arkynius approached her and studied her for a moment. "You are not a spirit, and you are no goddess," and with a mailed gauntlet he fiercely gripped her jaw and forced his mouth upon hers. But she never moved, never blinked, and showed no sign of emotion. And he pulled back and spat in her face. "You are just a woman. A plain heathen woman. Nothing more, nothing less." "You have me, Arkynius," she said, "Now let him go." "Fool," he sneered. "You actually think I will allow a traitor to the Throne go free?" And he threw his back and laughed. "Kill them, kill them both."
And Finneas felt the edge of a blade press against his neck, and he braced himself for the darkness to come.
But then a figure came hurtling from the darkness and crashed against the knights that held him. It was Solemn James! and he came upon them with a primordial howl and a fell wrath, and the knights that held him fell to the ground. He then spun on Arkynius and the two remaining knights, and they fought for their lives against his raging onslaught.
But shrewd Arkynius was patient, and while James was engaged with the remaining two knights, he slipped behind him and plunged his greatsword to the hilt through his back. And Solemn James stiffened, and then slowly slid from the blade and fell to the icy earth.
And then she was there, fair and terrible, and she sang as her sword fell upon Arkynius in a series of blows that brought the mighty commander to his knees. But he was not finished yet, and he regained his footing and launched a counterassault, his greatsword twirling in the air about him. Yet every time he landed a blow, he was knocked backwards by a wave of sonic energy. And the Valkyrie circled around him slowly, and Arkynius wiped away the blood and sweat from his eyes, and glared at her menacingly. "Come on and fight me, witch!" and he swung his blade in a mighty arc. But she pulled her shield up as the blade came down, and it splintered beneath the impact of the blow. But another wave of energy burst from her being, a burst so strong that it tore asunder Arkynius breast plate and sent shards of its metal through his chest, and he dropped him to his knees again. And her sword flashed one last time, and the head of Arkynius rolled from his shoulders and his body slumped to the ground.
The remaining two knights looked to each other, dropped their blades, and fled.
The Valkyrie fell to the side of Solemn James and held him in her arms. He was still alive. "You were right," he said. "There was a strength in me." "You remember," she smiled. "You fought very bravely." "I want to thank you," he struggled to speak now. "You gave me back that which I lost." "No," she said as she wiped the blood from his face. "You made that choice. You gave it back to yourself. Be at peace, James. You go now to the Halls of the Warrior Kings. You have found your honour at long last."
Very well done Grizz. A great build coupled with your usual top-notch story telling. Muchos kudos, good sir! _________________ Wave upon wave of demented avengers marched cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream...
Great build, very well balanced between offense and defense, and buffed and unbuffed stats. Looks like it'd be very powerful solo and get even better in a group.
With a high buffed AB and the ability to drop an enemy's discipline checks significantly via curse song I think you'd benefit a bit from taking Called Shot (stack up -2 to hit penalties on tough bosses), or maybe Disarm/Improved Disarm for a PvP slant.
Called Shot, at least, I think would synergize very well with the build as an optional feat. _________________ Experience is the mother of good judgement; bad judgement is the father of experience.
I knew that the dwarflord could not stay away truly forever...
amazing story, as always. i would suggest giving us a few lessons in story telling as well as character building.
powerful build. the bonuses from all of the sources are nice. beginners should note that divine wrath only has one use per day, but for that one use your are pretty tough. add to that the natural HPs and those gained from rage, wow. nice combination.
-c _________________ "Perception is strong and sight weak. In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things." - Miyamoto Musashi
Edited By christian.schnabel on 10/19/05 03:31
Very nice Grizz. Well done sir.
Kaliban. _________________ What I'm reading now: The White Spider by Heinrich Harrer.
Excellent. You honor my heritage (I'm Norse). The Valkyries from Norse Mythology were Odins servants. Warrior-like women riding flying horses. They descended upon the battlefield to find fallen warriors who were to sit at the tables of Valhalla as part of Odins army. The Norse Berserkers claimed to hear the Valkyries song after battles were ended, when the Valkyries claimed their souls for Odin.
I would have put in objections if you had left out Bard or Barbarian. Nice job here Grizz.
I think I'm gonna bring in a few guys from Norse Mythology soon.
I would have put in objections if you had left out Bard or Barbarian. Nice job here Grizz.
I, too, would have had objections had I left either out. In the orignal incarnation, she was actually Barbarian15/CoT10/Bard15, but I found Greater Rage and Terrifying Rage not worth the 15 level investment. I felt comfortable with 5 levels of Barbarian, as it satisfied my roleplaying concept as well as the Norse concept.
But, Grimnir, I must give you credit, for it was your Trollborn Asgardian that got me thinking about the Valkyries (and perhaps it got Kaliban thinking about it too with his Swordmaiden of Torm. )
I had done some extensive playtesting and restructuring, and she had gone through many variations, but this one worked the best in head to head melee combat. Regardless of magic environment, she was able to hold her own against anybody at all levels. And although I never take Extend spell in a Bard build, I found it to be the most useful feat in the entire build. With Warcry being a vocal only spell, you can Warcry your way to victory in nearly every encounter due to its extreme length (34 rounds), as well as being able to cast all your Improved Invis's via Extended, and then when they run out you can Still them, and then when they run out you can cast them normally. It was my experience that she is quite a competent self-buffer.
One side note: Wounding Whispers, Stilled or Extended, will rip bad guys apart. The 40th level fighter/mofo is so intent on hitting 5x a round, that he was literally ripped apart by his own hits by the 2nd round of combat. He didn't even get to drink his cutomary 3 Heal potions. As tribute, I scribbled down a portion of that outcome in the tale itself.
Great build, very well balanced between offense and defense, and buffed and unbuffed stats. Looks like it'd be very powerful solo and get even better in a group.
With a high buffed AB and the ability to drop an enemy's discipline checks significantly via curse song I think you'd benefit a bit from taking Called Shot (stack up -2 to hit penalties on tough bosses), or maybe Disarm/Improved Disarm for a PvP slant.
Called Shot, at least, I think would synergize very well with the build as an optional feat.
Some nice comments, Xylo, and good suggestions. In one incarnation she did have Called Shot, but it didn't make the final cut. It does serve very well in the build, especially in the mid-teens of the build. What I found, though, that is by the time one reaches early Epic and beyond, the Bard side of the build makes its presence very felt, and coupled with the CoT powers, she began to have so many ways to bring an opponent down that Called Shot became superfluous. It is definitely not a bad idea, and probably boils down to a matter of playstyle and environment (note: it was never my intention for this to be a PvP build, but if one did then Called Shot would find a place in her Feat Pantheon).
Thanks for the feedback, and my apologies for the clunky story-- my Muse, as ever, has been fickle with me. _________________ Got Hommlet? World of Greyhawk Action Server (with 1/2 price ales on Mondays!)
Ariel, Ookla, RIDE!
Edited By grizzled_dwarflord on 10/20/05 02:48
What made me think of called shot was, basically "the usual suspects" for uber bosses - dragons in particular, but also intelligent undead, outsiders, constructs, etc. They're popular boss creatures, often immune to knockdowns and criticals, and tend to have spell resistance.
Called shot would give you something they don't resist to use against them that leverages your AB and curse song. I think the build's great as-is but it's so packed with capability I brought up called shot because I think it's the only thing missing to give the build a melee tactical tool for literally every sort of situation. _________________ Experience is the mother of good judgement; bad judgement is the father of experience.
The build is great, the story was . . . beautiful, frankly, to my viking instincts.
Cheers, Grizzl, you remain the shizzle.
Yes, your story-telling is very true to the norse myths that I've read, particularly with the Giants. Excellent job.
I mean no disrespect, grizzled_dwarflord, but I cannot get your numbers to add up. For skill points, I get 222 instead of your 265.
Int Mod = 2
24 at creation for a Barbarian, 4 * (4 + Int Mod) 24 for the remaining 4 levels of Barbarian 102 for the 17 levels of Bard, (4 + Int Mod) = 6 72 for the 18 levels of CoT, (2 + Int Mod) = 4
Total 222
For HP, I get 342 + 60 = 402, not 562, but I am not as sure of this number.
5 * 12 = 60 from the Barbarian levels 17 * 6 = 102 from the Bard levels 18 * 10 = 180 from the CoT levels
total 342 plus 40 for the Toughness and 20 for the Epic Toughness = 402
As I say, I am not as sure of this as I am of the skill points, having not bothered to maximize the HP on every level, but 120 HP is a lot of difference between my calculated value and your stated value.
Also, the character gets one more level 6 spell than your description indicates, but that is a bonus. *smiles* _________________ Slink's Burrow Online
I mean no disrespect, grizzled_dwarflord, but I cannot get your numbers to add up. For skill points, I get 222 instead of your 265.
Int Mod = 2
24 at creation for a Barbarian, 4 * (4 + Int Mod) 24 for the remaining 4 levels of Barbarian 102 for the 17 levels of Bard, (4 + Int Mod) = 6 72 for the 18 levels of CoT, (2 + Int Mod) = 4
Total 222
For HP, I get 342 + 60 = 402, not 562, but I am not as sure of this number.
5 * 12 = 60 from the Barbarian levels 17 * 6 = 102 from the Bard levels 18 * 10 = 180 from the CoT levels
total 342 plus 40 for the Toughness and 20 for the Epic Toughness = 402
As I say, I am not as sure of this as I am of the skill points, having not bothered to maximize the HP on every level, but 120 HP is a lot of difference between my calculated value and your stated value.
Also, the character gets one more level 6 spell than your description indicates, but that is a bonus. *smiles*
Add 43 skill points for being human and that makes it. Also add 4 * 40 = 160 hit points from constitution. It affects HP you know... _________________ < XmikeW> im glad though.. i used to think that -all- finns were supersmart nerds.. but, after seeing 1) (C) law ..2) your culture minister ..and 3) the äm-irk girls... i can say that you guys are definately typical human beings after all [smile_:-)
Well duh, on CON and the HP. I knew that. *laughs at self* I never realized that about humans and skill points, though. I have almost always played non-human races. Thanks for the pointer. *smiles* _________________ Slink's Burrow Online
Yup. "Happens to the best of us" is what I like to say _________________ < XmikeW> im glad though.. i used to think that -all- finns were supersmart nerds.. but, after seeing 1) (C) law ..2) your culture minister ..and 3) the äm-irk girls... i can say that you guys are definately typical human beings after all [smile_:-)
Hey Slink, in case you didn't know, Humans get an extra skill point per level (4 extra at level 1) and an extra feat. _________________ Wave upon wave of demented avengers marched cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream...
