Advice needed for a Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler build

I've been lurking for quite some time now but I've finally decided to post again to ask for advice regarding this idea to build a character around the persona of Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner. I assume most posters will be familiar with the X Men member and leader of Excalibur (among other things).

The idea is to play a character loosely based on this character (obviously getting the physical traits right is not a possibility). I've been giving it some thought and I wonder if you could give me a few pointers or exchange ideas (that would be much appreciated).

I have in mind to raise Dexterity (possibly reaching 20 to reflect the speed and agility of this character). Teleportation is a (rather) long term goal but it's in there somewhere. The main objection is the Intelligence requirement that may a bit high.

Charisma is a bit of a two edged sword as Nightcrawler is a competent leader who can in turn be quite at ease with the ladies but he is also a freak and a mutant who can't conceal his uncanny appearance something that can get him into trouble (and should probably be reflected by a lower Beauty score).

As far as skills the main focus will be on melee, prowling, dodge, backstab. Does that seem coherent? Unless I'm mistaken these skills work well with a high Dexterity score.

The Ran Away With the Circus background fits the character like a glove but it has two drawbacks. Firstly it increases Strength and not Dexterity and while Strength shouldn't be too low it shouldn't be too high either (Nightcrawler is not Colossus). Secondly it lowers Intelligence which will make it harder to get Teleport.

I'm wondering whether or not this background is a good choice for this character.

Race wise I've been thinking about going for an Elf but Half Orc would be better to represent the mistrust that mutants generate in society. I could use some advice and suggestions in order to make this build work.

 

Intelligence is not needed for casting spells, only maintaining them. WP is the requisite attribute for spells so ran away with the circus probably wouldn't work. Beat with the ugly stick increases st and dx while lowering be though.

As for spells: Teleportation is a must. Haste and Tempis Fugit works too to represent his speed.

His leadership could be represented with a CH of 12 and Expert Persuasion for the increased followers. While his mutant looks could be represented with a low Beauty score which affects reaction as you stated.

 

I'm trying to think of something good to add to what Magikot said.

Melee is a must because Nightcrawler occasionally uses swords. A scimitar or katana probably comes closest to the sabers and cutlasses he seems to prefer, but a rapier kind of works too.

Backstab is interesting because the combination of that and Spatial Distortion would capture some of the flavor of his fighting style.

Elf seems like the way to go to me, what with the pointy ears and slender body and all. A background that would lower NPC reactions would be ideal. Maybe Extreme Personality to represent that whole "he's less scary when you get to know him" thing?

 

Thanks for the feedback!

There are some pretty good points and that is helpful. I got confused with spells and you're right it's Willpower that matters (which fits the build quite nicely in fact).

Haste, Tempus Fugit and Spatial Distortion are good suggestions and I'll put them on my list.

The Elf race definitely seems like the way to go to me as well.

The problem I see with Extreme Personality is that it goes both ways. What I'm looking for is something that makes the initial reaction potentially negative but doesn't mean that the character has the Charisma of an oyster and lowering Beauty seems the way to go.

Beat with an Ugly Stick is a good match as far as decreasing Beauty alone and enhancing physical stats without lowering mental attributes. I can't see anything that'd work better anyhow.

Thanks to you Magikot and Hawkthorne for the suggestions.

 

My recommendation would be to try a half-orc with the Beat with an Ugly Stick background. The character will barely have any beauty which might even make some characters outright attack him at sight. Half-orcs are also by default the most hated race overall, I think. Thus you would some ugly guy who everyone despises because of his looks. Add to this that the race and background provide you with some basic combat skills and you have a neat basic build I think. If you don't and try Ran Away with the Circus (for example) keep in mind that Nightcrawler is neither dumb, nor that spellcasting with less than an intelligence of 5 is possible. You may also want to consider the Sold Your Soul background, not because of the evilness of Nightcrawler, but because of his demonic background. Also it would you more magically inclined (which is fitting) while making people hate you more without being ugly. It would restrict your alignment though, but that's only on screen and doesn't restrict what you'll be able to do. You could try lowering your beauty by crippling yourself but that's rather... you know. Maybe using an editor here might be a viable option?
As for the character itself, yes, you should probably invest in some thieving skills. Keep in mind though that while prowling is quite awesome at high levels (well, at high training, really) it also requires perception (which might be fitting for the character anyway though). Conveyance is a no-brainer, obviously. Temporal might be a good idea as well, because of blinding speed or something. You may also want to consider some basic spells in other magic colleges, such as necromancy (again to either represent his heritage via black necromancy or his good side with the white variety, as this is oftentimes seen to be a priest's trait in fantasy). Also consider Phantasm, as it might be nice to confuse people with it, especially with invisibility.

 

Thanks Arkain. I think I'm going to try and make do with the in game limitations without trying to come up with explanations that won't make much sense RP wise. I get the argument (the demonic stuff) behind the Sold Your Soul background but I don't feel comfortable using it for that character. Nightcrawler is a pretty decent guy and in some versions he is also deeply religious (despite his origins). The alignment restriction would annoy me. Nightcrawler is definitely a good character.

Anyhow thanks for the note on Perception (regarding Prowling). I think it's really fitting for that character so that shouldn't be a problem (apart from spreading points too much earlier on).

Regarding other magic talents I really don't feel like I'm going to invest into any line that doesn't fit in the general spectrum of Nightcrawler's powers. Anything that could make him quicker, more perceptive or stealthy is fine. Things like summons, healing or harm feel a bit out of character to me. I can't think of any way to implement his teleporting attack, I guess I could use a direct attack spell but I'd like to make that build a bit special and not just another regular magic user.

However Invisibility would make sense (up to a certain point) since Nightcrawler can blend into shadows. I may just invest in Prowling though. I haven't made up my mind yet.

Now regarding the race, I'm quite convinced that Elf is the better match. The only real problem is that Elf in Arcanum doesn't come close to what mutants represent in the Marvel universe. Half Orc would be quite good if only for the hate factor but it doesn't fit that well with the character looks. Nightcrawler clearly looks more like an Elf than a Half Orc. I also remember that in the Excalibur series he is actually referred to as "Elf" by some characters (clearly not a unique occasion though). I can always play around this by using some sort of cowl in game to pretend that he is concealing his unnatural features from bystanders.

Anyway as much as I like the Ran Away With the Circus background I must say that Magikot's recommendation of using Beat with an Ugly Stick definitely appears to be more suited for this character. I don't mind Strength being above average but Dexterity should definitely be higher and the penalties to Intelligence (2 points) Willpower (3 points!) and Perception (1 point) are really a major disadvantage since I don't intend to dump any of these stats (high Perception would make sense and Willpower will be needed for Teleport not to mention that Intelligence shouldn't be too low -Nightcrawler is both perceptive and rather clever). Beat With an Ugly Stick however lowers Beauty (which makes sense as this conditions the first reaction from NPCs but doesn't modify Charisma as Nightcrawler can be charming despite appearances) the bonuses to Strength and Dexterity are not over the top (so it won't feel like Strength is maxed out) and there is a minor bonus to combat skills which should be handy at the beginning of the game.

In any case I think that thanks to you guys I now have a fairly good basis to get started so here is what I intend to do:

-Elf + Beat with an Ugly Stick

-Focus on Dexterity (20+). Need to increase Willpower (18!) for Teleport. Perception (12) for Prowling and Charisma (12) for Persuasion/followers.

-Skills (mainly) melee, prowling, dodge, backstab (this one later on). I'll probably add some Persuasion to translate Nightcrawler's wits and smoothness.

-Spells: Conveyance (perfectly fits the character especially Unseen Force and Spatial Distortion), possibly Temporal (although it doesn't fit the character as well).

I have a custom portrait that doesn't look too bad despite the file format. I think it's time to get started.

EDIT: I've reached level 26 and I'm currently doing the mines. The character build works fine but it's getting a bit boring to play a goody two shoes. Probably time to start over I guess.