Step 1: Write five things about your character’s concept and background, five things that you think are the most essential parts of your character. You don’t have to stop at five, if you like…this is just a minimum. Concept/BackgroundShow
1) She is a duchess in hiding, trying to gain her position and power back. (See secrets) 2) She always wears a mask when in public, she never shows any skin. 3) She is the daughter of a very rich merchant. When her father died, she inherited his market empire. Control of that empire is currently in the hands of her childhood mentor, Dolthen, a dwarven blacksmith. 4) Her husband was very abusive. Because of this, she does not tolerate similar abuse from others to anyone else, especially women. 5) As a young girl, she was very manipulative, and used some combination of her looks, charms, blackmail, and/or kindness to control the other young boys and girls. She ruled her neighborhood empire as controlling as her father ruled his merchant empire.
Step 2: List two goals for the character that you, as a player, think would be cool to see accomplished in-game. During any session in which you take positive action to achieve that goal, I will award you an action point that can only be used in scenes furthering that goal. These Action Points are separate from the action points you gain by resting and reaching milestones. You can change goals later, though you lose all the accumulated Action Points for the goal you abandoned. GoalsShow
1) She will see her husband penniless and dead or imprisoned; not by her own hands, but as a result of his own actions, unrelated to her, which she will manipulate to cause his downfall. 2) She wants her duchy back.
Step 3: List two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet. This will help me in creating plots that center around your character. I will also be creating a third secret which you as a player will not be aware of, so expect some surprises! SecretsShow
1) She has a completely different identity than she shows. She is a duchess. She owns a large merchant empire. 2) Her husband has already had her “funeral.” In the eyes of the kingdom, she is deceased. Only her husband and a few select others know that she is actually alive, somewhere, and he is always on the look out for her.
Step 4: Describe three people that are tied to the character though blood, romance or honor. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. All can do something useful for you, if you can get the situations to line up. If you like, you can include an enemy of yours here as well, so I have an instant NPC nemesis to throw at you. ConnectionsShow
1) Dolthen, one of her childhood mentors. He's a dwarven blacksmith, and is currently in control of her father's merchant empire. 2) Calvara, the other of her childhood mentors. She's an elven seamstress. The last Rilia had heard of her, she was arrested for demon worship and her shop was burnt down. Calvara was the one who helped Rilia escape from her husband and gave her the knowledge to make the pact with the fey. 3) Boljen, Duke of Trace. Her husband. She was married to him as a political move for her father. Her husband was very abusive. She escaped from him, and in response, he had her father killed and Calvara arrested.
Step 5: Describe three memories that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor. MemoriesShow
1) Rilia remembers the first night her father took her to the negotiation tables. This started the many lessons as he taught her how to own and operate multiple businesses. She remembers the look on his face and the love in his eyes when she showed great interest and promise. 2) She remembers a week spent with some peasant girl, teaching the girl how to be pretty, how to dress, walk, etc.. so the boys would notice. She didn't do this out of friendship, but rather so that she could gain the girl's loyalty. It worked better than she had thought. 3) Rilia spent years locked in the manor proper under the strict law of her abusive husband. She remembers the first night he became impotent. He blamed her, and punished her. She would have died if not for the care of one of her maids, who happened to have grown up in an apothecary.
Here's the long version I wrote up before I found this wonderful thread.
Feylock I wrote up the other day for my friend's campaign. The campaign is in a newly founded Kingdom (~50 years ago) of his design. Dealing with devils and demon's is strictly forbidden, and is actively hunted down. (This plays into her background story). Campaign hasn't started yet, though.
Anyways, here she is: Basically, she escaped from her abusive husband and made a pact with an ancient fey. She wanted to be powerful enough to remain independent. The ancient fey had its demands, one of which was, "To never be forgotten." I designed her powers around that concept.
Her appearance I designed around the modern Venetian Carnevale costumes. She wears a full dress and mask any time she's not alone, even into combat.
Appearance: She may be a woman of small stature, but with her back straight, shoulders squared, and head held high, she commands respect (or fear) greater than men twice her size. Regardless of people's attitude or opinion of her, everyone tends to do as she says, and folks are less likely to lose their temper when in her presence. She wears elaborate and elegant dresses that flow around her as if they are actively trying to conceal her presence. A beautiful mask covers her face, well built and artistically crafted. The mask is pale white in color, with images of leaves, flowers, and butterflies painted in hues of green and blue, the same colors as the lips. Beneath the mask and dress, she has long auburn hair and pale green eyes, with high cheek bones and slightly pointed ears, as evidence of her elven ancestry. Her contract with the fey is written upon her skin, starting right above her eyes and spiraling down her body ending at her toes on her right foot, as if a thin sash were wrapped around her body a handful of times. The letters are the pale green color of moss, about an inch tall, and written in a language long forgotten. Only a handful of individuals have ever seen her contract.
Powers: Every time she activates a power, her contract slightly warms up, starting at her feet, as if drawing the power from the ancient fey within the earth.
Misty Step: When she steps, autumn leaves in a misty fog scatter as if a swift wind had just hit; fog and leaf alike swiftly fly to where she reappears.
Shadow Walk: Her dress seems to take in the shadows of an ancient forest, making it more difficult for one to determine just exactly where she is.
Warlock's Curse: With a slight flick of her hand, or a quick glance of her eyes, she induces a curse upon an enemy. Whether or not her enemies can feel her curse, or even know it's upon them, she has yet to care.
Eldritch Blast: Part of her pact with the ancient fey, barely remembered, was for it to never be forgotten. It granted her the ability to draw upon the essence of its memories, but with old memories comes old pain, which the recipient of this blast feels distinctly.
Eyebite: You can't see her eyes, but you get the distinct impression that she is looking directly at you. You can't look away as those black eyes slowly start to consume you and everything around you. Everything is gone. Where are you? “Oh, Gods!” you cry out, “My head! The pain!” And then it all stops, and you're back where you were. What seemed like an eternity was just barely a moment. Everything's the way it was, except she's no longer there.
Witchfire: “You want to know why people sometimes scream when under my glare? I will tell you. Fire once scoured the world, at the cost of many a fey life. I simply allow them to understand the pain the fey went through. It is not my fault that the memories are sometimes too painful to bear.”
Curse of the Dark Dream: “Tell me, Mistress Aliuenna. In the heat of battle, you are able to make my enemy turn, this way and that, so he may fall to my blade. How is it that you do this?” “Well, my young friend,” her words come forth from behind the mask, lips unmoving, “The ancient fey want to be remembered, and I simply allow for that to happen. I conjure visions of the ancient times, before the dawn of man, elf, or dwarf, when the world was deadly and dangerous. The ancient fey then come out to play, and my thoughts help guide their ploys.”
Her name is Rilia. She grew up the daughter of a rich merchant who owned multiple shops and stores of various trades. She never knew her mother, as she died when Rilia was very young, as her father tells her. As a young child, her two favorite stores to hang out in were the blacksmith's shop, because the long bearded dwarf that worked there, Dolthen, was really nice and let her watch, and the dressmaker's shop, because the elven seamstress, Calvara, let her help when everyone else was ignoring her as a child underfoot. She loved playing with and trying on all the dresses the nobles had ordered for their daughters.. It was from these two that she learned to speak dwarvish and elven.
She grew up well mannered (in polite company) and decently educated for a merchants daughter. She was always very polite and charismatic as the dinner parties her father hosted. And although her relationship with her father wasn't the closest, she did learn a thing or two watching him work. Her father business dealings taught her the subtleties of the business and political world, like how to tell when someone is lying to you, and how to use simple words and gestures to get what you want. She was an excellent pupil, and her natural beauty only added to this.
By the time she was a teenager, she had control of the neighborhood. She could easily control the young men with her beauty and quick words, especially if a promise of a future kiss was given with a half smile. The girls she controlled through fear or respect, or some combination of the two, depending on who it was. Some, who struggled, she helped. She would teach this girl how to dress (often by having some boy steal a dress for the younger girl to wear), and how to walk to be noticed. Another girl she would blackmail with a dirty secret the girl didn't want to get out. Either way, fear or love, she had control. All the older folks in her community loved her little charms, and she was always the most polite and caring person they had ever met. Regardless of what anyone thought, no one could deny that she was one of the most beautiful girls in the kingdom.
At 15, her world changed. She was told that she would be marrying a Duke. It was a political move, her fathers attempt to gain political power and standing. She understood. She more than understood. She was going to be a Duchess. She was going to be nobility. She was ecstatic. The only thing better, she thought, was to marry one of the King's sons, but you have to be a Noble first, possibly even Royalty. She enthusiastically accepted her new title: Duchess Rilia. Six months into the marriage, she found nobility to be quite different than what she had imagined. The duke treated her like a prized trophy: one to be kept locked up so only he may see it. Which he did. Often. He only let her out of her quarters at the manor house when they had to officially show up to the king's yearly social balls, or when he had political company over. At the first ball, she learned everything she could. At the second, she manipulated her way into a position of power. She tried to use this power to gain her freedom. The duke discovered her ploy. She was beaten. By the third ball, she started pleading with the other noblewomen. They were no use. Finally, she called on her father for help. Once he heard of how she was treated, he demanded the duke to release her. Within the week, she heard news of a horrible tragedy: her father had been killed.
Years passed. She gained the trust of her servants, she opened a secret communication to her old elven mentor, Calvara, via letters, and set up a plan to have herself “kidnapped” at the next King's Ball. During the wait, Calvara, sent her papers of rites and rituals to summoning an ancient fey so may gain the power she would need to gain independence. The was a problem. The ritual must be performed in an ancient forest. There was no ancient forest in the manor proper. She spent the next year memorizing it. Everyday she would read it. She started writing it anew. She started writing it backwards. She burned every copy she owned. Everyday, she would write the ritual twice. Once forwards, once backwards. She would burn the copies.
The time had come for her to enact her plan. It was the King's seventh ball since her marriage. The kidnapping went perfectly according to plan. Nearly. She noticed something wrong. The men were familiar. They were the Duke's men. He knew of her plan. He let it happen. He wanted her gone. The kidnappers took her to the old elven forest. They made camp. They kept her. They raped her. They moved on. They took her with them. Months passed. Other women were kidnapped as well. She saw them come and go. Some were traded off as slaves. Others were killed. Others attempted to escape. She never saw them again. Did they make it? Were they killed?
More months passed. One night, she escaped. She initiated the ritual she knew from memory. She made a deal with an ancient fey spirit. The fey spirit had demands. It wanted to be remembered. It wanted blood. It wanted the taste of flesh long forgotten. She agreed. She gave it flesh. Her flesh. It took her and had its way. It ravaged her body. It ravaged her mind. It bathed in her memories. It took her in ways she didn't know possible. She took it. She didn't cry. She would endure. She would do whatever necessary. The first deal was complete. It gave her power. Power she had never felt before. A power that filled her soul. She returned to the camp. The men were still there. She killed one. Then another. A third was killed before the rest knew she was there. She made herself seen. They took the bait. She ran. They took chase.
She lead them back to the site of the ritual. She summoned these new found powers from within and she killed them. Violently. All of them. She nailed them to the trees and flayed their skin open, their blood dripped to the earth. The second deal was complete. She had earned its trust. She was given more power. Power she could feel crackling behind her eyes. The pact was nearly complete. The fey spirit drew up into form, earth made mud from blood soaked ground formed a humanoid shape, fallen leaves made up its skin, flowing vines became hair, and an ancient fey power barely seen by mortals glowed forth as pale green eyes. The final contract was written up on the bark in an ancient fey tongue no living mortal remembers. The last deal to be completed when she signs. She agreed.
It drew a finger across her arm, her blood dripped forth from the wound. When her blood reached her fingertips, she signed the contract. The words glowed green with power and flew off the bark, swirling into the air. They surrounded her, like fairies and sprites in the wind. They consumed her. She screamed, a scream of pain and joy beyond any she had ever felt. It seemed to last an eternity. It stopped. She is alone. No sprites, no letters in the air, no ancient fey spirit. Only her, and the bodies of the dead men on the trees, their blood still splattered across her flesh. She looked down at her naked body. She saw the letters of the contract inscribed onto her skin, in the same pale green color that were the eyes of that ancient fey. The letters start at her right temple, go down across her nose, to the back of her neck, over her right shoulder, her chest, around her back, across her waist, down her right thigh, and ends at her toes. Large letters, two fingers width, worn like a thin sash wrapped around the body four times. She cannot read the contract, but she knows every word, every letter, every meaning. She walked back to the camp. She released the other captives. She grabbed equipment: clothes, soap, backpack, etc.. She searched for a lake. She washed the blood off her. The contract cannot be washed off. It was there to stay. The ancient fey would not be forgotten. Not by her. The third part of the deal was complete.
She grabbed clothes from the bag. They didn't fit, but they would do. She concealed herself under the cloak. She returned to Calvara, her mentor. She wasn't there. The shop had been burnt down. It was burnt down months ago. The children on the street told her a witch lived there, a woman who made pacts with demons and devils. An old man told her the woman was arrested. The tavern owner down the street told her that some duke had the placed burned down. She hunted down Dolthen. She found him working at the same blacksmith's shop. He had inherited it from her father. His loyalty to the family was always strong. Dolthen had things for her. Things left by her father. Things left by Calvara. They were locked in separate chests. Dolthen gave her the key for one. “The other,” he told her, “may only be opened with the power of the fey.” He didn't know what it meant, but he was told by Calvara that she would know. She accepted the key. She accepted the offering of a room. She had the chests delivered to her room.
She opened her father's chest first. It was full of old documents of his business. Papers on finances. He left a will. Dolthen got the smith's shop. Calvara got the seamstress' shop. A few others earned their own businesses that her father help set up. She got everything else. The manor, the money, the business. Everything. The papers were dated the week her father died. He must have known the Duke would have him killed. She vowed revenge.
Calvara's chest was next. There were no locks. There seemed to be no seams. Headed Dolthen's words, she invoked her new powers. She focused them on the chest. It opened. Inside were stacks of books and scrolls. Arcana. This must have been why they claimed her witch. They were wrong. They used it to erase her trace to the Duke. More revenge. Power crackled within her. She became calm. She grabbed a book from the chest. She read until she fell asleep. She spent the next several months studying the books and scrolls from Calvara. She never left the shop. She was afraid she would be recognized. She didn't want Dolthen to get hurt. When she wasn't poured over a book or scroll, she was applying her studies to her powers. As time passed, she became more confident with herself. She started to venture out at night. She would travel to the other side of the city, to test her powers on some unsuspecting thug. More months passed.
One night, she was almost recognized. Outside a tavern. A girl from childhood. Not one who loved her. The girl recognized the beauty. Rilia quickly returned to Dolthen's. She would need something better than the night to hide her face. She would need something to give her a new identity. Rilia called upon Dolthen to build her a disguise. A Mask. Like the one's worn by nobles in the old kingdoms, of ancient times. The one's Calvara used to tell her about as a child. A mask to hide her face, to hide her pact. A new face. She drew upon her father's funds. She had dresses made to match the mask. She had Dolthen's men pick them up for her. The mask was finely crafted Dwarven steel. Light weight. Very durable. The dresses were sturdy. Strong. Flexible. Capable of being worn in the ancient elven forest. These were her specifications.
The mask was painted in fey design. It became her new face. The dresses became her new skin. They felt comfortable. Like a second skin. She would no longer be recognized by anyone. No one would know of her pact. No one who wanted to live. A new name, as well, she realized. A name flashed across her mind. She didn't wish it there. She didn't will it there. It came of its own accord. It came of fey accord. Aliuenna, it whispered. Aliuenna.
She left everything with Dolthen. All her inheritance. All her money. All her land. It was time to hide Duchess Rilia. Hide her behind a new face. A face with a new name: Aliuenna.
And in the night the Duke awoke with a start, the sweat of fear dripping down his face. Two words echoed in his mind, “I'm coming.”
A long time ago (before 3.0 came out), I had a character design that I never got to make. Mainly because my RL game discourages playing opposite sex characters. I don't normally enjoy playing female characters, but every now and then I like the challenge.
The original idea was a woman who woke up on the shores of the River Styx in Baator. For those that don't know, if you touch/drink/etc.. the waters of the River Styx, you lose your memory. Permanently. She'd wake up naked, with scars all over her body (torture from devils), and, of course, absolutely no memories of her past. What she doesn't know is that she used to be a powerful warrior, captured by devils, and totured for 15+ years. She escaped. She swam the river to get away. Now, here she is. Once back in civilization, she would wear a mask to hide her scars.
With the making of 4th Ed, I decided to take that character design, and make her an Infernal Warlock, claiming that she made a pact with a devil to get out of the Nine Hells. However, my DM stated that there would be no Infernal Warlocks in this campaign, so I had to change her.
I made her a Feylock, but that didn't seem to fit the background I originally had planned. So instead of physical scars, I gave her mental scars. In keeping with the mask, I needed a new reason to for her to want to stay hidden. Giving her a powerful rank where she would be easily recognized, and putting the written form of her pact on her skin gave me the perfect reason for her to wear a mask.
All in all, a lot of the flavor has changed, but she still wears a mask. Maybe one day, I design another mask wearer, with the original intent of the background.
The lack of qualification is conspicuous for a reason. Also, I'm going to post my own 10-minute character background here in a bit. I play a homebrew race. The character concept is far from original, but feel like he's sufficiently unlike the characters the Foglios have written.
OMG! Jägerkin! I cracked up as soon as I saw that! I am so convincing my DM to put that in his world. GG kicks ass.
Also, you should put something in there about how much Jägers love hats. "Hoy! Nize Hat!" :D
Step 1: write five things about your character’s concept and background, five things that you think are the most essential parts of your character. You don’t have to stop at five, if you like…this is just a minimum.
Example: Lenasu tenfinger
1) Lenasu was born to a small family, him, his parents and his sister. His father was the head of the guard and his mother was the owner of a small tailor shop. 2) His sister was kidnapped and after his father was unsuccessful with his search attempts Lenasu decided to take up the task of looking for his sister in the big world. He left his home with his best friend. 3) After weeks of searching his friend was killed in combat by a young white dragon. Lenasu kept searching by himself. 4) He stumbled upon a town where he suspects they may be holding her. Gets in touch with thieves guild, doesn’t accomplish much. 5) He leaves and keeps searching for a couple of months, still no leads, and no companion neither.
Step 2: List two goals for the character that you, as a player, think would be cool to see accomplished in-game. During any session in which you take positive action to achieve that goal, I will award you an action point that can only be used in scenes furthering that goal. These Action Points are separate from the action points you gain by resting and reaching milestones. You can change goals later, though you lose all the accumulated Action Points for the goal you abandoned.
Example: 1) I would like to see Lenasu find a partner that will either accompany him on his travels and search for his sister, or a partner period. 2) At some point, preferably later in the campaign find his sister and take her home where she will be safe.
Step 3: List two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet. This will help me in creating plots that center around your character. I will also be creating a third secret which you as a player will not be aware of, so expect some surprises!
Example:
1) Lenasu is bisexual. No one else knows, and since being attracted to men is against the moral code in his society and culture, he has been trying to get rid of that side of him, with no results. 2) Lenasu is anorexic, but he doesn’t know it. Every time he eats he gets full quite fast, and so he eats less than he has to. Sometimes he eats even if he is full, but that doesn’t happen very often, and so, he is quite skinny for someone his height and age 3) I don’t know… I’m not the DM..
Step 4: Describe three people that are tied to the character though blood, romance or honor. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. All can do something useful for you, if you can get the situations to line up. If you like, you can include an enemy of yours here as well, so I have an instant NPC nemesis to throw at you.
Example:
1) Rician Littleknight was Lenasu’s best friend until he was killed fighting with Lenasu against a young white dragon. He still hasn’t gone back to his hometown and so he thinks Rician’s family never got the news, but he is wrong. 2) Alusys Littleknight is Rician’s older sister. She somehow found out about her brother’s death and has decided to take revenge, she thinks it’s Lenasu’s fault that her brother’s dead, and so she wants to kill Lenasu. 3) Yebin Thistledown is a strange little creature from the Feywild called a gnome. Lenasu met the gnome in a Forest and saved him from a pack of Howlers. The Gnome makes all sorts of alchemical items and gadgets, and loves collecting odd souvenirs and items, as well as "recreational herbs." He operates a bizarre patchwork shop.
Step 5: Describe three memories that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor.
Example: 1) Lenasu remembers his first crush, which was on a man named sir Jamros. From time to time he would come into Lenasu’s mother’s shop and buy very fancy outfits. 2) Lenasu remembers the first time he saw a mushroom, and the panic he felt. He has a terrible phobia of fungi. He threw a rock to break the fragile fungi 3) Lenasu often remembers his fight with his parents right before he left. There was a big argument as Lenasu was about to leave in search of his sister, and right there, at the door, his father started yelling at him for not accepting his sister’s disappearance, and Lenasu answered with how could he give up on his sister so easily. And with bitterness on his tongue he left his house and he hasn’t returned to this day.
3) Yebin Thistledown is a strange little creature from the Feywild called a gnome. Lenasu met the gnome in a Forest and saved him from a pack of Howlers. The Gnome makes all sorts of alchemical items and gadgets, and loves collecting odd souvenirs and items, as well as "recreational herbs." He operates a bizarre patchwork shop.
Wow, that sure looks...familiar.
Good to see all these cool characters appearing on my humble thread...keep up the good work!
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.
I have two characters for our current campaign, neither of whom I've had much time to flesh out beyond the concept stage. This has given me the opportunity to detail them now. :D So first off: Malydion Thallyris, Elven Ranger (TWF) Step 1: Write five things about your character's concept and background, five things that you think are the most essential parts of your character. You don't have to stop at five, if you like…this is just a minimum. "My past is my own to know."
1. Malydion was born and spent his childhood in a large elven settlement in an area where the boundary between the Prime Material and the Feywild is especially thin - as such, the populations of his village and the nearby Eladrin one were unusually intermingled. 2. When Malydion was a young student of the sword, not a child any longer, but just entering adulthood, he became infatuated with a young Eladrin girl, and courted her. He spent more and more time wandering the Feywild with Alinaera, venturing farther and farther into its depths. 3. One day, Alineara led deeper than he had ever been into the Feywild, enticing him to chase her until he became hopelessly lost, and Alinaera nowhere to be found. He was "rescued" by the Queen of the Winter court of the Sidhe, an ancient, unimaginably powerful, and ultimately alien being. 4. The Winter Queen Mab kept Malydion at her court for years, her finest warriors training Malydion at his request in the arts fighting with two blades. The queen had convinced the young elf that his love was a captive of the Summer Queen, Mab's arch rival among the Sidhe. 5. After training him, Mab sent him on a path back to the Prime Material, only to find that his village was gone, and had been for a hundred years. The Eladrin settlement nearby had been destroyed completely by a Fomorian raid, and following that, his own home had withered, hidden and forgotten. With nothing holding to that place, Malydion began wandering the world. Although he is free to do as he will for now, the Fey never do anything for free, and he knows he is never beyond Mab's call.
Step 2: List two goals for the character that you, as a player, think would be cool to see accomplished in-game. During any session in which you take positive action to achieve that goal, I will award you an action point that can only be used in scenes furthering that goal. These Action Points are separate from the action points you gain by resting and reaching milestones. You can change goals later, though you lose all the accumulated Action Points for the goal you abandoned. "Summer stole my love and Winter stole my freedom. Its a toss up really, who I would see dead first."
1. Malydion wants most of all to find the Queen of Summer, and force her to return his lost love. Unfortunately for him, the Summer Queen can tell when those who seek her mean her ill, and can move her court accordingly, or misdirect those who seek to find it. 2. Malydion also wishes to get out of his debt to Mab whether by paying it or by finding a loophole, he doesn't care, so that the politicking of the Sidhe will cease to hold him, and he can live without the knowledge that he is bound to another's will.
Step 3: List two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet. This will help me in creating plots that center around your character. I will also be creating a third secret which you as a player will not be aware of, so expect some surprises! "Secrets are the bread, butter, wine, and currency of the Sidhe, all at once."
1. Malydion secretly serves the Winter Queen Mab, bound to further her agenda when called upon by her to do so, until such time as she deems his lifedebt is repaid. Often this means combating agents of summer, which he does not mind in the least. However Mab's commands aren't always so easy to comply with. 2. Alinaera, Malydion's heartthrob, was not in fact an Eladrin, but a changleing, a doppleganger, in service to the Winter Queen, tasked with luring Mal into making a debt to Mab. That the debt was entered under false pretences does not make it any less binding, but it does mean that Malydion's anger at Summer is misplaced.
Step 4: Describe three people that are tied to the character though blood, romance or honour. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. All can do something useful for you, if you can get the situations to line up. If you like, you can include an enemy of yours here as well, so I have an instant NPC nemesis to throw at you. "There are no friends in the Court of Winter. Only Servitors, and Those they serve. One may fill both these roles at any time, and often simultaneously."
1. Upon returning from the Feywild, in the timeworn remains of his home village, Malydion found one soul remaining: His first mentor in the sword, a ranger named Caaren. The grizzled old elf was the last remaining survivor of the village, having watched all the others die or leave. He told Malydion of had happened, and that the astonished youngster had been gone almost a century, despite not having aged a day. Before moving on, Caaren taught Mal as much as he could of the ranger's craft and bid him make his own way in the world. Caaren wouldn't leave, as he said his responsibility was to that forest, and to the memory of the village that resided there, but if Malydion needed aid, he could call on the old one. 2. Despite a somewhat frosty relationship with the Queen of Winter, Malydion is nonetheless her vassal, and just as he is bound to serve her, she is bound to provide him with aid if he requires it. Malydion prefers not to request it however, as it only deepens his ties to the Winter Court. 3. Dayereth Kalimdorn is a Warlock (Fey Pact...obviously :P) also bound to Mab. In contrast to Mal however, the arrogant, ambitious Eladrin serves her willingly, even eagerly in hopes of gaining more and more power. All he seems to do is mire himself deeper into Mab's games. With the arrival of Malydion at her court, Mab's attention on Dayereth waned, and in a fit of jealousy, he tried to murder Mal. The plot was foiled by Mab herself, who favored Mal, and Dayereth's hatred for Mal grew. The warlord would like nothing more than to see "the traitorous usurper" of his position defeated and discredited in Mab's eyes, that he might take his "rightful" place as her champion. However, Dayereth would aid Malydion if directly commanded to by Mab, or if he could be convinced that doing so would hasten Malydion's exit from Mab's service.
Step 5: Describe three memories that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor. "My first memory of the Winter Court was dazzled awe and fear. My dealings with them have robbed them of their awe. The fear has only grown."
1. Malydion fondly remembers his childhood in his village, especially his courtship of Alinaera, but these memories are always followed by his last glimpse of her face as she disappeared into the Feywild forever, with a coy smile on her face. 2. One of his most vivid memories is of waking up for first time in Mab's court, in the heart of a winter forest, deeper into the Feywild than any sane mortal knowingly ventures. He cannot remember getting there, or anything after passing out from exhaustion, lost in the depths of the domain of the fey. 3. Finally he remembers the joy and relief he felt at being told that he could leave the cold, dangerous Winter Court and return home at last. This is only dwarfed by the despair and confusion that hit upon finding his home long abandoned, everyone he had ever known lost to time.
Aris Tochad, Paladin of Silvanus (multi-class Ranger)
Step 1: write five things about your character’s concept and background, five things that you think are the most essential parts of your character. You don’t have to stop at five, if you like…this is just a minimum.
1) Born and raised for his early childhood in Calimshan. 2) Forced to flee after his lycanthropic mother was beheaded by the prince who sired him. 3) Was saved in Calimshan and guided to the Dancing Place in Highdale by an angel of Silvanus disguised as an older warrior, who taught him to wield a blade and shield, as well as hunt and live off the land. 4) Blessed in the Dancing Place as a paladin of Silvanus, a rare calling, as an active defender of wild places. Although his primary allegiance is to Silvanus, the other gods of the Dancing Place are honoured by him – Mielikki, Selûne and Oghma – as is Chauntea, friend of Silvanus. 5) He's been selling himself as a mercenary to get closer to the wild places of Faerûn but yearns for the chance to wander off with a group of like-minded individuals to refresh the balance between civilisation and wilderness.
Step 2: List two goals for the character that you, as a player, think would be cool to see accomplished in-game.
1) To discover the true nature of his calling to paladinhood and not to being a cleric or ranger, as most followers of Silvanus become. 2) To further the goals of at least of one the Dancing Place gods in a major way.
Step 3: List two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet. This will help me in creating plots that center around your character. I will also be creating a third secret which you as a player will not be aware of, so expect some surprises!
1) Tochad is unsure of why he was called to be a paladin and aggressively seek to further Silvanus' goals. He believes that Silvanus' plans are growing in force and will soon be forced to choose between his faith and his friends, and fears it. 2) Tochad's call to paladinhood is indeed a mark that Silvanus' plans are becoming more aggressive, but Tochad's calling is not the minimal calling of civilisation vs. wilderness, but a battle against a great evil aberration that is yet to be revealed and a key member in the building of a new Harper organisation. 3) [DM's fiat]
Step 4: Describe three people that are tied to the character though blood, romance or honor. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. All can do something useful for you, if you can get the situations to line up. If you like, you can include an enemy of yours here as well, so I have an instant NPC nemesis to throw at you.
1) Alrik Modrenistu, a cleric of Silvanus at the Dancing Place and a mentor and guide to the young Tochad. It was Alrik who witnessed Tochad's calling to paladinhood and has been counselling him in how to go about this unusual task. 2) Lyrrisil Pandaelinthor, an elven ranger of no small skill, a former Harper who sees the loss of the organisation as a great failure on the part of good aligned creatures in the world. 3) Tochad Ul Haddayim, the prince who killed his mother. He has left Calimshan on a personal crusade to not only kill lycanthropes wherever he might find them, but also to kill his shifter offspring. He is aided by his brother, who succeeded him as prince, who is more than happy to rule in his stead.
Step 5: Describe three memories that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor.
1) The meeting with the angel of Silvanus in the palace where he grew up and the flight from Calimshan. The angel was a middle-aged man of awesome prowess with the scimitar he was wielding (non-magical) and guided the young Tochad all the way to the Dancing Place in Highdale. 2) The wind the Silvanus used to annoint and appoint Tochad to be his paladin, along with the feeling of cold knowing there were people in the world dedicated to eradicating wild places. 3) His first mercenary pay – and how dirty he felt for taking money for doing work he would have been doing anyway.
Great Job! This makes it much easier as a player and a DM to create a more interesting story for the character. Here's my crack at it.
1st Level Paladin Blaine Gorgax
Step 1: write five things about your character’s concept and background, five things that you think are the most essential parts of your character. You don’t have to stop at five, if you like…this is just a minimum.
1) He is a young paladin coming from a family where he lived with his mom and brother Gorg on a small farm. 2) He never knew his father, although Gorg does, he never gets any information out of him. His mother seems to tell him what appears to be lies of noble heritage he doesn't believe her (though they are true). 3) He is outgoing and very charsimatic, he looked up to his older brother Gorg a very uncharismatic strong type who got into "a little trouble." 4) His brother Gorg left one day to fight in a arena tournament for money and fame, he was never heard from again. Blain went to the arena three years later to find out the where abouts of his brother, when he asked around no one ever heard of a Gorg Gorgax. Asking around further he realized that a ogre had won the tournament he keeps a special hatred for ogres. 5) Blaine immediatley began his training after the arena incident and found the calling of the paladin. He trained with a group of templar knights for three years before he set off on his quest to relive the world of evil and other misdeeds. When he returned home his mother was brutally raped and murdered by a band of orcs whom he discovered to be named The Death Bringers.
Step 2: List two goals for the character that you, as a player, think would be cool to see accomplished in-game. During any session in which you take positive action to achieve that goal, I will award you an action point that can only be used in scenes furthering that goal. These Action Points are separate from the action points you gain by resting and reaching milestones. You can change goals later, though you lose all the accumulated Action Points for the goal you abandoned.
Example:
1) Blaine is looking for his long lost brother Gorg and will hope to unraveal the mystery on what happened to his brother. 2) Blaine would like to discover about his father and why he left for him but not Gorg.
Step 3: List two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet. This will help me in creating plots that center around your character. I will also be creating a third secret which you as a player will not be aware of, so expect some surprises!
Example:
1) Blaine secretly knows that his brother was still alive after looking through criminal files in a church archive. 2) Gorg changed his identity to Go-Go when he entered the arena, he is a cold blooded killer with nothing on his mind except death and more death. Go-Go killed Blaine's father when on his quest for a orc chieftain. Go-Go went through a terrible operation that turned him into a half-orc!
Step 4: Describe three people that are tied to the character though blood, romance or honor. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. All can do something useful for you, if you can get the situations to line up. If you like, you can include an enemy of yours here as well, so I have an instant NPC nemesis to throw at you.
Example:
1) Dean was one Blaine's best friend before he left off to his training. He still keeps in contact with Dean and hasn't seem him in years but has had word of him being a merchant being pesterd by bad stuff. 2) Lord Daggoth the paladin that trained Blaine. He reports to him frequently and feels he has a duty to obey his teacher and will do anything he asks of him (except that you sick pervert). 3) Generic Ogre #1 was the creature who won the arena and is expected to know more about his brothers where abouts. Blaine will never initally kill any ogre, unless he needs to, without questioning them first.
Step 5: Describe three memories that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor.
Example:
1) Blaine remembers the day before his brother went off to the arena Gorg and his mother were arguing about his father and the heap of trouble Gorg was in. He couldn't here clearly but he vividly remembers what Gorg said that night to her "You think I'm in trouble, look at yourself you dirty *****! At least I didn't make dad leave because I was sleeping around no that was you!" 2) He remebers his mom crying every night after Gorg left. 3) He remembers training with Lord Daggoth after he found out his brother was still alive and Lord Daggoth kept telling him if you seek him, you will find nothing but sorrow in your dreadful journey...
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.
I hope you enjoy it; it took me much longer than ten minutes, even though it's still a little clumsy.
Ignatius (Ignatz) is a Jägerkin Fighter of about 163 years with a Ranger multi-class. He's about 6'4", with green skin and midnight blue mutton chops. His messy hair is pressed flat by his prized ushanka, and he wears an old cavalry jacket over his scale armor.
Step 1: write five things about your character’s concept and background, five thngs that you think are the most essential parts of your character. You don’t have to stop at five, if you like…this is just a minimum. Concept/BackgroundShow
1. The setting is steampunk, Eberron-esque Europa. Ignatz lived in the far northeast and served for many years in the Jägerkin pack as a guard to the Heterodyne house. 2. He was part of the escort of the Lady Heterodyne and her newborn son, but was separated from them when a minor house staged a military coup. Ignatz was held prisoner until the rebellion was quelled, but when he rejoined the pack he found that the Heterodynes had vanished. 3. Ignatz left the pack 45 years ago, charged along with a dozen others with wandering until he discovers the fate of the missing Heterodynes or their progeny. 4. He has a wanderlust uncharacteristic of Jägers, even if it isn't very strong by others' standards, and he has no Jägerkin traveling companions because of this. Gerhardt is a Jäger who left with him when they left the pack, but he chose to leave Ignatz rather than continue into the west. Ignatz continued without him not out of stubbornness, but more out of a slight fatalist streak. This streak, incidentally, is a source of ironclad cheerfulness. 5. He adventurers because he genuinely enjoys it, and because it's the closest he can come to ensuring that he'll eventually stumble onto some sign of his lost patron house.
Step 2: List two goals for the character that you, as a player, think would be cool to see accomplished in-game. During any session in which you take positive action to achieve that goal, I will award you an action point that can only be used in scenes furthering that goal. These Action Points are separate from the action points you gain by resting and reaching milestones. You can change goals later, though you lose all the accumulated Action Points for the goal you abandoned. GoalsShow
1. Ignatz prizes plot hooks dot look like dere's gonna be gut fightin', and likes to push his party towards those. 2. Ignatz is, of course, always keeping an eerily observant eye out for any hint of his old masters.
Step 3: List two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet. This will help me in creating plots that center around your character. I will also be creating a third secret which you as a player will not be aware of, so expect some surprises! SecretsShow
1. Jägerkin have an extremely keen sense of smell, and the scent of a Heterodyne is keyed into them. Ignatz caught the faintest touch of that smell on a half-elf Warlock named Thalion, and sticks to him like glue, hoping that he might unknowingly lead him to a surviving Heterodyne, directly or indirectly. 2. The son of the Lady Heterodyne, Faustus, is alive, an adviser in the court of the Deschain House. He is unmarried but has several illegitimate children, one of whom is male.
Step 4: Describe three people that are tied to the character though blood, romance or honor. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. All can do something useful for you, if you can get the situations to line up. If you like, you can include an enemy of yours here as well, so I have an instant NPC nemesis to throw at you. ConnectionsShow
1. Thalion the Magnificent is a Half-elf Warlock, and the first member of the party. Ignatz helped him get out of a tight spot with a few Hobgoblins on his way into town, and has since refused to let him out of his sight, good-naturedly insisting that Thalion owes him for saving his life. The rest of the party formed around the pair. 2. Gerhardt is an old companion of Ignatz's, and bears him no ill will, despite having taken his leave less than two years ago. He would be more than willing to assist Ignatz, but he is reluctant to leave the cold, black forests around his home and wouldn't be seen in western Europa unless driven by great need. 3. Faustus, a 46 year old Artificer, is the only living Heterodyne, and uses an alias to avoid discovery. He uses his influence with the Deschains to keep Jägerkin far from him; he is extremely adverse to the responsibilities of his royalty and prefers to play with politics from the sidelines, milking his influence to live in luxury. His position is well established, and he has gone undetected for a very long time.
Step 5: Describe three memories that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor. MemoriesShow
1. Ignatz recalls having sired a few children a hundred years or so ago, but can't quite remember who their mother(s) was. Jägerkin families are less common than human ones, and many Jägerkin children are simply raised by the pack. 2. Ignatz can recall many, many wars under both peaceful and warlike Heterodynes, against all manner of armies. 3. Ignatz fondly remembers the belonging and comradery of the pack, and the comfort afforded him by Gerhardt's presence when they left the pack together.
