Here's a villain our heroes will meet the next time we get a chance to play
Boris 'Ten Fingers'
"Why 'ello dere chaps. Come to join t'party?" BackgroundShow
1. Boris personifies the Redcap stories of trickery and thievery. He has had many forays into the Middle World, for treasure, pleasure, and to take the measure of the mortals there. He delights in tricking the poor, slow, and stupid out of their secrets and valuables.
2. Boris has a way with people. He gains their trust effortlessly, and never seems to take the blame when things go wrong. He's used this to his advantage, and has mellowed out after decades of preying on the mortal realms. That doesn't mean he isn't infiltrating, tricking, and stealing, just that his blood has cooled, but he is much more willing to run with the fingers he still has than stay and fight.
3. In the past few years, Boris has made himself indispensable to Dark Fox. Organizing differing groups of Redcaps, Boris has established a network of killers and spies that prey on the unprotected lands between towns. Boris still tackles the important missions himself, as long as they aren't too high risk.
4. He lost a finger years ago, to hounds in the north when he was young and still looked around settled lands for the flesh of children. The second he includes in that story, though he actually lost it stealing from a wizard decades ago. He never talks about the third, of which he lost to the Prince of Carrion, a black dragon that still rattles him to think of. Of course, he excludes the first two stories when talking with mortals; "Y'ever 'ave someone say, don't meddle wit' da affairs o' dragons? Well, don't meddle wit' da affairs o' dragons." He also has a hat that's grey, although he can enchant it as a free action to be any color he desires. He also eschews the heavy metal boots his cousins enjoy using to stomp skulls with.
5. Some time ago, he found a wife, Wegwin the Witch. She matches his own talents for trickery and deceit, and his hidden cruelty. The shouting matches they can get into are legendary, but they have stuck together through thick and thin. Wegwin has unusual talents, but does not commonly venture into the Middle World, although she helps how she can with Boris' attempts to organize the Redcaps into a union of mercenaries.
"Me name's Boris, but me mates call me Boris 'Ten Fingers.' Bit of a lark at me own 'spense I s'pose." GoalsShow
1. Boris is beginning to realize that the way the Fey treat his kind is decidedly unkind. He'd like to get his people to be treated less like slaves at least, and like equals in a perfect world. This is why he is so motivated to form the Redcaps to a Union.
2. He also hopes one day to retire with his wife and unimagineable wealth, gold all tucked away in a pot, at the far end of a rainbow.
"'Twas dat elf Fenwick what caught me. Spent months tracking me. Had himself convinced I was some terroible beastie he did, t'weren't near enough emeralds in a dragon's hoard to tell him diff'rent." SecretsShow
1. Boris is secretly a compassionate sort (well, for a gnome.) as well as educated. The wizard that he lost a finger to also trained him in many histories and arcane tricks, keeping him as a slave for one year and one day as payment for him stealing. Thus Boris realizes that it wasn't always the Eladrin enslaving the gnomish race, originally it was the Fomorians. Indeed, many gnomes exist in the Fomorian underground kingdoms still, toiling away on ingenious and beautiful creations for their heartless masters. In fact, as far as he knows, what's left of his family are slaves to the Nightmare King, a great and terrible Fomorian Lord.
2. Unbeknownst to Boris, the wizard that taught him for a year and a day is dead. And the wizard's grandson, Gihren Zabi, has inherited his grandfather's means of checking in on the magic wand that Boris 'borrowed' so long ago.
3. Boris is of course not a very good person. He's survived by murder and betrayal, and although he believes strongly in the rights of his people, he doesn't hesistate to enslave those weaker than him. His lairs always contain many human slaves, underfed and abused, that he has either tricked into the feywild, or stolen. He's just as intolerant as those he despises, he just feels he has a right to it because his kind's been treated poorly.
"Loverly chat and all, but I'm 'fraid youse the blokes me boss is lookin' for. Hold still while I cut out your tongues 'lright?" ContactsShow
1. Wegwin the Witch is his wife, confidant, and advisor. She is also a Redcap, and is voraciously clever, with a wicked sharp tongue. She helps him in any way she can, though he is loathe to be too indebted to her at any one time.
2. Boris has trained a Fey Panther, and has taken to feeding it, riding it into battle, and having it guard his lairs. He calls it Kitkit.
3. The Prince of Carrion is a younger black dragon that lives in the swamps somewhere to the south. Although it has its own plots and designs, it remembers Boris the thief well, and would ruin anything of his it could were it to happen upon him.
Redcaps are what I've turned gnomes into for my game. They've been enslaved by Cyclopses and Fomorians, and later by the Eladrin and lesser Fey. They are the stuff of nightmares, from Rumplestiltskin to the more mundane tales of them simply murdering innocent travelers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redcaps. I haven't found a good place in this setting for kobolds or goblins, so this serves a much more campaign appropriate low level opponent. Plus it makes my players think a little harder, as they would zone out before a description ever takes place if I used goblin to describe a monster .
Boris is one of the first that I plan to have them encounter, and although he's stacked heavily to be a villian, they may be able to sell him on helping them instead (not that he won't betray them anyway.) If he survives a few sorties, he'll be showing up in all sorts of interesting places, owing to the sneaky and magical abilities of gnomes. Now that I've shown the party to be afraid of gnomes and their fey ways, it's time to show them to be most afraid of the ones that stop to chat before they try to kill them.
Redcaps are what I've turned gnomes into for my game. They've been enslaved by Cyclopses and Fomorians, and later by the Eladrin and lesser Fey. They are the stuff of nightmares, from Rumplestiltskin to the more mundane tales of them simply murdering innocent travelers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redcaps. I haven't found a good place in this setting for kobolds or goblins, so this serves a much more campaign appropriate low level opponent. Plus it makes my players think a little harder, as they would zone out before a description ever takes place if I used goblin to describe a monster .
Boris is one of the first that I plan to have them encounter, and although he's stacked heavily to be a villian, they may be able to sell him on helping them instead (not that he won't betray them anyway.) If he survives a few sorties, he'll be showing up in all sorts of interesting places, owing to the sneaky and magical abilities of gnomes. Now that I've shown the party to be afraid of gnomes and their fey ways, it's time to show them to be most afraid of the ones that stop to chat before they try to kill them.
Sweet, I had this same idea for my own game (check out the TMB of Robin Redcap). I Like the cut of Boris' gib.
"Hello...I have not had visitors for a long time...please...do come in." Background and Character InformationShow
1. Most of the gods sit on their gilded thrones in the Astral Sea, staring down at the mortals that worship them and pushing them around like pieces on a great gameboard. Avock, the youngest of them all, is not that kind of god. He lives humbly, in a cottage hidden in the dark mists of the World Forest. He doesn't manipulate mortals and is content to watch over the World Forest, and the Vale of Thorns cradled in its center.
2. Avock appears to most people as a large wraith, a ragged black cloak with two pinpoints of orangish light staring out of the swirling darkness within. Despite his unnerving appearance, he is actually very soft-spoken and cordial. Most people leave him with the impression of a doting, world-weary father.
3. Most mortals in the Vale itself aren't aware that Avock even exists. The stories of the Master of Dreams are bedtime stories for innocent children to comfort them in the face of growing up in a place like the Vale, openly hostile to mortals. The mysterious vistani, who wander both the Vale and the World Forest, however, know the truth. Avock is their patron, but demands nothing from them. For generations, the spiritual leader of the vistani has also been Avock's wife, siring a daughter who later takes up her mother's mantle as the wisest of the vistani, and Avock's bride.
4. Avock is an ancient being. Even Avock doesn't remember the mortal he was before he became a wraith. Perhaps he was always one. He was present during the war between the gods and the primordials, the great city of the genasi that is now buried beneath the earth, and the Fall of the earthmote that created both the Vale and the World Forest. During a particularly harsh battle, Corellon dueled against a primordial lord whose name is now lost to history, knocked the earthmote that had hung over the city since its founding, out of the sky. The impact caused a massive conflagration of dust and magic that buried the city and caused the massive planar bleed of both the Feywild and the Shadowfell that caused the Thorns to grow, and the World Forest to become a sort of world-between-worlds, connecting forests all over the multiverse. This great surge of power also coalesced into a divine spark that Avock recieved, making him the youngest god in history.
5. For a time, Avock was not sure what to do with his newfound power, but he soon found something to take charge of. The magic let loose during the Fall destroyed the dreams of the surviving genasi. Without dreams, they could not sleep, and thus some began to go insane. Avock felt pity for the genasi, and took the souls of the genasi that had died in the fall, and tasked them to dream for those still living. This has been the way of the world ever since, the dead of the past dreaming for the living of the future. Every now and again, the Raven Queen allows Avock to take a few souls of the recently deceased to dream eternally. These souls will never awaken, only knowing peaceful slumber for eternity. No matter their former destiny, exalted or damned, all find comfort and peace in the Master of Dreams.
My only concern...is the safety of the dreamers..." GoalsShow
1. Avock's most important priority is naturally his divine duties, to protect the dreaming souls in the World Forest from being molested by interlopers and to allow the dreamless people of the Vale to dream.
2. Other than that, Avock once in a while provides guidance to the vistani, who are his favorite children. Their current spiritual leader, Sela Layla, is Avock's current bride, just like her mother was before her, and like her daughter will be. She loves her divine husband dearly, and Avock loves her too, so he protects her people, giving them safe paths through the dark and confusing World Forest.
3. While the World Forest is his domain, Avock also maintains a protective influence over the mortals of the Vale of Thorns. Though they don't know him or worship him, he sees them as his children too. It is Avock's influence that resulted in the creation of the roseways and glades, so the Thorns would not choke all the life from the place.
"Many secrets...hide in dreams...To find them?...That task I leave to you." SecretsShow
1. The form of Avock that most people see is not the form that Avock's bride sees. While Avock began as a single being, his vast knowledge is somehow separate from his immediate conciousness. Almost like a library has an archivist that changes when the old one retires, Avock's identity has changed many times, usually with each generation of vistani. When his bride looks upon him, she does not see a cloak of tatters and shadows, but her perfect husband. Avock would never take a bride unwillingly, and the love between Avock and his bride, most currently manifested in Sela Layla, is deep and pure.
2. Avock's power as a god is vast. His control over dreams, something all beings in the multiverse have, even the gods, makes him disturbingly powerful. He could remove the dreams of a being with nary a thought, condemning them to an eternity without sleep or death. Despite this, Avock has only used his power once or twice in his existence, and prefers guiding mortal champions as a mentor or helper, instead of commanding them like the other gods do. He believes that mortals are more than capable of solving their problems on their own. They just need someone to point them in the right direction.
3. If there's one thing Avock fears, it's the fact that the Thorns seem to be growing in strength. Over the centuries, the corrupting influence of the Thorns has drawn more people away from reason and freedom into blind servitude. This is especially evident on the equinoxes of the year, when their influence extends even to the roseways. Residents of the Vale have learned not to travel on those days, and Avock worries that soon the roseways and glades won't be enough to protect his children.
"The dreams...and the dreamers...they are all my children...even you..." ContactsShow
1. Sela Layla is Avock's current wife. She is a powerful warlock and diviner, and is the spiritual leader of the vistani. Her position is not one of inherited power, or of merit, but of wisdom. Her marriage to Avock only cemented this position. She relays messages between Avock and the vistani, and is in charge of deciding which mortals may have an audience with Avock (this is very, VERY rare.) Selna hasn't visited Avock since the birth of their daughter, who is now a teen. Soon, she will be ready to take her place, but Avock told her at the child's birth that she would be very special, and shouldn't know of her father until she is ready. When that time comes remains to be seen.
2. Of all the other gods, the Raven Queen is the one who is in contact with Avock the most. She is only a small bit older than Avock, having overthrown Nerull shortly before Corellon's duel that caused the Fall. She allowed Avock to keep the souls of the countless genasi that were killed in the Fall, and helped him teach them how to dream for their still living kin, and all the races descended from them. She allows a few souls to come to the World Forest to serve Avock rather than to travel through her realm in the Shadowfell to whatever lies beyond. She dislikes the fact that Avock allows the undead that infest the Labyrinth beneath the Vale to run free, but she respects Avock's non-interventionist approach, and has settled for exhorting her clergy in the Vale, as her faith is the most prominent there, to keep the undead at bay.
3. While Avock maintains cool relations with the other gods, even the cunning deciever Zehir and the destructive monster Gruumsh. If there's any god he truly hates, it is Lolth, the betrayer. Her poisonous lies brought the evil of taint into the world, infecting the elven race and creating the twisted and pathetic race that is the drow. Avock pities the drow for bearing the brunt of Lolth's wickedness, and does what he can to soothe their suffering, but unlike other instances of taint, where it is the mind or body that is corrupted, the drow have tainted souls, and it would take more power than Avock is willing to invest to undo it. It would also draw the ire of Lolth, who uses the drow as her agents and works to infect the entire Vale and the World Forest beyond.
I...have seen all...from the beginning...I have the power to...reshape this world a thousand dreams over...but today...the ones who must make a difference...are you, my children." MemoriesShow
1. The memory that remains freshest in Avock's mind is that of the Fall. He stared up at the orange-red sky at the young fey god Corellon and the vile primordial lord, his form too horrible to mention, dueling fiercely. He remembers the screams of terror from the genasi in the city below them, and the deafening clang as Corellon's blade was forced back, knocking the earthmote that would become the Thornspire out of the sky. Then a great thunderous noise, and a blast pure and white.
2. A memory that Avock looks on tenderly is his first bride. He was more active in those days, traveling in disguise amongst the other races. When he met the young vistani girl, sitting in the sunny meadow of a Feywild glade, he was immediately smitten by her. When she saw Avock, she was immediately smitten by him. When he revealed his true form to her, she replied she did not see it. She only saw the gentle and sweet young man she had fallen in love with. After they married, in the vistani customs, Avock blessed the vistani race. They would not settle in cities and towns like the other races, but the whole of the Vale and the World Forest, now called the Forest of Dreams by the vistani, as their home.
3. One of Avock's most recent memories is the terrible war between the eladrin and the shadar-kai that resulted in Firepoint's birth. He felt greatly ashamed of these wayward children. Their ancestors threw off the Curse that the Thorns put upon all the fey, gaining their freedom, only to squander it by fighting over petty hatred. He hopes that this mistake will not lead to more. He views the destruction of Lunaer as a sign that they still have a long way to go.
1) Jerek le Roy, more commonly known as Jerek Redscar, is a mercenary from Notre Dame. He's a nasty piece of work who's done dubious jobs for rich benefactors all over Coralton.
2) Doing freelance mercenary work brought him in conflict with The Draconic Brotherhood, so he decided to join them instead of deal with the hassle. However, he disliked the restrictions the Brotherhood placed on what sorts of contracts he could take.
3) Eventually he and his band wandered to St. Clarice, where they were placed under the supervision of Bodak Steelgrinder. A speciesisct, Jerek disliked working for the Dragonborn, and often bucked at his authority. The disagreements came to a head after a bar fight Jerek started at The Black Oak inn. Bodak severed his contract with the guild.
4) Now freelance again, Jerek managed to get his band hired by Gaston Duchamps, who had his own problems with the Draconic Brotherhood. Jerek has been busy, watching over Gaston's warehouse and working as enforcers for his guild.
5) But Jerek has found himself in jail after tangling with The Coralton Slayers, Bodak's replacement band. He was caught trying to assassinate someone on Gaston's orders, and realizes that he is in deep, deep trouble. he's currently trying to figure a way out of his predicament, because if Gaston doesn't have him killed, Sheriff Bulrick just might.
1) Jerek knows some interesting things about the Merchant's Guild and the smuggling ring, though he's sure that if he talks, Gaston will find a way to silence him. Unfortunately for him, Sheriff Bulrick seems more interested in getting the information he knows "the hard way."
2) What Jerek doesn't know could fill volumes. As a minor adversary, Jerek isn't privy to a lot of private information. For instance, he isn't aware that his planned escape into the Shroudmist Forest is a very, very bad idea.
3) One thing he does know, though he doesn't realize the significance, is that the smugglers are moving people as well as contraband. He thinks they're being sold into slavery, but they aren't. They're actually changelings traveling along The Faceless Underground.
1) Up until recently, Jerek was on the payroll of the Merchant's Guild, and his band was used as muscle to lean on the Dockworkers as well as move "delicate cargo" at the Guild's private warehouse. With his arrest, however, it's likely that this relationship has come to an end.
2) Jerek has managed to get on the bad side of Sheriff Bulrick. That's a bad place to be, especially now that he's fallen into Bulrck's "tender mercies."
3) About the only people he hasn't alienated or angered is his band. He's adept at getting thugs to follow him with promises of wealth and violence. However, several embarassing setback (and his recent arrest) have put a damper on his ability to recruit.
1) Jerek is a large, somewhat ugly human who has seen hardships over his career. His most distinctive feature is a triangular red scar just beneath his left eye.
2) Jerek is rude, crude, and self-serving. He likes flinging insults at his opponents in battle.
3) Jerek's preferred weapon is the halberd. He likes the brutality of the axe, but also likes keeping his opponents at a distance.
Jerek is a minor foil for the party, a rival mercenary who has been a thorn in their sides for two campaigns. He has actually changed very little from the previous games. He's just a nasty jerk.
Incidentally, "Jerek" came from the word "Jerk." I wanted to find a way to suggest his personality when I introduced him, so I used the One Letter Trick (even if I didn't know what it was called at the time).
Jerek is a stereotype, admittedly. He's a flat character, and he's not a mastermind. He's a great thug to vex the party with, usually because he comes off the worse for whatever conflict he's on with the party.
Sweet, I had this same idea for my own game (check out the TMB of Robin Redcap). I Like the cut of Boris' gib.
Well that's almost certainly where I got the idea haha. I got to introduce Boris last weekend, and he was a hit, leaving most of the party befuddled and unsure if he was trustworthy. Right as he was leaving though, the rogue pulled a fantastic bluff through the use of the cloak and mask of a previously defeated cultist, and got some important information out of the gnome. Not without cost of course, Boris was very excited when he pulled off Erithian's mask and learned there was a Longshire heir still alive. I'm sure they'll see more of him in the future.
1) He is a paladin of Kord and is on a crusade against the goblinoid armies who burned his village to cinders. 2) He possesses an immense strength and has a commanding presence on the battlefield, those who get on his bad side find that he can be like an enraged dragon. 3) He is very loyal to his comrades but is willing to torture to get what he needs. 4) He has crimson scales and is of an immense size 5)
1) Shedinir wants to bring honor to his family's name through the obtaining of glory in war and adventuring. 2)It would be interesting to see what happens after Shedinir gets his vengeance on the hobgoblin leader.
1) Shedinir is the last known son of the Arjhad line, which is the greatest reason for his quest for fame. This he knows. 2) Shedinir's father, Bahadur is still alive, having fallen far from his once greatly-esteemed post in the army in a prominent city, Shedinir does not know. 3) Shedinir is occasionally has strange visions of what he believes to be a draconic ancestor of his.
1) A tiefling warlock known as Morthos, Shedinir does not fully trust any practitioner of the arcane arts, but knows that Morthos is a good man. 2) Cursain Turator is an old enemy of Shedinir's, a mercenary known amongst adventurers as "Plaguebringer." Shedinir and some of his comrades fought and supposedly slew him two years ago, Shedinir has heard rumours that he still lives, and is ever-watchful for his return. 3) A rough, no-nonsense dwarf barbarian that he met recently and knows only as "shorty." Shedinir likes his personality but dislikes his tendency to interfere and to be impatient. [/i]
1) Shedinir still remembers his father as well as his associates in the military teaching him to wield a greataxe when he was around two years of age, he was abnormally strong for his age and favored the weapon, sages amongst his clan looked to tales of great warriors in the past who wielded axes. 2) Shedinir remembers the hatred he felt when he found his village destroyed. 3) Shedinir remembers his deeply-devout human mentor, Brandis, teaching him the ways of Kord.[/i]
Shedinir is a very strong individual, and not just physically. He's the first to take charge in group situations and rightly so, he's a natural leader.
WoTC has gotten rid of the forums I came to know and love, if you think that the old Gleemax forums should be restored, add this to your signature.
1) "Nym grew up in village a long, long time ago, in a land far, far away. Nym had a nice family, and a nice furry cat who could walk through walls! Nym was very, very happy."
2) "Then the Bad Things happened. The Black Man came, bringing black fire and death...Nym scared! Nym's poppi and mommi died, and Black Man grabbed kitty and turned it into a dead thing that walked...horrible!"
3) "Nym thought Black Man would kill him, too, but then The Voice came, told Nym that it was a friend, and would save him, and teach him things, too! Nym listened to The Voice, though now Nym knows he shouldn't have. Voice hid him, helped him use magic--then Put Nym Away."
4) "For many long years, The Voice Put Nym Away, and occasionally Brought Nym Out to do things. Not nice things. Voice said it was Nym's friend, but the Voice lied! Nym always cold, hungry, and scared of being Put Away again. Nym was never allowed to grow up. Poor Nym!."
5) "But then, one time when Nym was out doing things because Voice told him to, a Pretty Smiling Lady came to Nym, and she quieted the Voice! She made The Voice go away! And the Pretty Smiling Lady let Nym stay awake and everything! Then she asked Nym to help her find the Pieces, all the Pieces scattered about the world. She wants to keep the Pieces apart, you see. So Nym does this for her, because Pretty Smiling Lady is Nym's bestest friend!"
Step 2: "Nym find you. You seek the Pieces. Nym can't let you do that. Nym sorry."
1) Nym's main goal is to find the Shards of Jillian for the Smiling One, in return for her breaking The voice's control over him.
2) Nym also needs to find others who are seeking the shards, and dissuade them from their search. He'll trick them if he can, and plead with them, but if they can't be swayed, he's not above attacking them.
Step 3: "Ooo! Nym knows things! Lots of things! Lots and lots of spooooky things! What? Oh...um...Nym can't remember them right now."
1) Nym is, or rather, was a Lost Child, a child tricked into making a pact with Verkinx Kazrael after the destruction of his village by The Dark Reaper. For thousands of years, Nym was Kazrael's servant, following The Voice's urging to keep from either being forced into magical hibernation or being tormented with the memories of his home being destroyed. However, recently The Smiling One took pity on Nym after a chance meeting, and helped him break the link to The Nightmare Prince. He serves her now out of gratitude.
2) The Smiling One didn't help Nym completely out of compassion. She hopes to use Nym and perhaps other freed Lost Children to help her thwart The Queen of Air and Darkness. She also uses Nym as a messenger and herald.
3) Verkinx Kazrael is not happy that one of his favorite toys was stolen from him. Not happy at all. And his vengeance will be terrible.
Step 4: "Come and play! Come and play! Come, everyone, it's a wonderful day!"
1) "The Voice said it was Nym's friend, but The Voice lied. It said it would keep The Bad Things from Nym, but showed them every time Nym didn't do what it said. It Put Nym Away for long, long times--Nym sleep forever and ever! Nym never was able to grow up, thanks to Voice. Nym glad Voice is gone!"
2) "The Pretty Smiling Lady is pretty and she smiles a lot. She helped Nym escape from the Voice, and Nym help her do stuff. She is not like the Voice; she only asks, she never threatens. And she's nice, and tells Nym stories, and teaches Nym cool magic tricks! Nym likes her."
3) "Nym found a Piece! Or is it two? Nym not sure. One piece is nice, if scared all the time, but the other is mean and evil, like The Voice. Nym not know what to do, so Nym watch her for now."
Step 5: "Look at all the pretty pictures Nym made on himself!"
1) Nym is an eternally youthful gnome who seems to be about 12-13 years old. He is painfully thin, and his body has scars all across the arms, legs, and torso. Many are self-inflicted, due to him learning the Sacrifice to Caiphon feat. He dresses in ragged clothes rather too large for him, and he often has his arms wrapped in crude bandages. He has solid black eyes and a messy mop of thistledown hair.
2) Nym speaks in the third person, and he tends to mangle his sentences.
3) Nym likes to crouch instead of standing straight up. He move rather like a cat.
Ah, Nym. Another holdover from the previous campaign, reimagined from his original form for this game.
Nym actually came from a PC idea played by one of my first players, who played a mad half-elf named Nyy who had a voice in her head. Her character was memorable, and I wanted to do a version of it when she left the group. Thus grew up Nym, who had a similar backstory to hers. Nym was a great Creepy Child who would appear, worry the players for a bit, and be cute as hell while doing so. He was fun to play.
While working on this new campaign, I wondered whether I should being Nym back or not, but I didn't have any hook for him in this current game, which focuses less on his patron, Verkinx Kazrael, than the last game did. However, I also wanted to do more with The Smiling One, who is tied to the Shards of Jillian storyline. So I did something I was kind of aiming for in the last game but never got around to: freeing Nym from The Voice's influence.
You can tell when a change works by how excited it makes you feel. I like this version of Nym, and I hope the players do once he's introduced.
Hey all. I found this thread and decided to try out making a character background with it. Holy smokes is it easy! My DM for the game this character will be played in said I gave him a lot to work with as well.
Quick note: We're playing using the Pathfinder world and deities, but for all intents and purposes Iomedae is just a female version of Heironeous.
Without further ado, Ataren Velacrux, the Cleric of Iomedae.
Ataren stands at a height of 5 feet 8 inches, and carries himself proudly but in a withdrawn manner. His raven-black hair is short and tends to sweep backwards. His eyes are a mysterious silver that manifests every few generations in his bloodline.
He keeps his body in top physical condition, for the need to battle in the name of Iomedae may come at any time. His arms and torso are covered with small, almost unnoticeable marks from his long years of training, and his right hand carries a scar carved into the back of it in the shape of a rune. This scar was carved by Ataren himself, as a child, when his sister left. The rune is the only one of its type that Ataren knows, but he knows its meaning: an oath of blood. He swore that he would wear the scar forever to remember the oath he swore to find his sister one day.
He tends to wear simple clothing under a set of cleric's vestments whenever he is not in battle. In battle or while traveling through dangerous areas, he augments this style with his preferred armor: scale mail. Though he is trained in the use of plate, he finds the weight and reduced mobility the armor brings is detrimental to his ability to combat enemies.
Ataren stood and watched, leaning against a column in one of the halls of the Church of Iomedae, as three of the younger acolytes argued about the true meaning of valor and courage. As one went to strike another of his fellows to show that he wasn't afraid of fighting, even his compatriots, Ataren stepped in and caught the youngster's wrist with his right hand. "True valor," he spoke while staring into the younger boy's eyes with his dark silver ones, "is not something you can decide you have one day. You must nurture it, like a small flame. Over time, your strength of faith will show you the true path."
1) He is withdrawn and reserved most of the time, preferring to keep his thoughts to himself, but he can be diplomatic when the situation calls for it. 2) He has served the Church of Iomedae for 6 years, working his way up from an acolyte to a full cleric of the church, but is starting to distrust the church's leadership and the influence that he suspects the Queen has on it. 3) He has no real lasting friendships, as the church has taken up his whole life. Friendship is something that must be earned, not given. 4) He is dedicated to justice and valor, especially in battle. He frowns upon deceit and trickery, and avoids using them whenever possible. 5) He sees the Church as a beacon of hope in the dark times that are upon the lands, and hopes to be a light in the darkness for any who are in need. 6) He is prone to reminiscing during the night when he is on watch or has some peaceful time to himself. He will often sit outdoors, looking at the stars, wondering where life has taken him and what might lie ahead.
Ataren stared out the window of his quarters, overlooking the East Shore section of Korvosa. His mind was teeming with thoughts of the people, and how they needed someone to lift their hearts and minds above the dark times they were sinking into. "One day," he mused, "you will be set free, and I hope to bear witness to it."
1) To see Ataren become a shining example of leadership and hope for the people around him 2) To face and defeat a great evil, known to the people, to inspire them to their own lives of greatness.
The dark-haired cleric sat upon his cot, staring off into space, the fingers of his left hand absently stroking the runescar on his right hand. His mind flashed back to that day, the day his sister left to 'find her fortune', as she called it. He recalls the tears running down his own face as well as their mother's, and his voice cracking as he screamed after her to stay. As the memory faded away, a lone tear fell from his cheek to the simple cloth sheet on the bedding.
1) (Character knows) Ataren had an older sister who went off 'adventuring' to find her destiny and never returned. He secretly hopes to find his sister alive somewhere. 2) (Character is unaware of) Ataren's sister was one of the adventuring bands that tried to brave the Raven's Bluff pass, and became corrupted somehow. She has turned to a life of evil, remembering little about her past.
As the cool water refreshed his parched throat, Ataren paused in his training to reminisce, as he is often wont to do. He stares blankly at the practice dummy in front of him, not truly seeing it. Memories surface and fade, until one takes hold and plays back its copy of events long past. Shaking his head to clear his mind of thoughts not on the task in front of him, he once again hefted his longsword and began to cut away at the straw figure.
1) Ataren remembers the day his sister left town, leaving her family and friends behind. He vowed to become strong enough to go find her, which eventually led to his joining the Church of Iomedae. 2) Ataren was one of the best speakers in his study classes, leading his elders to give him extra lessons in the art of diplomacy and dialogue. He used to be prone to speaking often, until one of his 'inspiring speeches' led to the death of three other acolytes. That was the day he began to withdraw into himself and rarely speak. 3) Ataren remembers the days of the paladins, and the valor and righteousness they represented. As their numbers dwindle, he harkens back to the times when the paladins upheld all that was good and right in the world. He secretly wishes to emulate that stance, but worries about whether he has the strength of faith to accomplish it.
I didn't include the part about any people linked to the character, since he has spent the last 6 years inside a cathedral and anyone who knew him on the outside is either dead or missing. He also rarely makes friends inside the cathedral, so I left that section up to my DM to determine.
Hey all. I found this thread and decided to try out making a character background with it. Holy smokes is it easy! My DM for the game this character will be played in said I gave him a lot to work with as well.
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