Character Backgrounds

[Zyraen]

Feel free to post your Character Backgrounds here

[Zyraen]

An article worth Sharing
www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4dmxp/20120726

Not sure if non-subscribers can see it, but anyway some memorable quotes.

"One of the most gratifying aspects of watching a D&D campaign unfold is seeing how a character that began as a concept built around a conglomeration of statistics can evolve into something more, be it a brilliant caricature or a fully realized character with as much depth as anyone real or imagined. When it happens, you start to really care about what happens to the characters and where the campaign is heading. As the Dungeon Master, I can “steer the ship” a little, but the players and the dice have just as much control."

"Regardless of Matt’s intentions and desires concerning Bartho, my job as the DM is to conjure stories and character development opportunities out of the ether, and put them before the players to be judged as worthy or unworthy of their attention. My campaign is strewn with the flotsam and jetsam of stories and adventure hooks that weren’t picked up by anyone. But the DM is a bottomless well of ideas. That is why, regardless of Matt’s plans for Bartho, I’ve hatched a scheme to keep him in the campaign a little bit longer. Whether Bartho bites the hook or not isn’t really up to me, but bait him I will. Because that’s what the DM does."

Hope for more posts here and less resets As you settle into your Characters, they can develop more. Backstories help to let me (and other Players as well) understand your Character better.

[Zyraen]

From the Dancing Maiden Inn Thread

Posted for archive purposes, but if Merlvyn (player of Sylvannas) posts up here and does some minor edits, this post will be deleted.

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As the heroes sit down in a cheery taven after a hard day's work and ale is passed around, Sylvannas relaxed in her seat. "Well since we have been on this journey for quite a while now, I suppose we should start getting to know more about each other. And since I suggested this, why don't I get started?"

"As a young girl I was always adventurous and enjoyed running through the forest. I was careful not to run too far, especially the area swarmed with poisonous spiders. There was a creek near my house though and I enjoyed swimming and fishing in it. There were also many flowers, bird and fruits to admire. One day, when I went home in the evening, I saw my house torn apart (It was mainly made of wood) and everything in disarray. I heard a scream and saw my mother crawling out from the house in a bloody mess, and a mindless being of rotting flesh emerging from the house. I screamed and ran towards the city, afraid and seeking help. I wasn't looking where I was going and I just bumped into this elderly elf wearing robes of nightsky and stars. 'Look where you are going you oaf!' roared a guard 'Are you alright my lord?' 'I'm fine' says the old elf 'Where are you running to young girl?' I stammered and sobbed 'My mom... she's dying! Save her! Please!' The old man immediately hugged me, patted me on the head, took my hand and told me to lead the way.

When we got to the house, we discovered my mother dead at the front steps of the house and my dad dead within the house. I broke down and cried as I loved my parents, and I had no one who I could depend on anymore. I felt so lonely and afriad. The old elf sniffed the air and told the guard 'There is foul magic about here. I smell signs of necromacy. The old elf took out a staff from within his robes and waved it in the air muttering incarntations. A silvery trail appeared on the ground. 'Bring the girl back to the palace. Get the servants to feed her and bathe her. She must be tired from all this. Get her a room to rest as well,' he ordered the guard. With that, he followed the silvery trail and I left with the guard. As we were walking, the guard told me that I was lucky to have bumped into lord Amor'eneth, magical adviser to the King. True enough, I was hungry when we reached the palace and the food prepared tasted better than I have ever eaten. The bath was perfumed and the bed was so soft I fell asleep as soon as I hit the sheets. When I woke up, the lord was sitting at a table, smoking a pipe and seemed to be in deep thought. I sat up quietly and waitied.

After some time, he turned around and saw me awake. 'Ah.. had a good sleep?' he smiled at me gently and asked. 'Yes milord,' I replied meekly. 'You have nowhere else to go to I suppose. Would you like to stay here with me?' he asked apprehensively. My eyes misted over gratefully 'Oh yes milord!' I ran over and hugged him. He laughed and said 'There is a price though. You have to be my apprentice. I sensed a talent for magic in you. Would you like to learn magic? Perhaps you can learn to do this.' With that, he wriggled a finger and a single ball of dancing light drifted over our heads, made sommersaults in the air and winked at me before going out. I exclaimed 'Yes I do!'

The following years he tried teaching me the simplest of cantrips but try as I may, I can't muster even the simplest of them. My ball of light would be very small and dim. I conjured a mage finger instead of a mage hand much to the amusement of my master. 'Well at least you can point at your foe to taunt him,' he laughed. 'Not funny, master. I'm actually getting rather frustrated,' I sighed. 'Well you have been around with me and despite not being able to cast spells well, you have proven useful with your shield and mace. Why don't you give yourself a break from all this studying? Take the week off and rest,' he suggested. 'I guess some air would be good for me,' I nodded and looked at him gratefully.

That night, I took a walk out of the city to a nearby forest. It was peaceful and quiet, actually so quiet I could hear faint singing. I followed the voices and to my amazement, it led me to a clearing where I saw six women dressed in white ritual dresses singing and dancing around a large boulder in the full moon in the middle of the clearing. I stepped out mesmerized and one of them spotted me. 'Look a stranger!' she snarled. I was frightened and started backing off. The tallest woman said 'Stop that Felicia! Can't you see that's just a young girl?' She smiled assuring at me and beckoned me over. She looked graceful and kind, just like my mother. I cautiously stepped forward. She smiled at me and said' I'm Qilué Veladorn, high priestess of Selûne. You have just interrupted our worship of our goddess, which is why my sister here is so upset. Forgive her. Now tell me, what brought you here?' 'I...I...heard the music, so I came,' I said hesitantly. 'You heard the music?' She raised one eyebrow questioningly. 'Only the priestess of the moon can hear the song of the moon. Hmmm... why don't you join us?' She smoothened the objections by saying 'Our Lady of Silver has spoken. Who dares question her?' With that, I joined in the dance and as the intensity grew, I was amazed to find myself floating in the air with the others weaving round and round the stone. At the end of the ritual, Qilué invited me to stay and be a priestess. I told her I need to inform my master and she agreed.

When I got back, he was worried as I had never stayed out so late before. 'Where have you been? I was about to send out a search party,' he said. I told him about what happened and he exclaimed 'That explains! Your gift is in the divine, not the arcane! No wonder you are not able to master the cantrips!' After packing, he tearfully bid me farewell. It was the first time I saw him tear. 'Come back when you have need. I have always treated you as a daughter, more than just an apprentice,' he said. 'Yes I know that well master. I will take care of myself,' I said. With that, I waved farewell at him. The following 2 years I spent with Qilué, and found my talent in the healing arts that I even found ways to combine attack with healing. One day, she came to me and said gravely 'You have learnt the art well. Now the world needs you. Shian city has requested aid and even though the humans can be selfish and greedy, there are innocents out there too. Go and help those you can. If you see the high priestesses of Selûne, bring my greetings and wear this badge with pride.' She gave me a brooch in the shape of a crescent moon, a holy symbol in the shape of a full moon and a chainmail that fitted me very well. We hugged and parted ways. 'Come back when there's need,' she said. 'We will always be family.'

I walked on the road towards the city and met a captain of the east garrison who introduced me to you. Well that's my story. Now how about yours?" Sylvannas looked around the table.

[Zyraen]

bump if anyone is interested

[yhuangj]

Quinn – the odd ageless girl (Part 1)

Quinn appeared one day just outside the Town and settled down in the abandoned hut in the outskirts. It was forcibly abandoned by the Ramons five moons ago, after their entire family went prematurely into the afterworld following an Orc raid. It was abandoned because of the magnitude of the tragedy that befell that family, and the lingering ghosts that still haunts the empty residence. Okay, it was really abandoned because it was on the wrong side of the town drawbridge, outside of the moat and palisade. Yes, townsfolks were superstitious, but very practical too.

Speaking of practicality, when first Quinn appeared that fateful day and settled, they didn’t automatically break out the pitchforks and torches. New neighbours also mean new skills, new opportunities for barter and trade. Also, never discount the usefulness of terrified screams as a great early warning system for impending raids – gives enough time to raise the drawbridge.
Soon, Quinn’s front porch was filled with nick-knacks, gear worn by all manners of men and creatures (best left unexplained); old rusty weapons, books, the occasional finery such as jewels – things you can’t find anywhere outside of one of those fancy-pants civilized Kingdom cities southwards. Quinn was a tough barterer with a gambler’s face, often trading her wares for farm animals, bays of wheat, corn, barley, fermented beer, services, anything the townsfolk produced. Payment was in-kind, and often services rendered, since she doesn’t do goat-tending, carpentry, farming or other respectable work as far as anyone knew. No one really questioned where her stuff comes from; although old man Billy swears she’s looting from a mass graveyard from the old battlefield of yore, no one else seems to remember anymore. She’ll venture off for days and even weeks at a time into the deep forests.

So why does no one steal from her while she’s away? An adventurous (but morally questionable) fellow by the name of Gus posed the same question once during such a trip. He was found naked and gibbering, hanging by his feet, over the town moat with the word ‘Idiot’ emblazoned across his rather large forehead – words which can’t seemed to be washed off nor otherwise erased. For an entire week afterwards, he walked despondently around town wearing the humiliating graffiti, refusing to tell anyone about the incident. Ruffians and troublemakers alike, learned to avoid trouble when she was nearby, and even grudgingly respected her after some of their own personal encounters involving Quinn, a run-in in a dark ally, followed by a weeklong stint of facial graffiti. It is said she even has her own fan-club amongst the criminals now.

She was odd. It isn’t just her looks – large seasoned eyes that’s seen one atrocity too many, featureless, ageless face, coupled with her short four feet stature. Nor is it simply her scruffy presence –her gender-neutral voice, her odd clothing – consisting usually of fur from unidentifiable animals. Her personality tended towards the sarcastic, with a dose of a blasé attitude towards life. Outside of her business, she was simply out of place in regular townsfolk life. Most townsfolk believe she came to this world missing some important things all respectable folks take for granted – God-fearin’ morality, common decency, civility and the awareness of one’s proper station in life. She didn’t even farm!

Men didn’t know how to relate to one of the fairer gender who could really hurt them; a few overzealous boors found out the hard way that silence means no – and at least three broken fingers. Her come-hither gesture after particularly lewd solicitations also means no – in the form of broken ribs and an occasional cracked jawbone. She didn’t seem to have any interest in men, outside of talking shop and bartering, never volunteered any information about herself, often letting personal questions hung in uncomfortable, deafening silence. Speaking of silence, she communicates well enough with silence. Her silence can be soothing, calculating, and occasionally intimidating. Good womenfolk also didn’t know how to talk to her either. She was always courteous, but absent-minded about the regular stuff women talked about, the town gossips, that handsome bard with golden locks and sweet voice that are just to die for… Kids unreservedly liked her, mostly because they could rummage through her stuff and come away with the occasional small trinkets she’d allow off premise.

Recently, she acquired an unusually large bear pelt with unnaturally bright crimson eyes. Not exactly ladylike – nor civilized for that matter, but now she wears that dead animal on her head like it was the height of fashion. Scandalous. She also clinks loudly; young rascal Johnny swears he saw chains poking from under her unseemly bear rug-of-a-clothing. Anything Johnny says however is heavily discounted, since he also swears goats chat with him during full moons.

But for all her oddities, the townsfolk accepted her over time. She provided a valuable bartering service, she respected boundaries, keeps the ruffians in check, and she’s fairly unobtrusive otherwise. They’d even invite her to the harvest celebrations, the Yun-see Equinox celebrations, which she would appear, bear-head and everything – with bartered beer and tasty meat of questionable origin.

The one thing that even the good townsfolk can’t get used to – is the strange company she keeps. On early mornings or late evenings, Elves can sometimes be spotted at her doorstep. Even worse, adventurers have sometimes been seen looking through her wares on rare occasions. Adventurers were of the worst sort, coming in with their nouveu-riche gold and swagger, flashing smile at all the women, and not just the designated barmaids, and often bringing calamity at their wakes. Braggarts and profiteers at heart, they’d talk of ‘bringing protection to this rat hole of a town’, but instead buy up all potions, weapons and protective magical heirlooms that may have protected it in the past. Invariably they’d leave, and the bounty hunters, monsters, or other unspeakable horrors following them would arrive at their quaint town and proceed to raze it. Indeed, with the number of towns desecrated after a party of adventurers left, someone ought make a law against adventurers! Some even suspect Quinn may be of the adventurin’ persuasion herself. (Next week – Orc Raid meets Quinn)

[hannibal]

Yesterday we were at the table and sharing our character motivations when I realised that other than the pull of the story, I didn't have any motivations for Hadarai as a character.

That got me thinking last night and I've written a short story for him. Hopefully it will be able to bring across his back story as well as his motivations across.

Even by the counting of elves, Hadarai was considered long lived. Always buried in his books on the history and art of warfare, he had become what most would consider a arm chair tactician. One day, as he gazed out of the window, he wondered, what would life be like if he actually went out and joined one of the bands of adventurers roaming the world. Would he be able to put his knowledge to the test and become a true tactician - one with both knowledge and experience in warfare?

He gathered his meagre belongings - other than the books he treasured he had not much else but a few knick-knacks passed down from his family and stepped into the world - a lone elf in search of adventure. As his feet lead him further away from the elven homelands and into the Shian Empire, his eyes were always looking for a promising band. Finally, as he reached the small village of <insert whatever place we started from>, he found the group he was looking for.

As the band ventured further and gained in experience, Hadarai's motivations crystallised. He wished to be able to support his friends through his knowledge of warfare, commanding their blades and directing their arrows to where they would do the most damage. Some of his friends wanted to be saints, gods or trading princes but all he wanted to do was find the next struggle where he would be able to put all his years of learning and now experience into.

Plans for the future
To gain a flying ziggurat which can travel across the multiverse.
After reaching the end of the adventure with this band, to be able to travel and join worthy causes across the multiverse and use his skill to turn the tide of battle.