I'll use the character I'll be playing soon in my DM's new campaign
Ahrimal, 1st level Tiefling Avenger of The Raven Queen (Unaligned)
BACKGROUND
1)Ahrimal is an orphan, and knows nothing of his parents.
2)As an infant, Ahrimal was left on the doorstep of Gregore DuKarde, A cleric of The Raven Queen
3)Ahrimal is a member of The Ashen Wing, a little known sect within the church of the Raven Queen dedicated to policing other members of the church for heretics.
4)Though he seldom admits it, Ahrimal has some difficulty accepting that he is a tiefling, and trouble reconciling the dark deeds of his ancestors.
5)While not a zealous fanatic, Ahrimal is wholly dedicated to his patron deity, and is holds deep pride in his faith.
GOALS
1)To prove himself in the service of The Raven Queen
2)To reconcile his mixed feeling toward his heritage, possibly by finding his parents and proving to anyone he can that not all Tieflings are untrustworthy.
CONTACTS
1)Gregore DuKarde (Cleric of The Raven Queen). Gregore is the Patron of Ahrimal's Ashen Wing Cell, and thus, his mentor. In a more personal sense, Gregore raised Ahrimal from infancy, and as such, he views the cleric as a father.
2)Laina Redmoore (Avenger of The Raven Queen). Laina was trained alongside Ahrimal under Gregore's tutelage. Though they have since split ways as acitve adventurers, they maintain close contact whenever possible and she is is closest friend.
SECRETS
1)While he will not admit it for several reasons and hasn't entirely acknowledged it, Ahrimal is actually in love with Laina. He supresses these feelings mainly because he wants to focus on his duties, but also because he fears these feelings are unrequited.
2)Gregore is not all that he seems. Unbeknownst to Ahrimal or Laina, The Ashen Wing is not a sect of church of the Raven Queen. In fact, outside of Ahrimal or Laina, it does not exist at all. The truth is that Gregore himself is an exile from the church, and is, in fact, a cultist of Orcus. He seeks to manipulate both the fledgling avengers into murdering several important members of the Raven Queen's faithful, so that the Cult of Orcus may flourish.
3)Ahrimal's parents are dead, slain by Gregore. His mother was actually a human Paladin of Bahamut, and his father a tiefling wizard descended directly from Bael Turath nobility. At one time, his mother and father were adventuring companions of Gregore when he was still a devout cleric of his faith. When they expressed concern over his fall into darkness, Gregore murder them both and took Ahrimal as his own.
What I find most frustrating about 4E is that I can see it includes the D&D game I've always wanted to play, but the game is so lathered in tatical combat rules that I have thus far been unable to coax the game I want out.
1)Daedrie is a woodland person. Born and raised there with her small family, She knew little else of the world when she started. She found refuge in the woods when she was being chased, the spirits of the forest were the first ones to talk to her. To her it feels more like home, just like a city person comes home to his place of birth. (forest)
2)She wants power. She wants the power to defeat those who mean her harm. She wants the power stand up for herself. She is willing to bond with others and do things that don't necessarily impact her directly. She's careful not become what she wants to defend herself against though. (Power and the temptations, consequences and possibilities it brings.) 3)She has bit of an independent streak. She hates being helpless,, unable to act, being dependant on others. She intends live on her own strength, or at least do her part in a group effort. (independence, self-reliance, distaste for weakness)
4) Daedrie is a shaman. Even though others might comment on how her selfreliance clashes with her powers depending on shamans, daedrie sees this in a different light. She's proud of her craft. Shamans require power of their own in order to be able to talk to and channel spirits.
The powers she has gained through hard work, barter and determination, are not in her opinion “letting the spirits do all the work” but the results of her hard work. Just like any Wizard or Cleric needs personal strength in order to be someone of note, so does she call on forces outside of a commoner's ken. Having it referenced as “letting the spirits do all the work” is sure to anger the Shifter and she's been forced to leave more than one town because of it. (pride and sense of satisfaction in profession)
5)Daedrie acted as the role of advisor and ritualist in her small tribe when she was still with them. She did most of the important rituals after her mentor had vanished. When she started adventuring, she found it hard to abandon the traditions even though she could no longer perform them adequately. She kept amassing rituals of note and power and hoped to return to her tribe one day to bestow her knowledge. (Role of Medicine woman in her tribe, fondness of rituals and traditions)
6)After having her tribe raided and enslaved, while she was powerless to stop them, Daedrie made a vow to grow in power and no longer to be forced to just watch if something like that happened again.
7) Being able to talk to beings no one else except her mentor could see most of the time, left her estranged from most of her family up until the attack on her tribe.
1)Daedrie wants power, and her goal right now is amassing it and looking for examples of power demonstration. She wants to be able wield the power gains and will gain in a fashion she, her tribe and spirit allies can be proud of. 2)I'd like it if Daedrie could grow as a character in the campaign, but not have it centric. Daedrie has chose for power but she has chosen a cause to champion yet. You know, develop friends etc. Also I believe that The epic destiny of Demigod would be a suitable one for her. While she has made her pacts and friendships with the spirits, she is not one of them and never will be, so she seeks her own path instead of joining as a part of the Primal Spirit.
1)When she was young, she started hearing spirits. She was tempted to power by a spirit of bloodlust and carnage, the first one to notice her talent. After several enticing promises and demonstrations of power, she made a few human sacrifices to it, in hopes that it would honor its bargain. It did, partially. After the initial rush of power died down, she wanted more. The spirit claimed that she could have more if she sacrificed one of her own people, not of a race she cared little about.
There was one bully and troublemaker no one liked. With the use of some sleep medicine she was able to kill him. The village assume the troublemaker had ran away. After her initial rush of power over this, she realized what she had done. With the help of the old local shaman, she was able to defeat the spirit. But her mentor nor her tribe ever found out.
2)Player only: A small tribe of Razorclaw shifters and a village of humans were living in a shaky truce for a few decades. In the human village superstition ran rampant about the freaks in the forest. When several children disappeared over time the village despaired, when the corpse of the son of the retired war hero turned up, help was needed from the local lord. A cleric was able to find that a shifter from the nearby village had killed the children. A fighting force was raised and sent to the village to demand for the killer to be turned over. The shifters reacted badly to the invading force, no matter the reason and the situation escalated. Most shifters were killed or dragged away to work in the mines where common criminals were sentenced to. Daedrie is unaware that her temptation to power through evil caused the destruction of her tribe. 3)The spirit of bloodlust that enticed Daedrie into the murder wants revenge on her for abandoning and defeating him.
1)Evara: Daedrie's aunt, she was one of the survivors of the attack. Though she was taken captive, she has managed to escape. With the destruction of the tribe, she feels she no longer has a home and now travels the road in search of adventure as a ranger. Daedrie and she have met a few times and the meetings were fond, each of them prefers to walk their path alone. 2)Emilio Millerson: A wealthy human travelling merchant. Though initially wary of the grinning scarred man, Daedrie quickly opened up to his wit and humor. Daedrie has done several deals with him and has worked for him as a caravan and bodyguard. Their friendship has grown over the years. Running into Emilio and his caravan has provided Daedrie the opportunity to buy from his select stock of magical trade goods, when she least counted on it. 3)Commander Richard Oakheart. After a succesful campaign under his King, he was able to retire early as a decorated war hero and start a family. The murder of his son and his innate sense of justice made him look for vengeance. Though initially sated by the destruction of the tribe, his lust for retribution flared up again after a short while. He now travels the lands for opportunities to kill Shifters or atleast to cause others to mistrust them, all the while actually looking for one shifter in particular named, Daedrie. He is unaware that he is being influenced by Kezrah. Though he is now thoroughly beyond redemption in the evil he commits on innocent shifters. 4)Kezrah, Spirit of bloodlust and carnage. Seems to have taken lessons in vengeance too. It's pride got a dent after being chased away by a young shifter. He has found a human who seeks to get revenge on her for some reason and that suits him all to well. Though he was forced to prod the human back into action after the destruction of the village, lately his pet human has surprised Kazreh in the determination he is showing and the bloodlust he displays when seeing a shifter. The fact that Kezrah was the reason the shifter killed this humans' son, amuses the spirit to no end.
1)Daedrie remembers waking up to the smell of herbs and fresh fish, the feel of a raw wet tongue over her face and a giant panther standing over her bed. A lot of screaming and panic later , The spirit introduced herself later as her sacred ancestor and tribal protector spirit.
2)Her first encounter with Emilio, is vivid in her memory. It was the first peaceful encounter with a non-shifter after the raid. After a few jokes and Emilio's laughable attempts at starting a fire and fishing, Daedrie opened up to the man and listened to his stories. She remembers that from hearing the stories, she realised that there was a whole other world out of the forest and the terrified villagers her tribe had been forced to deal with.
3)Helplessness. The thing that scares Daedrie the most. Most of the painful memories are tied to that feeling. The thing that sticks out the most though was the memory of lying sick in bed, unable to even stand up and unable to do anything about the raid that was happening nearby, while she was hidden in her mentor's house.
1)Her ritual books contain a lot of rituals her tribe didn't know, ones she picked up on the way. Does keep them the same way her tribe did though. Straight branches with the story of the ritual inscribed by small scratchings, wooden wheels with figures depicting the movement of power and hides telling of which spirits should be called upon depending on the phase of the moon. 2)Her spirit companion is the former tribal protector spirit. It watches over her like a protective mother and extends this protection to others if Daedrie asks it. Daedrie has a feeling the spirit has a feeling of guilt over the attack on the village, even after all this time. 3)She's wary of strangers and is on her guard in small villages, though funnily she opens up a bit in the city as people there tend to be friendlier since they have more experiences with other races, compared to villagers and farmers, atleast in her opinion. (She hasn't had any big trouble in cities yet since she's usually out adventuring.)
Seeing as I have been playing too many pacistic healers lately in lots of rpg's, I wanted to go for a power hungry one. I modified the personality and backstory, so that her personality didn't scream "Evil!" and would be playable in a normal Good/Neutral party.
I thought it would be a nice change of pace for the 'power' goal if the character would focus on it for once, instead of the player (level up, pick powers etc).
People who live on the surface don’t know what takes place underneath them. They do not think that there is a whole other world under their feet. And the occasional shaking of the ground is seen as nothing more then mere earthquakes. Truth is that there is a the Underdark. A different world where various races live and fight one another. These conflicts sometimes result in the shaking of the ground above.
One of the races living down below is called Drow. A treacherous race with various castes of society. Individuals treating each other harsh with a lot of scheming and backstabbing to gain power or wealth themselves. You always had to look over your shoulder and second guess everyone’s motives. It isn’t odd that there are often wars between houses.
In the House of Fo’Thrun lived a young boy named Kelnozz. He was the son of a high ranking official within that House. With such a rank comes great risk, because everyone below you wants to climb the ladder of success over your corpse. Even his parents said they were disgraced by Kelnozz ever since they learned that he wasn’t accepting the life of a treacherous Drow. Of course he valued strength and the independence, but didn’t feel right about using it to destroy others. Also spending most of his time making sure he could stay alive for another day without getting poisoned was slowly fatiguing him. Kelnozz was tired of this life and didn’t have a lot of friends due to his different opinion on their culture.
One day the House of Fo’Thrun got in a way with another drow house. It escalated pretty high up and a lot of individuals died. Kelnozz used this hectic situation to his advantage and decided to leave his house and community. When everyone was away to battle he snuck out of the house and carefully got away. He could hear the sounds of weapons and voices screaming in the distance as he entered the tunnel system.
Kelnozz thought he was free and smiled as he walked through the tunnels at a rapid pace. But his luck was soon turning for the worst. A mindflayer appeared and penetrated the mind of the drow. It was an easy captive for the mindflayer and decided to take Kelnozz to his settlement. A thrall to infiltrate the drow society and ruin it from within would be a great use of this young drow. On their way to the surface a handful of paladins appeared. They were going to the surface as well after having investigated a Grimlock issue. A short battle ensued which ended in the mindflayer laying dead on the ground. The young drow was worried, confused and didn’t knew what to do. The paladin discussed among one another and eventually one stepped forth. He wanted to know what Kelnozz was doing here and listened to his story. The big man offered to take Kelnozz in as his squire in service of Torm.
The young drow was now enlisted as a squire and traveled with the men of Torm around the region. He learned that they uphold similar ideals to what Kelnozz had been raised with. Yet he embraced the difference in that these paladin used those teachings to help instead of destroy. When they returned to the home base of these paladin he felt it time to request to become a paladin of Torm himself. Kelnozz got accepted and trained further within the academy. He did admirably and after his graduation a drow appeared in front of him. Kelnozz looked very surprised since he didn’t expect to see one of his kind on the surface world. This drow introduced himself as Grezto and explained that he was leading a group of paladin consisting only of Drow. These would infiltrate the Underdark and communities as spies. He asked if Kelnozz would be interested in joining his branch, but was declined. Kelnozz was glad to be out of his society and didn’t want to return. Not for the time being at least.
At this time Kelnozz is send around the world with other paladin to do good where ever possible. From time to time fighting prejudice and showing that not all Drow are evil backstabbing bastards. Still he prefers to let his actions speak louder then his words.
1. Spend his younger years growing up in the Underdark. A treacherous environment 2. Left his community by using the fog of war. He got temporarily captured by a mindflayer and then rescued by several Paladin of Torm. One of them took him in as a squire. 3. He had a lot of laughs and learned a lot from Brydon the Paladin who had taken him in. 4. Kelnozz trained at the Academy of Torm and became a respected paladin himself. Now he travels around doing good and helping the weak whenever possible. 5. The first time he got confronted by racial discrimination against Drow was unpleasant, but he can understand it and will show through his actions that not all drow are bad. He has hard a difficult life, but will not dwell on the past. The future is what matters.
1. Druzz Fo’Thrun is the father of Kelnozz and high ranking member within the house. He thinks that his son has died during the war with another house. He doesn’t really care that is son is gone. 2. Brydon is the paladin of Torm that took Kelnozz in as a squire. He doesn’t regret his choice and finds the drow amusing. Re-learning Kelnozz how to socialize resulted in many funny situations for Brydon. He’s come to see the drow as something like a son. 3. Grezto is a drow paladin of Torm. He leads the branch within the Academy which mainly consists of drow. These paladin try to disguise and infiltrate drow communities and try to destroy them from within. Or at least try to keep their issues within acceptable boundaries.
1. Kelnozz knows about drow paladin of Torm that infiltrate underdark communities of drow. These paladin observe and manipulate the drow communities from within. 2. 3. [DM] find a secret to connect this PC with Paragon tier which includes the Underdark and possible the City of the Spiderqueen adventure module.
1) He is the nephew of a lesser House Matriarch. 2) His mother refused the priesthood and instead studied the old ways of arcane combat and became a Bladesinger much to the displeasure of her elders. 3) He is on the shorter end of the spectrum at only 5'4" and has perfect the "low blow" on those who mock his height. His skin is obsidian black and his eyes are more of a burgundy color compared to the stark scarlet color more common amongst the Drow. He is handsome by human standards but average for his people. He bears dueling scars on his left cheek: two short horizontal lines of blue-black at the curve along left the cheekbone. 4) Among surface dwellers he never uses the term Drow in relation to himself, instead he jokingly uses the term, "light-disinclined elf," as a way to disarm other wise violent stereotypes. 5) He deeply believes in the concept of taking care of ones things - his equipment is meticulously cared for and he strictly enforces environmentally friendly practices when possible. 6) He's a terrible liar by Drow standards. 7) He views Bane in the sort of rosy glow normally reserved for older siblings but only offers worship to Lolth. 8) He has a soft spot for Halflings. 9) Has a tendency to refer to people with the possessive form of speech and blames it on translation error if anyone questions him about it.
1) Get as many people as possible to openly acknowledge fealty to him. 2) Stop people from making a mess of his world. Mine: "[T]he pleasure of hearing that all my enemies have died in terrible, highly improbable accidents that cannot be connected to me."
Known: He regards "lesser races," as slightly above canines in terms of existing without proper supervision. Unknown: The reason the Matriarch gave him permission to go on his learning tour of the the surface was because she had his mother killed shortly prior to his leaving and framed him for it.
Friendly: Lincoln the Smith (Human Artificer) - the person Aethryn first encountered on surface was luckily an artificer who was more interested in examining items of Underdark make than killing him because he was a Drow. Lincoln has a n inquisitive mind and spends most of his days tinkering with magical enchantments. He struck it lucky extremely early in his adventuring career when he and his comrades came upon an extremely wounded dragon, a dead dragon, and the horde they were fighting over. Between the two corpses and the horde they had enough wealth to never work again. Lincoln used his wealth to back other adventurers who bring him new and interesting items to study and reverse engineer. This puts him at the center of a rather large network of very capable people. Lincoln resembles a rather disheveled Lloyd Bridges.
Friendly: The Lady Aribeth, Knight of Crosswatch. Aribeth of the line of Farl is a knight in title only. Her family progenitor, Farl, was granted a small manor-keep overlooking the intersection of two minor trade rivers on the outskirts of the kingdom. She is commonly acknowledged as the most intelligent person to hold the position as the norm of the family was to be a simple-minded warrior. Indeed, her mother died while hunting wild boar when Aribeth was only 13 at which point she took control of the family holdings. Aribeth has shown a flair for managing her lands that has astounded royal accountants and has seen a marked increase in her family's wealth. Physically, Aribeth is now a stunningly attractive woman of 17 with raven black hair and eyes a color reminiscent of magma. She stands at 5'5" but has a strength somewhat out of proportion with her slender frame. This, combined with her odd eye color, have led to rumors on the nature of her father as her mother was never actually married. The few remaining manor staff that were present during the time frame for her conception are extremely tight-lipped on the matter, even to her. Unknown to many (i.e. everyone except whoever the DM wants to know) Aribeth is a capable sorceress having come into her power in a burst of flames while dealing with the loss of her mother (she blamed it on a loose wall sconce in her quarters). Aribeth met Aethryn when he stopped at the manor hoping to exchange entertainment for food after the merchant trawler he had hitched a ride with was no longer going his way at the crossing. Aribeth found his company and conversation engaging and fantastic especially compared to the local peasantry she dealt with normally. This has led to Crosswatch being high on the places Aethyrn visits between adventures as he found her to be the most charming person he's dealt with on the surface. They have a standing tally of chess games with a current even split: Aribeth is more intelligent in strategy but Aethyrn is more cunning (Hmm, maybe she should get her own 10 minute character).
Enemy: Triad - The sociopath former leader of the criminal element in the city where Aethryn and his companions had one of there early adventures. They were responsible for ousting Triad from power and his entire inner circle being apprehended by the Watch. Aethyrn secretly brokered a deal between the city Lord and the remaining, and much more mentally stable, criminal leadership in which they could perform a certain level of crime per year as long as they paid taxes. Triad re-established himself in a new city and is currently trying to locate Aethyrn whom he personally blames due to a rather clever Vicious Mockery.
1) His first sunset (He continues to miss sunrise by sleeping through it). The colors were beyond his wildest comprehension. 2) When he first heard the conjoined philosophy of Bane and Erathis and everything just clicked with his personal philosophy of taking care of ones things (which he learned from his mother and all members of his House though in relations to equipment). 3) His first thunderstorm which scared him half to death until someone explained what was going on. Now he enjoys long strolls in the rain which remind him both that he is not home anymore and let him use the contrast to remember home.
Basically for a while I wanted to make a non-good Drow character that had a reason to not be killed outright for being evil. I blended together a few concepts on ownership and responsibility (Terry Pratchett's Discworld - witches, Star Trek - Tremaine, D&D - Bane) and got a Drow who sees his companions and the area in which he adventures as his. Because they are his he's responsible for looking out for them and not letting them come to harm. He isn't altruistic but will act at no gain if it optimizes the working of something he sees as his (which is pretty much anywhere he stays for more than two days or anyone he interacts with on a regular basis). My city, my wizard, my companion, don't mess with it because it is mine, is the trend.
I suggest using the [ sblock] [/ sblock] to hide most of the text. And to divide the"Other People" section up in alinea's, that would certainly make it easier on the eyes to read.
Info:We started at level 20. Maul was born into the Ironflame Clan, he later created the Hexmer Clan. Step 1. "We are the Hexmer Clan, we are the true Warlock Knights!" Spoiler:Show
1. Maul was born into the Ironflame Clan a sect of Warlocks who make residence in Zhentil Keep. 2.Maul like all in the Ironflame clan became a Warlock through a pact with the ice devil, Ashubanapal. 3.The Warlock Knights of Vasaa have been trying to take Zhentil keep from the Ironflame clan for a decade, so he holds a place of disgust for any Warlock knight of vasaa. 4.He is most comfortable in the cold, the keep was always cold. 5.After the death of his mentor at the hands of a Warlock Knight, Maul set out for new knowledge and power. In the hopes of destroying the Warlock Knights.
Step 2. "And they will fall by my hammer." Spoiler:Show
1.Maul will do everything in his power to destroy the Warlock Knights of vasaa. 2. Become a demigod and start the Hexmer Clan.
Step 3. "What do you mean shes a guy?" Spoiler:Show
1.Maul has a weak stomach for alcohol, a fact he doesn't want known. 2.His mentor and his driving force is actually a lie, his mentor was martyr for the Ironflame clan. The leaders where making peace with the Warlock knights until his 'murder'. Mauls mentor was part of a group inside the clan that did not want peace cause as long as the clan fought they had control over the fund which they used to further their dealings with devils for new power.
Step 4. "Fred and I walked into a bar..." Spoiler:Show
1. Maul has a close friendship with a Warforged. He called himself Fuller. Maul just called him Tree hugger. Fuller was a Earthstrength Warden. 2.Maul frequently hired a Drow named Xhen. Xhen is the kind of person that will work cause he has nothing more fun to do. Maul never really trusted him but Xhen never gave him any reason to doubt his loyalty though. 3.Hjilk. A half-orc Warlock knight. Maul while on one of his ventures into Vasaa ran into a platoon of knights on patrol. He ravaged all but one, Hjilk, He was a general leading the patrol, after a great fight with Maul Hjilk retreated to a knight stronghold. Hjilk was put in charge of eradicating the Hexmer clan.
1.Mauls fondest memory is that of his first successful spell, he froze his mentor to the ground. 2.Mauls first love Alizebeth a half dwarf. He met her while staying in the most untasteful city of Mulmaster. She was being sold in slavery. Maul bought her from the slave trader. She was glad to be free from Mulmaster. he brought her back to Zhentil Keep where she stays to this day. 3.He is still haunted by the thought of his masters death, it wakes him at night sometimes.
1) South of St. Clarice is a haunted forest. It exists along a very thin area of The Veil between The World and The Feywild. Monsters from the Feywild slip through into the world with alarming frequency.
2) Eighty years ago, a small band of Eladrin came through the Shroudmist Gate. They met with a band of elves who helped them brave the dangers of the woods. One of them, a druid by the name of Leanna Moonsong, decided to remain with the elves. She established a small trading post with the elves not far from the Gate, and dedicated it to protecting those who would travel through the Veil between the worlds.
3) Over the years, the grove has expanded. Many foundlings from many different races have been taken in. A great many races are represented in the Grove--elves, eladrin, orcs, shifters, some of the goblinoid races, and a smattering of gnomes and changelings who've escaped from the purges in the Feywild.
4) The grove is an important stopping point between the Feywild and The World. This makes it a target for those who would sever those ties. A bugbear tribe in the Shroudmist has taken an unhealthy interest in the Grove
2) Lady Leanna was once an eladrin noble who was banished to the World, along with several other eladrin, to strengthen the White Fox Society in Coralton. She isn't a very active member, however. She monitors the Grove for the Society and sends off occasional reports, but she is more concerned with providing for the rag-tag family she has acquired than furthering the ideals of a bunch of rabblerousers. She also suspects that the society is up to something sinister behind the "Let people live free" rhetoric.
Our Lady Wynowill has an intense, personal dislike of Leanna. They have quietly loathed each other for decades, because Leanna suspects she may be behind Lord Landril's illness. Our Lady Wynowill had decided that the Shroudmist Grove has outlived its usefulness. She secretly sends funds, manpower, and magical aid to a bugbear tribe that has attacked the grove on several occasions, and she is also making overtures to The Piper. Recently, she made a deal with Corren Coris, the high warden of the Grove. Her forces are poised to attack--all she's waiting for is the right moment to crush the Grove as the first step to conquering St. Clarice.
1) Lady Leanna Moonsong is the nominal leader of the Grove. She is a druid who venerates Mynora Elonna, an oddity among Eladrin. She is considered by many to be caring, stately, and regal. There are rumors that she was once a noble in the Court of Stars, though she rarely speaks of the life she led before founding the Grove.
2) Corren Coris is the Warden of the Grove. He's in charge of arranging the patrols that guard the forest, which means he is in a position of some power. He's also bitter at life after losing a friend to a tragic mistake when he was younger. Despite his title, he's actually a ranger.
3) Groag Goblinkicker is an odd duck. He's one of the strongest fighters in the Grove itself, and he's fought his way out of more than one ambush.
4) Devon Lucan is a warden of the grove who has seen and done many things. He has trained under Leanna herself, and has taken on some of her contemplative nature.
5) The Piper is a demonic monster, a satyr warped by its exposure to the Halls of Nightmare. It has gathered a band of evil fey monsters under its banner, and has taken a personal interest in destroying the Grove.
1) St. Clarice is the closest major town on The World side of the grove. it's a major trade port for Coralton, and hosts an annual Winterend Faire where Eladrin merchants come to trade.
2) Minas Mesidii is the closest settlement to the grove on the Feywild side of The Veil. It stands just a few miles beyond the Shroudmist Gate, a permanent fey passage that opens every spring around the vernal equinox. During this time, caravans from the eladrin city come through the portal and trade with The World. The Shroudmist Gate is the most well known fey passage in the forest, but far from the only one.
3) The Halls of Nightmare are a series of strange tunnels recently uncovered by an Eladrin archeology team near Shroudmist Grove. After they were discovered, the forest changed. The mist, which had only appeared during the spring for centuries, has lingered year-round since the discovery of the Halls. Worse yet, terrible fey monsters have appeared in the Shroudmist, warped and changed by their exposure to its fell energies. It has been all that the Grove can do to keep the trails safe--they don't have the manpower to send a patrol to the Halls. Especially now that a monster calling itself The Piper has started using the place as a staging ground for its attacks against the Grove. These attacks have been getting more vicious, and if something isn't done soon the whole grove may fall...
What I find most frustrating about 4E is that I can see it includes the D&D game I've always wanted to play, but the game is so lathered in tatical combat rules that I have thus far been unable to coax the game I want out.
Race: Gnome Sex: Male Age: adult (46) Height: average (3’-6") Build: sturdy Skin: tanned, but dyed Eyes: green Hairs: copper red Alignment: unaligned Nature: Resourceful, clever, inventive Traits: Uses (grim) humor to hide his real thoughts
-Pock fled to the real world out of fear what awaits him in the feywild. The Fomorians -has traveled a fair bit and enjoys pulling grim pranks and tricks on people. He eventually learned that there was money to be made which could be used to get a lot of shiny things. But some shiny things are not for sale and thus he steals them. -doing so has made others aware of his presence and recognize his skill. Pock is very able with throwing knives. His long dark coat is weighted down by the many he carries. The coat never wavers on the wind or moves behind when Pock runs. Inside the coat are various “protected” pockets which contain various poisons and other tricky contents which he can use to dip his knives in. There are also silver knives for certain were creatures and many more no one knows about it. You never know what the next trick will be that he pulls out of his coat. -He loves playing his silver flute. It also allows Pock to utilize magic that can put enemies/animals to sleep and many other effects. -Unlike most gnomes Pock is a rather harsh type that doesn’t avoid conflicts. He deflects it with humor and thus putting his adversary on the wrong foot. Getting even when they least expect it. -Pock is resourceful, clever and inventive with a love for music, poetry and finding shiny things. -In the underground world he lives in Pock has learned that it is better to stay at the top of the food chain and thus he wants to become a Kingpin some day. This is considerate dangerously rude among gnomes, but then again he has always felt a desire for more attention then is healthy. -Has a belt with small pouches in which he keeps various little balls. Some are smoke bombs, some alchemist fire and many more different types and effects.
1) Garrick, born Garrick Blackhammer, is a dwarf hedge knight who comes from a remote dwarf village high in a mountain range somewhere on Gereth’s lower continent.
2) Growing up the son of a poor “horseshoes and hobnails” blacksmith he was obsessed with stories of adventurers and knights, great deeds and magic. He decided he would become an adventuring knight, no matter what he had to do. He was consequently laughed out of his village.
3) Bitter at the reaction his father and village had to his dreams, he vowed not to return to his village until he had become a successful adventurer and knight. He took up adventuring but found it to be a lot less glamorous than he had initially thought.
4) From the cave lair of a dragon, he stole a suit of blue and gold magic armour from the body of a dead adventurer, he also took the most impressive looking sword he thought he could wield from the dragon’s treasure hoard. Painting his old shield blue and gold to match his new armour, he set off again, adventuring far and wide to places where nobody knew him, claiming to be a knight and the last scion of an ancient, noble, but long forgotten, line of dwarfs.
5) He is an ardent follower of Adisa, and to a lesser extent (and sometimes somewhat grudgingly) Bodai Luoqi. As a fighter and a knight he has given a nod and a prayer to Murugan, the god of war, in the past. (Though whether he has or he just says he has, is anyone’s guess.)
Step 2: Goals
1) Garrick wishes to become a knight, having songs and stories written about him. His aim is to become a famous and respected adventurer, and if he could attain an actual knighthood along the way that would be perfect.
2) He would like to return home at some point, partially to prove those who doubted him wrong, but also because he misses his village and his family. But he refuses to return before he has fulfilled his vow.
Step 3: Secrets
1) While in foreign lands, and around people that do not know him from his early days, he claims to be a knight and the last scion of an ancient, noble, but long forgotten, line of dwarfs. This is of course a lie, and his most guarded secret. He is still under the child-like impression that it is the armour and titles that make a knight, rather than one’s honour and deeds.
2) He doesn’t realise that his fame is indeed spreading, though this is working against him too. The dragon he stole his equipment from is watching over him, amused by the little liar but angry that Garrick had the gall to steal from him. While he has actually come to wish Garrick well on his quest, he will not stand for such a slight. He is waiting, biding his time until he believes Garrick is ready, intending to give the dwarf a fair fight, but determined to have the theft of his treasure avenged.
Step 4: NPC's
1) Audrick Blackhammer, a blacksmith, Garrick’s estranged father. Audrick never intended to have his only son leave home, he assumed Garrick’s dreams of being an adventurer were simply a phase that he would grow out of. He didn’t intend to hurt Garrick and would do anything to restore their relationship and have his son back.
2) Riswynn, Garrick’s little sister. He hasn’t seen her in a long, long time, and he misses her dearly.
3) The Dragon! (Name forthcoming.)
Step 5: Memories
1) Garrick remembers his childhood, apprenticing in his father’s smithy and reading tales of knights and dragons and adventure in what spare time he had.
2) He remembers the anger, and the hurt he felt when his father, along with the rest of the village, laughed at him when he decided on becoming a knight. The vow he made never to return until he had accomplished his goal.
3) He remembers leaving his little sister behind, and the sadness he felt at not knowing when he would see her again. He thinks about her often.
4) He remembers the fear he had on approaching the dragon’s lair, thinking how foolish he was being just to prove a point, and believing he was about to die at the hand of a dragon (with nobody around to tell his story).
5) He also remembers laughing, almost hysterically, with relief when he entered the lair and found it to be empty, sans draconis, devoid of dragon! He looked about at the treasure and riches, thanked his gods, and made his escape fully fitted with the trappings of a real knight. His mind racing with a story he would invent to tell his tale.
(Model is 02135: King Norin Sliverbeard from Reaper Miniatures)
**Gereth is the main continent in my group's homebrew world, the gods mentioned are homebrew also.
