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Shameless Self-Promotion - Mahad Sunflare

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I thought it might be a somewhat interesting change of pace to spend a minute to discuss a few characters I have played (or am still playing), and how I played them. If you do feel inclined to use one as inspiration for your own character, please let me know because I would be very interested to see what you do with the idea.

Lets begin with my favorite.

Mahad Sunflare - Eladrin Wizard

Mahad was the first 4th edition character I made. This is actually the second Mahad I have done, the first being an Elemental Magician in an online game. I had wanted to pay tribute to the original incarnation of the character of Mahad, and decided to keep the theme of an Elemental based magician. Furthermore, in that original online game, the first Mahad wielded a sword (The very first ever Death Sword, actually. To him, it was a priceless treasure.) It just so happened that Eladrin are not only good at being Wizards, but they also gain automatic proficiency with Longswords. The race and class were obvious, and there could be no other in my eyes.

In his early carrier, Mahad relied on the at-will powers Scorching Burst and Ray of Frost. However, my DM recognized how I was limiting myself quite heavily by sticking to an Element based theme of Fire, Ice, Lightning, and... Well, whatever I could pass off as an Earth based spell. Furthermore, I had stated that Mahad was of the opinion that illusion magic is simply a toy to be played with by children and gnomes. Mahad will not touch illusion magic as a matter of taste. My DM was willing to allow the occasional re-flavoring of spells so that I can have a slightly larger range of options and still stick to the theme. I have only done this for one spell: Shock Bolt. It is pretty much the same thing as Phantom Bolt found in Arcane Power, only it does Lightning damage and targets Fortitude.

When Mahad reached Paragon tier, the choice was once again obvious. To further emphasize the mix of Swordplay and Wizardry, Mahad became a Wizard of the Spiral Tower.

Now that the boring mechanics and history of the concept are out of the way, lets get to the juice: Who is Mahad Sunflare?

Mahad is an Eladrin who is old enough to know better. He studied in his home town of Astrazalian, and received formal training as an apprentice to a great many of the Wizards of the city (most of which were in some way distantly related to him). He is maried to a lovely wife who I actually tried to play in another campaign, but it sadly fell apart. His home is fairly simple and modest, and he got it at a very good deal because the Door Warden (See Adventurer's Vault 2 page 80) is kind of a dick. In fact, when the campaign brought us to Astrazalian, the party had to engage in a skill challenge just to get the door to open!

Mahad believes in knowledge above all else. If one possesses enough knowledge which is relevant to the situation, they can logically determine the best solution to any possible problem. As such, Mahad has devoted his entire life to gaining as much knowledge as he can. After his first century, he determined there was nothing more he could learn in his home town, kissed his wife goodbye, and went out into the natural world to see things firsthand.

Mahad traveled by himself for some time, and then he made the mistake of getting in a debate with a rather large (and rather drunk) Dragonborn. You see, Mahad is smarter than most other people. Mahad knows he is smarter than most other people. His biggest problem is that he tends to make sure that other people know he is smarter. This can make his tone on certain subjects waver between patronizing, arrogant, and even downright insulting if you don't just accept he is right. This particular Dragonborn became angry, and lashed out at him. Luck was on Mahad's side though, and a pair of Elves pulled the Dragonborn off of a rather beaten up Mahad just before he got his head stomped in. Those elves were Carric and Malick. The pair of them were hoping to go into business, adventurers for hire is the best way to put it. Once Mahad had fully recovered and was able to demonstrate his worth, he was recruited into the group.

One character worth noting who Mahad worked with at this time was Sam Sabre, a Human Fighter. Sam and Mahad seemed to always disagree on things, but formed a peculiar friendship in the process. A rivalry grew between them with Mahad constantly trying to show up Sam and prove to him that brute strength isn't as important as he thinks. It was quite fun to play.

In time, there would be a falling out and the original party would split apart and go their own ways. However, Sam and Mahad stuck together and continued on their merry way. They searched for allies, and in time met up with a Dragonborn Warlord named Chryson. Much to the disdain of Mahad, Chryson is almost as bad as Sam in many ways.

This is presently the only 3 members in the party. We've all had to work together to make up for our lack of a striker, Mahad picked up several feats to add more damage to his attacks. With Weapon Focus (Heavy Blades), Eladrin Soldier, and duel Implement Spellcaster, Mahad is getting 7 extra damage to his attacks from feats alone. Add his intelligence mod (+6) and the enchantment of his Longsword (+3) and we're looking at a whopping 16 damage from attacks before the actual damage die. I've noticed I've stopped caring what I roll on my 1d6 for powers like Scorching burst because I'm still doing a ton of damage to several people. Sam and Chryson have learned to make room for a few good area spells at the start of battle, and we rarely have to communicate a plan.

As a Melee Wizard, it is working out fairly well. Mahad has some Shimmering Armor (AV) which allow him to switch between melee and ranged attacks without backing out of a fight. The ability to cast spells without provoking an opportunity attack has proven to be an unparalleled asset to the Wizard. His sword, a Runic Longsword (AV2) keeps him almost constantly refreshed with a supply of temporary hit points. This means he is losing less of his actual hit points and is harder to kill (Not to mention his Shield and Staff of Defense, or his Wizard's Escape spell).

The build concept for Mahad has been fun for me, and the personality of the character has been even more fun. I hope you have enjoyed reading about Mahad.

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Updated 04-28-2010 at 11:49 PM by Teksura

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