20 hours ago, BobtheWizard said:Deep Gnome Gloomstalker sounds very cool. You will need to help take out the dragon, though, and Gloomstalkers are very good at it. Just get yourself a shortbow and take the sharpshooter feat and you'll be fine.
There's no purchasing races or backgrounds. They are all equal, but some DMs will disallow some. 5e is pretty well balanced, so you don't have to think too hard about being effective, and it's hard to overshadow others. You'll want to start with 16 or 17 in DEX, and 14s in CON and WIS.
I wouldn't worry about high level stuff yet. If this is your first time playing 5e, you'll want to start no higher than level 3, peferably at level 1.
The more I read on 5e Deep Gnomes the more I like them. Forgotten Realms Wiki states that the Underdark has open borders and it's generally accepted that Drow and other deepers will be around. So I don't have to Drizzt her, which is nice. I'm also not seeing any daylight penalties for Underdark races. So she doesn't have to invent sunglasses again, which is also nice.
It also states that Svirfneblin mothers tend to spoil their children due to small family sizes (usually less than 4 kids), combined with the high Underdark mortality rate. SO...
They moved above ground when Yopine's father was sick of eating moss and being bossed around by Mind Flayers. So he changed their name to a properly Gnomish one, Quietclock, and went into a properly Gnomish profession, clock-making. He was not the most imaginative of Gnomes, but at least he'd put all of that darkness behind them.
Her mother stayed at home reading tea leaves for coppers and spoiling the children. Quite badly. To the point that when Yopine wanted to start working at the young age of only 30, there was no objection. She always got what she wanted, no questions asked. Nor were they asked when that job turned out to be skulking around in the dark, carving deadbeats for the local Thieves Guild. Or when she managed to drag her younger brother into a life of crime as well. There certainly wasn't time for questions when after a couple of years the guild decided to use her father's shop for smuggling and she said 'no'.
Suddenly her mother was dead, her brother was blaming her for not going along, and her father was last seen fleeing into the night with her baby sister. So now she fights back against criminal predators for those who can't fight on their own. This puts her at odds with her brother, who stayed with the guild, but she prioritizes violent and dangerous crimes over common burglary. So at least they're not actively trying to kill each other.
Well, okay. For coming in here with nothing more than "Kind of like Batman, only less punchy", Yopine is shaping up nicely. 1st level is generally best for laying down groundwork, I agree. Her background is justification for getting a couple of levels of Enforcer in prior to turning Urban Bounty Hunter. I would like to game with one or two other players if possible. 3rd seems like it'd have wider appeal.
EDIT: Oof, and I just noticed that the first Conclave isn't chosen until 3rd level as well. That meshes nicely with when she'd turn against the guild and definitely sets 3rd as the desired starting level. Hopefully that'll be okay.