Basically, there was an "incident" recovering the real Sildar Hallwinter during the first couple sessions. Now I'm posing as him, and am now an agent of the Zhentarim and Lord's Alliance.
Expertise in Deception, Sleight of Hand. Only 2 combat spells, the rest are Disguise Self/Suggestion/Charm/Mage Hand, and the like for a more... subtle approach. Picked up Actor for the 18 CHA and to really round out the Disguise Self + Changeling approach.
The guy is a super spy and it's really fun to play. Really squishy though, so avoid fighting in a basement at all costs.
Class: College of Glamour Bard/Pact of the Archfey Warlock
Background: Urchin
She acts as a number of roles for the group she's with: One of the party faces, support, healer, scout and spy; often she's needed when the situation requires a pretty smile, a gentle melody or a light touch with a lock pick. She came across a fey pendant during the campaign that granted her an audience with Titania, the fairy queen. Taking an interest in the young woman who stumbled into her court and saw her gift with a viol, she decided to make a contract with her to teach her how to weave Fey magic into her music and make Karina a vassal worthy of her court.
Her main story is actually interwoven with another character I'm playing in the campaign: her lover Sento, who is a Half-Elf scholar with a particular magical ability (he is essentially a Kamen Rider, and the class is a homebrew). She was a struggling bard, who would often be unable to capture the attention of the crowds she played for, citing a lack of inspiration as the cause. Having met Sento (at first unable to stand him) and seeing him transform to protect villagers from a pack of wolves, she told the tale of a masked hero protecting the village and they ate it up. The two travel together as partners, with him using his abilities to help those in need and figure out the secrets of his abilities to share with his cloister and her offering her assistance in that mission, while she uses the stories of his heroics as material for songs to play and get paid, eventually turning into a close romantic relationship.
Shaylu was a simple bard who delighted in the stories of her ancestors...said to come from an illustrious line of heroes & adventurers, she told stories of their exploits in taverns, performing music dedicated to their heroic deeds, or writing books to be sold to nobles in their cities, prone to their flights of fancy.
Then one day, she receives a letter from a distant relative...strangely, one who was supposed to have gone missing some time ago.
In this letter, she is gifted with an inheritance...a lavish estate, apparently belonging to the relative, filled with relics and trophies from his younger days as an adventurer.
Known as the “Manorium de Umbra” (Manor in Shadow), it resided in a small hamlet within a valley, perpetually cast in shadow from the surrounding mountains.
Little did she know; this estate was actually a sentient being...a force which drew in adventurers of various caliber, feeding on their stories & their exploits, adding their various trinkets or tokens of their adventures into the mansions “collection”...and eventually, the soul of the adventurer themselves.
Provided that the adventurer keep providing stories of their exploits, the estate would allow that adventurer to leave the grounds...otherwise, the inheritor would receive ominous visions of the manor, and eventually find themselves drawn back to it.
Should they attempt to resist, they would be plagued by nightmarish visions of their own demise...as well as the deaths of their companions. The spirit of the manor was spiteful & cruel; if it’s own entertainment was not satisfied, it would even go so far as to send terrible monstrosities after the inheritor.
Shaylu suspected that her ancestor had met a similar demise; records of his madness contained in a journal within the mansion.
Undaunted, Shaylu became resolved to end the curse of the Manorium de Umbra...believing that she could perhaps free the trapped soul of her ancestor, and all the adventurers that came before him.
She travels with her companions, to satisfy the appetite of the haunted estate, and perhaps uncover the mystery of it’s origins...and a way to destroy it.
Subclass: College of Spirits (UA) / Nature Domain Cleric
Alignment: Lawful-Neutral
Background: Custom “Tikori Jnawi” (Far Traveller's All Eyes on You feature)
Character Concept:
His College of Spirits inspiration is the real-word bardic cultures and religious/spiritual practices found in Africa and the Caribbean
l studied Ethnomusicology (the study of music through culture; the study of culture through music), thus have knowledge of a wealth cultures & belief systems to draw upon
Lawful-neutral alignment, where themes of ancestral power,spiritpossession, rites & sacrifices, bargains and the price of breaching, purification & pollution, will be treated by this character as the natural yin & yang of balance in the world
(e.g. necromantic magic is not inherently evil; there are kind and malevolent spirits; deities are fallible and contradictory; potential for reincarnation in birth & death etc)
Class Bonds: potentially serving as a spiritual advisor, councillor and medium to Warlocks, Barbarians, Rangers, Sorcerers, Rogues, *Druids, *Monks and Blood Hunters
Class Frictions: likely ideological clashes withClerics, Paladins, Artificers, Wizards, *Druids, *Monks and Bards of other collages
Aesthetics & Inspiration:
Here are the real-world musical and cultural inspirations behind this character:
Being a bard –a College of Spirits Bard no less– this character will spout stories, parables and proverbs at any opportunity that presents itself. I'll be drawing on the many tales of Anansai the Spider Man, while also paraphrasing a wealth of Swahili proverbs (in English) as the language is very well known for being highly poetic and expressive
The Griot/Jeliof Mande culture (located Red Circle on map) are historians, storytellers, praise singers, poets and mediators, best known for their kora music. The character's name is drawn from common male names among this culture
The Gnawa, who have historically lived in the Sahel (located Purple Circle on map), are sufis that fuse together west-African spirituality and Islamic beliefs and practice musical spirit possession rites
The Azmari (located Green Circle on map) are musical bards, known for their satirical musical social commentaries and have historically drawn the laughter of the people and the ire of rulers and politicians
The Kashaura(located Blue Circle on the map) lead spirit possession ceremonies to parle with ancestral spirits for guidance and favours through singing, dancing and performing with mbira, a little similar to what people know as 'thumb pianos'
The Voodoo and Vodun belief and practices are found in West Africa and the Caribbean. Many of us will probably associate 'voodoo' with 'evil' thanks to the spread of christianity (much like much like how paganism is viewed) and colonialism, but it is just one of many of human belief systems throughout the ages and
Background:
Whichever campaign world this character ends up in, it's highly likely he'll exist as a foreigner:
I went for a Custom background, which I named Tikori Jnawi. Jnawi is the name for those that hail from the bardic caste that I came up with (fusing Griot and Jeli into one word) while Tikor is the world in a pre-colonial/Afropunk-inspired RPG setting called Swordsfall that I came across while researching for this character (it looks great)
I've chosen Far Traveler Background Features for him, as I expect any campaign he is played in won't focus on areas culturally and geographically comparable to North-West Africa. He'll be different to most folk, that's for sure.
I've also chosen Personal Characteristics from Gladiator, Far Traveler and Acolyte, as a performer, foreigner and spiritualist
The background includes proficiencies in Persuasion, Medicine, the HerbalismKit and Poisoner'sHit, allowing him to lobby the powerful, mediate with diplomacy, provide council, as well as perform the rites of purification, sacrifice and appeasement that his spiritualist practices requires
Game Mechanics:
Far from a powerbuild, I've been keen to give him a strong WIS stat to match his wordiness and bolster his Insight skill
He's currently sitting in DnD beyond as a Bard 6 / Cleric1 (domain TBC)
I uncomfortably felt compelled to add Cleric, as with just Bard he ended up with a laughable HP & AC combination and thought some medium armour/cleric spells would improve his terrible survivability
I've never really liked the Warlock class much, since I feel it's a really obviously cheesy multi-class and think DMs rarely present Warlocks with difficult obligations from their patron, but I'm now considering remaking him Warlock 1 (hexblade) / Bard 6 for mechanical purposes. Yet to be done.
I picked up the Magic Initiate - Druid feat for some more animistic flavour and as a means of making his high WIS combat-worthy in melee with the Sheleighly cantrip
I've also given him Ritual Caster, as rituals and rites will feature heavily in his roleplay
I intend him to use a knobkerrie (club/quarterstaff/wooden focus staff), and/or a yklwa, possibly with shield
Spells are thematic, such as Bestow Curse, Speak with Dead, Vicious Mockery, Zone of Truth, Tongues, Healing Word, Purify Food and Drink, Speak with Animals, Unseen Servent etc. His spell gained from the Spirit Session feature will be, for now, Revivify. I may want to rethink spells depending on whatever party makeup this character ends up in
Fiego Laurentis de Gryphon, of the Waterdeep de Gryphones, is a dashing young half elf often seen about the balls and fetes thrown by the noble families of Waterdeep. His grandfather shocked Society gossips when he married the princess of a wood elf tribe from the High Forest, but by nowadays the de Gryphones are only mildly titillating. Fiego, stereotypical of a young noble, is something of a dilettante, and gravitated toward the Bardic College where he could pick up a little magic here, a little music there, all with a dash of swordplay thrown in. He dreams of the glory of heroism and even had the hand in creating Waterdeep's first Masked Vigilante, Nighthawk. A recent dream dalliance with Eilistraeee, drow Goddess of swordwork and dance, has left him with a touch of otherworldy power, as well as a single shining silver strand of hair in his otherwise auburn locks.
College of Swords Bard 4/ Hexblade Warlock 1
Edit: Oh yeah, and he speaks with his family's Cormyrian accent. Basically Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride.
Update! Fiego has been on many an adventure and has grown more powerful, both personally and politically. He did spend a lot of time associating with some shadier characters and picked up some of their skills and habits, but is currently on a campaign to end the threat of orc hordes ravaging the countryside around Waterdeep, hopefully by installing his friend Skorg, a half orc fighter, as their leader by defeating their current war chief.
College of Swords 5/Swashbuckler 4/Hexblade 1
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Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
Playing in a one-shot Eberron game, I created a level 15 bard named Normal.
He's a diplomat and messenger for House Orien, capable of travelling across the world in an instant and transporting groups to important meetings.
Sub-class: College of Creation, so at Level 15 he's able to create single large objects. Combined with 'fly' it gives him the ability to drop large objects on foes from a devastating height.
Direct combat ability is highly limited, though a high level casting of 'banish' can thin the numbers of enemies effectively while others take care of the ones left behind.
Edward Atlas, level 3 Eloquence Minotaur Charlatan.
Being slow, equipped with a weak, almost useless Sling, and a Hornmonica (harmonica made out of a horn), Edward knows his most useful muscle is his tongue. No, not to lick the life out of enemies. He relies on his confidence and presence with high charisma and wisdom. However, having low-average intellect Edward uses simple and short sentences to confuse monsters, charm people and lead conversations in a beneficial way...sometimes with a little melody to create the mood. Also, he speaks quite slow, since it was raised by Tortle step-parents who found him as baby, with the Hornmonica wrapped around him (a little bit of mystery). In case he doesn't succeed in convincing the opponent, usually a headbutt with horns follow up.
Being Charlatan, Edward Specialize in forging documents (Scam feature). This is how he took over an Inn for years, got to travel (with a document stating he is Royal Messenger), and got in basically everywhere. For this purpose Edward has Diplomat's Pack (starting equipment) and a signet ring (royal messenger).
Edward is good at only 1 thing...convincing others about something...whatever benefits most, and it seem to be a funny idea. He enjoys explaining the Dire Wolf (at higher lvl with Universal Speech) why the Dire Wolf attacking the city should run away because Wolf Jackets are the new trend and humans are on the Hunt.
Gliss (short for Glissando, a musical term for "flowing") Level 1 Warforged Bard.
Built as an experiment to see if constructs could learn music without any external input, he did not function as expected. Re-purposed as a soldier, he fought in a war against Drow. After the war he was thrown in a scrap heap. He was rescued from the scrap heap by a Drow named Nendra. She put him back together as best she could, but she did not understand his purpose as he also would not fight.
Every night she played music and Gliss responded instantly. They played music together and even filled theatres and inns. Nendra gifted Gliss an MGH unit - a Musical Gear Heart, which happened to be heart-shaped. This allowed Gliss to feel feelings and allowed him to write his own music, but it also took over his vital functions. They fell into a strange love.
Some Drow had not gotten over the war or their hatred of Warforged. The couple were ambushed and Nendra was stabbed in the heart and they tried to steal the MGH from Gliss. Gliss let out an almighty screech, which basically boiled the brains of the assassins in their skulls. Gliss, crawling over to Nendra, he retrieved his MGH but was unable to fit it back in in time. Gliss deactivated with the MGH in his hand, next to his beloved...
Thanks, Tony1. In other words, I don't have to DO anything but be present during the rest? Except notify the player that I'm laying the extra 1d6 buff on them??
I know a story relevant to almost every situation.
I have a strong sense of fair play and always try to find the most equitable solution to arguments.
If you do something foolhardy, you get what you deserve. Earn my help.
I am an open and outgoing person, but it takes a long time for me to truly open up.
I don’t talk about the thing that torments me. I’d rather not burden others with my curse.
Ideals:
Tradition. The stories, legends, and songs of the past must never be forgotten, for they teach us who we are. (Lawful)
Justice. Put bad into the world, and it will come back to haunt you. I don't give anything that a person doesn't deserve. (Lawful)
Generosity. My talents were given to me so that I could use them to benefit the world. (Good)
I’ll stop the spirits that haunt me or die trying. (Any)
Bonds:
I sponsor an orphanage to keep others from enduring what I was forced to endure.
My family may be gone, but they are still there for me from the beyond.
I have a friend who studied with me and helped me through my hard times. I wonder where she is now.
The group I travel with is strange. There is a darkness inside each one of us, but the moments of light define us.
Flaws:
I judge others harshly, and myself even more severely.
Anger me, and no one will be able to protect you.
I talk to spirits that no one else can see.
Backstory:
I was born in a middle class family (0). My mother was a diplomat and my father was a scholar. They taught me everything to know about the art of speech, and gave rise to my love of storytelling. I had an amazing childhood, meeting new people and making new friends wherever I went. By the time I was 12 years old, I was extremely educated. One day, an eldritch storm hit the village we were staying in. When as the storm peaked, it became a necrotic tempest, giving life to countless undead. Among them, a revenant awoke with a grudge against my parents. I watched it kill my mother and father with just a touch. I blacked out. When I woke days later, the survivors told me that I was found dead. But, by some miracle, I had returned back to life at sunset. From that moment on, I started hearing voices. (Shadow touched feat, 12). Following the tragedy, I fell into a downward spiral of depression, anxiety, and almost insanity. I couldn't get the voices out of my head, and occasionally couldn't control myself. I was adopted by a powerful bard. I made new friends, and took advantage of my situation to educate myself. With the help of healing magic, it took me 3 years to regain my composure (16). I began seeing the spirits too. I saw my parents, grandparents, friends, and strangers, all them watching me. In a few months, I could talk to them. I was able to live as if everyone who had died in my life was still alive, teaching me things and telling me their stories. My parents told me the identity revenant, and that it was their fault I had to endure my pain. At this point, I was convinced that it was my destiny to do something important (18). That idea began to evolve and unfold as I began to listen to more and more strangers recount the stories of their lives. I felt a calling to recount the deeds of champions and heroes, to bring them alive in song and story. So, I joined a loose society of scholars and orators to learn new techniques of performance and magic. After studying for 5 years under my own adopted mother, I set out into the world.
This is wonderful! I was needing some ‘bardic inspiration’ for my College of Spirits bard. She is for a Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign and modeled after Tia Dalma/Calypso from the Pirates movies. Thanks for sharing your unique and richly considered character :)
Name: Mirik Level: 8 Race: Lizardfolk College: Lore (currently) Background: Outlander Misc: Mirik is quite mischievous and curious in nature, preferring to make new friends and cause mischief rather than pay attention to the specifics of what's happening around him. His playstyle revolves around his childlike nature and his ignorance of societal norms, as one would find him playing with the bear cubs or fairies in the nearby forest when given the opportunity or collecting body parts that have been discarded (or even buried). Despite being a bard, he actually is naturally tanky and taking any feat/class that gives Shield proficiency makes him quite hard to hit which makes him a pretty solid front-liner where he likes to be anyways (rolled stats so CON is also solid). So long as Mirik considers you a friend, you can bet he will rush to your aid when you need it.
Rolled a Lore Bard for my first ever D&D campaign (well as a PC at least, I've played a bit as DM), so may have gone a bit overboard. In any case, I welcome the feedback!
Name: Aelfric Silvernote Level: 3 Race: Half-elf College: Lore Background: Urchin Backstory (I went a bit overboard here):
Aelfric never knew his mother. Separated from her care as a small child of barely two years, her name has long since escaped his memory, leaving only the hazy contoured images of her youthful face and the lunar necklace she left around his neck as the scant evidence of her existence. Aelfric remembers she was a beautiful Teu-tel-quessir, or Moon Elf – a nomadic, adventurous people who often scoured the Western Sword Coast seeking trade and driven by wanderlust. He thinks she was kind and Aelfric likes to attribute his passion for song to the soothing and mystic melody he vaguely recalls she sang to put him to sleep. He remembers her enchanting voice put him at ease and Aelfric often finds he hums the tune to himself to this day when he allows his mind to wander.
But those simple days have long since past, replaced instead by the harsh reality and dogged determination brought on by years of toil and squalor within the slums of Waterdeep. He doesn’t know why he was left to rot in such an unforgiving city by the one person who was supposed to care for him, only that it taught him that he needed to do whatever it takes to survive. And survive he did.
Living a life of abject poverty and destitution, Aelfric would spend his childhood, first bouncing from orphanage to orphanage, and then cast out on the streets to beg and thieve for food or to search for a less-than-comfortable place to lay his head outside the reach of the city guard or Waterdeep’s miscreant underbelly. He could always feel the palpable sense of hopelessness among his fellow street rats. Yet through it all, lying deep within that pang of impoverishment, Aelfric also found an ember of something else…opportunity.
Aelfric discovered that when someone doesn’t even consider that you exist, they are far more lax of tongue in your presence. He found that if he loitered among Waterdeep’s many hubs of trade, hidden in plain sight, he would pick up whispers and hushed secrets weaved between the bustle of commerce. He soon found that information was of value to those willing to pay - first for a meal, then for coin, and eventually for a favor. As he matured both in age and stature as a broker of secrets, Aelfric developed a seemingly innate ability to not only shepherd information, but to manipulate it to his liking. A subtly placed word here, or a slight voice intonation there could change the entire outcome of his dealings and yield astounding results in his favor. Words became his weapon, sharper than any sword or more potent than any Wizard’s spell. With this small but momentous realization, Aelfric’s world opened itself to him as did his fierce dedication to mastering his craft.
Why stop at manipulating words when you can alter your entire persona to bring added weight and credence to your delivery? If Aelfric could merely glean the wants and comforts of an individual, couldn’t he then simply present himself as a paragon of those needs to get what Aelfric desired, not by theft, but willingly given? The mind became a joyous puzzle for him to sort, shape, and ultimately connect into a beautiful landscape of his choosing – and Aelfric found himself to be a master gamesman.
He adopted the surname Silvernote, perhaps as homage to Selune, Our Lady of Silver, the Moonmaiden and deity of seekers, as much as a tribute to his mother, whose crescent necklace still hangs around his neck and imprinted with his name. As Silvernote, Alfrec has dedicated his purpose to understanding the depths of the psyche and using that knowledge to insert his influence, to the weal or woe of his targets. His travels have taken him across the Sword Coast in search of knowledge that would aid in his practice, while assuming many the role needed to secure that knowledge in his grasp. For instance, one particularly humorous, if not ironic, example Aelfric often recalls was when he convinced the prestigious College of Canaith’s Master Illusionist to take Aelfric under his wing and offer his expertise in the Art of Disguise, by convincing the man that Aelfric was a professor himself from a rival institution seeking the Master's tutelage.
Aelfric’s latest target is perhaps his crowning achievement and takes him to the present day. Hired by Lord Lylar of House Emveolstone, a noble of Waterdeep and the region’s premier purveyor of magical trinkets, Aelfric had been commissioned to infiltrate the Neverwinter merchant house of Baron Krumdahr & Baroness Mardille Crestforge of Leilon to understand the couple’s trade agreements. Being the only major trading hub on the High Road between Neverwinter and Waterdeep, the Baron and Baroness held a tight, if not lucrative monopoly over land-based trade in the region. Aelfric was to uncover their business arrangements with a rival Waterdavian merchant of magical curiosities. Once known, he was to influence those dealings in Lylar’s favor or thwart them outright. Unbeknownst to Lord Lylar, Aelfric’s interest went well beyond the hefty purse and valuable influence gained in Waterdavian nobility circles if successful. Instead, Aelfric had intelligence that the Baron Krumdahr possessed several magical items rumored to enhance a person’s persuasive abilities. Aelfric wanted these items for study. To win the trust, favor, and contract from Lord Lylar, Aelfric assumed his latest persona – Cyrus Karn, Viscount of Sembia. His disguise was thorough - a Viscount because it denoted a noble heritage, but being a largely symbolic title, would be impossible to trace back to land titles for verification. And Sembia because it represented a relatively well-known yet largely decentralized merchant state, adding credibility to Cyrus’ qualifications, yet equally difficult to validate. All Cyrus needed to do was play the part. And play it he did. With the aid of Lord Lylar, Cyrus gained entrance to the Baron & Baroness’ estate during one of the couple’s illustrious dinner soirees. With an abundance of panache and guile, and through song, dance, and enchanting conversation, Cyrus managed to seduce the Baroness Crestforge into giving him after-hour access to the living quarters for a late-night rendezvous. In a matter of hours later, Viscount Karn managed to extract himself from the premises having masterfully achieved his goals - successfully leaving behind forged documents “implicating” Lord Lylar’s rival in the sale of false magic trinkets, acquiring the secret location and key to Krumdahr’s personal vault (housing the Baron’s most prized magical objects). All that was left was for Aelfric to put as much distance between him and Krumdahr’s reach as possible.
I’ve got a pretty good bard concept. She’s kind of like a medieval aquatic Herodotus, who specializes in pursuing the truth behind popular myths and legends.
Altulyn Lerollath
Race: Triton
Background: Sage
Level 3
College: Lore
Backstory: Sage
Altulyn was born in the depths of the ocean, in an obscure dark trench where light barely penetrated, largely unknown to humans. For Tritons, however, it was a thriving community. At this point, still a newborn, Altulyn’s parents lived in happiness.
That changed with the sudden arrival of a monstrous- and quite vindictive- Kraken. Apparently, it had experienced a humiliating defeat at the ends of Tritons here sometime in the past. Nobody could remember what happened, except the Kraken. Whatever happened must have been hundreds or thousands of years ago. At most they were distant descendants of whoever defeated it, if even that.
But the Kraken did not care. As far as it was concerned, these were the same Tritons, and it had been spending a long time planning revenge, learning from the past and modifying itself to take on its old enemy. The Kraken managed to cut through the Tritons’ resistance in a few short hours, during which time only a few lucky individuals managed to escape, among them Altulyn’s parents.
Its enemies crushed, the Kraken enslaved what remained of the Tritons- those not killed or who failed to escape in its initial attack. They were mutated to serve its needs, and brainwashed into revering it.
The incident was extremely traumatic for Altulyn’s parents, who resolved to get their daughter as far away as possible, somewhere the Kraken could never touch her. There was only one such place- the surface. After a long trek through the ocean, they finally made their way to the surface, and stumbled onto a beach which lined a small fishing town. It was not perfect, but it was safe. Despite difficulty adjusting to life on land and some initial resistance from locals who had never seen a triton before, they learned to fit in and finally had a place their daughter could be safe. Altulyn grew up to be a very inquisitive young girl. Having never seen another Triton besides her parents, she had many questions about who she was and where she came from. When she was old enough her parents told her of the Kraken that drove them to the surface, a story which seemed to terrify and fascinate her at the same time.
Young and naïve, she dreamed of slaying the Kraken and freeing her people. But it also seemed incredible that such a monster could exist in the ocean. Her parents, still paranoid of the Kraken, were reluctant to even let Altulyn learn how to swim. Eventually, they relented, but always warned her not to swim too deep. The creatures Altulyn would see in the nearby reefs fascinated her to no end.
Despite some difficulty from being the only Triton in town, Altulyn was an extremely outgoing and social person- though her endless questions sometimes irritated the townsfolk. Of course, she loved hearing stories of the sea and its strange creatures, especially the stories of strange monsters.
As she got older, Altulyn started to realize her dream of slaying the Kraken was not feasible, but she started to find that she as a talented artist. She developed an interest in music, as well as in writing and drawing, much of which was fueled by her burning curiosity. But even if what she once thought for sure she would do was impossible, that did not mean she was no longer interested in the Kraken or any other monsters. She still listened to stories, and even used them as inspiration for her art.
But the more Altulyn researched, the more she started to notice variations in the stories. Different people offered vastly different, sometimes contradictory myths about sea monsters. She began to take notes on different accounts, identifying patterns and discrepancies. Before long she had filled a whole book just with her analysis of whatever legends she could find, and she was still curious for more.
So Altulyn began interviewing people around the town, asking questions about their stories or strange sightings, and making notes on everything. Any outsiders who came to town were often asked questions as well. Her notes became extremely detailed, as she collected different legends, theories, counter-arguments, always comparing them and trying to pull out the truth from fiction. Eventually Altulyn managed to publish a book detailing not only the Kraken, but every sea monster she was told about.
The more people she talked to, the more Altulyn started to realize just how complex the world was- how many strange and otherworldly creatures were said to exist within it. She may not have seen any of them herself, but she was fascinated just by what was claimed. After documenting a variety of sea monster legends, Altulyn also started to find that there were just as many strange myths on land. Her collection had expanded from documenting stories of sea monsters to also include stories of dragons, beholders, hecatoncheires, and a strange nightmarish creature known as the Tarrasque. But there was only so much that could be done in one town. Only so many people to ask. She started travelling to other nearby towns, especially ones where sightings or strange occurrences were reported.
She would write down every account she could get, draw sketches of what was described, though she also entertained with her musical skills, sometimes incorporating her research into songs. Altulyn is easily attracted to a mystery, thanks to her insatiable curiosity. She is generally a good person, though her endless questioning can sometimes put people off. As a bard, she makes a living by performing, but she is happy to take any job that might reveal something interesting.
Proud member of the Legendary band of hero's known as "The Badgers of Honour"
Once a traveling musician Marty left his band after feeling ashamed he lost a battle of the bards due to his lute string snapping during a rather rad solo.
While traveling alone he came across a wise old human artificer by the name of Prof. Hurcuel Ulkalith, seeing the potential in Marty, the Prof took him under his wing as his apprentice and during their time together using his artificer skills constructed a special lute that would ensure that when Marty plays is not only will he be able to change magic but the strings will never snap again.
One morning marty arrived at the profs shop in Neverwinter to see the place is trashed and the prof is nowhere to be seen. He sets off on a journey to find the prof and while on his travels runs into his former band mates tagging along with them to Phandalin where there had been a sighting of someone calling themselves Professor Ulk (close enough)
While there a group of adventurers come back from a quest with on of the party members fallen. It was the Prof. Only he was no longer human he was now a half orc (likely an experiment gone wrong marty thought) its from there Marty joins with the Profs traveling companions to help finish what the prof had started.
After successfully completing the mission that took the profs life Marty decided to continue to travel with and write songs about the group that would go on to be know through out the land as
"THE BADGERS OF HONOUR"
(Yeah also been writing parodies for the party too)
The lyrics... When a humble bard arrived in Phandalin on a quest for his master the ending was grim when the half Orc fell in the cavern of evil This band of Heroes at his feet did they revel They recruited me to take my master's place I charged up my lute and got on with the race We avenged the Ulk Through some skill and some luck and so cried the Badgers we can't be beat! Toss a coin to the Bagers! The Badgers of honour The badgers of honour, oh! Toss a coin to the Bagers! The Badgers of honour... At the edge of the world upon an icy peak We fought a beat they said can't be beat! We pierced every scale We fought tooth and nail high on the mountain The badgers shan't fail we wiped out your pest we plundered every chest we're a friend to humanity now give us a rest That's our Epic tail The badgers shall prevail Defeated the dragons now pore us some Ale! Toss a coin to the Bagers! The Badgers of honour The badgers of honour, oh! Toss a coin to the Bagers! The Badgers of honour... Toss a coin to the Bagers! The Badgers of honour The badgers of honour, oh! Toss a coin to the Bagers! The Badgers of honour... Toss a coin to the Bagers! The Badgers of honour The badgers of honour, oh! Toss a coin to the Bagers! The Badgers of honour...
Little more than a concept (and not thoroughly thought-out), but it's one that I smile at.
Azrael Ozmos
Race: Infernal Tiefling
Background: Sailor
College: Undecided
Backstory (here goes):
Azrael was an orphan, and like in any good orphan story, he wanted out of his Home For Lost Ones. After finally escaping and stowing away on a merchant ship at the age of 15, he thought his worries were over...until he was found by a none-too-happy Triton and taken straight to fearsome Gnomish Captain Novak Yimble. To avoid being thrown overboard, the young Tiefling pleads and pledges himself to the captain's service, and (shocker) while the Gnome is merciful and accepts, the Triton responds to this by making the lad do the most undesirable jobs, not the least of which included prying the barnacles from the bottom of the ship.
"What does that have to do with being a Bard?" So glad you didn't ask!
After six months of hard labor, the young lad found himself in the captain's cabin again; expecting more work, he instead found a bass viol in his hands and the old Gnome telling him to play. Dumbfounded but curious to try, Azrael plucked and tuned and, after about 10 minutes, recreated an old lullaby, much to Captain Yimble's delight. For reasons unknown, the old sailor offered to trade the finger-destroying barnacle jobs for viol lessons on the condition that the lad play what he learned every seventh day. And so, for the next 7 years, Azzy/Ozzy learned to play the bass viol and speak with greater clarity with the closest thing to a father he ever had.
Until Novak Yimble, feared merchant captain, died in his sleep.
The next captain was much younger (about two years older than Azrael) and MUCH hungrier, looking to make things much harder and more dangerous for the crew in order to turn a larger profit, meaning more valuable goods, more treacherous routes, and less time for relaxation and music. Having only begun to go through mourning for their beloved Yimble, the new captain and old crew clashed, leaving Azzy/Ozzy to try and keep the peace with his oratory skill. Eventually, the ship came under attack by pirates looking for an easy mark, and Captain Yuldra Eloetin wasn't about to have it, ending up driving them back with her skill with a rapier. She had gotten all but one, a Kobold that had snuck up behind her to strike...until Azrael punts it off the ship's side (yayyy). After that victory, the crew got along with their captain more easily and, as thanks for saving her life, the half-elf taught the musician how to use a rapier, opening the door to a 20-year friendship.
And then he met HER.
Sayra Goldleaf, Goliath owner of a small chain of inns and taverns. The moment Azrael saw her, he knew he had to see her more. So, in a sad farewell, he requested a switch to a ship that made port in Sayra's home town more often, and after 7 more years of service, he left the sea and finally settled down, marrying his love and using his skills to bolster the success of the inn.
At age 55, a restlessness had overtaken him, and after much debate, he thought to make it official and set out to learn from the best musicians. No one could know that his adventures had only just begun...
Aaaaand that's all I have right now. Still not fully thought-out, but the general idea is to make an old Bard with dad jokes, life experience, and a dad bod. Any questions, criticisms, and general thoughts are accepted!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Could it be? I'm...a mOroN?!?
Yes. 100% ignoramus, no additives.
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Name: Simon Says
Race: Changeling
Class: L5 College of Whispers Bard
Background: Criminal/Spy
Campaign: Lost Mines of Phandelver
Current Identity: Sildar Hallwinter
Basically, there was an "incident" recovering the real Sildar Hallwinter during the first couple sessions. Now I'm posing as him, and am now an agent of the Zhentarim and Lord's Alliance.
Expertise in Deception, Sleight of Hand. Only 2 combat spells, the rest are Disguise Self/Suggestion/Charm/Mage Hand, and the like for a more... subtle approach. Picked up Actor for the 18 CHA and to really round out the Disguise Self + Changeling approach.
The guy is a super spy and it's really fun to play. Really squishy though, so avoid fighting in a basement at all costs.
Name: Karina
Race: Tiefling
Class: College of Glamour Bard/Pact of the Archfey Warlock
Background: Urchin
She acts as a number of roles for the group she's with: One of the party faces, support, healer, scout and spy; often she's needed when the situation requires a pretty smile, a gentle melody or a light touch with a lock pick. She came across a fey pendant during the campaign that granted her an audience with Titania, the fairy queen. Taking an interest in the young woman who stumbled into her court and saw her gift with a viol, she decided to make a contract with her to teach her how to weave Fey magic into her music and make Karina a vassal worthy of her court.
Her main story is actually interwoven with another character I'm playing in the campaign: her lover Sento, who is a Half-Elf scholar with a particular magical ability (he is essentially a Kamen Rider, and the class is a homebrew). She was a struggling bard, who would often be unable to capture the attention of the crowds she played for, citing a lack of inspiration as the cause. Having met Sento (at first unable to stand him) and seeing him transform to protect villagers from a pack of wolves, she told the tale of a masked hero protecting the village and they ate it up. The two travel together as partners, with him using his abilities to help those in need and figure out the secrets of his abilities to share with his cloister and her offering her assistance in that mission, while she uses the stories of his heroics as material for songs to play and get paid, eventually turning into a close romantic relationship.
Everyone loves a good superhero story.
Name: Shaylu
Race: Protector Aasimar
Class: Bard / Warlock
Subclass: “College of Glamour” + “The Hexblade”
Background: “Inheritor”
Patron: the “Manorium de Umbra”
Backstory:
Shaylu was a simple bard who delighted in the stories of her ancestors...said to come from an illustrious line of heroes & adventurers, she told stories of their exploits in taverns, performing music dedicated to their heroic deeds, or writing books to be sold to nobles in their cities, prone to their flights of fancy.
Then one day, she receives a letter from a distant relative...strangely, one who was supposed to have gone missing some time ago.
In this letter, she is gifted with an inheritance...a lavish estate, apparently belonging to the relative, filled with relics and trophies from his younger days as an adventurer.
Known as the “Manorium de Umbra” (Manor in Shadow), it resided in a small hamlet within a valley, perpetually cast in shadow from the surrounding mountains.
Little did she know; this estate was actually a sentient being...a force which drew in adventurers of various caliber, feeding on their stories & their exploits, adding their various trinkets or tokens of their adventures into the mansions “collection”...and eventually, the soul of the adventurer themselves.
Provided that the adventurer keep providing stories of their exploits, the estate would allow that adventurer to leave the grounds...otherwise, the inheritor would receive ominous visions of the manor, and eventually find themselves drawn back to it.
Should they attempt to resist, they would be plagued by nightmarish visions of their own demise...as well as the deaths of their companions. The spirit of the manor was spiteful & cruel; if it’s own entertainment was not satisfied, it would even go so far as to send terrible monstrosities after the inheritor.
Shaylu suspected that her ancestor had met a similar demise; records of his madness contained in a journal within the mansion.
Undaunted, Shaylu became resolved to end the curse of the Manorium de Umbra...believing that she could perhaps free the trapped soul of her ancestor, and all the adventurers that came before him.
She travels with her companions, to satisfy the appetite of the haunted estate, and perhaps uncover the mystery of it’s origins...and a way to destroy it.
Name: Toumani Sissoko (DnDBeyond character sheet)
Race: Human (Variant)
Class: Bard 6 / Cleric 1
Subclass: College of Spirits (UA) / Nature Domain Cleric
Alignment: Lawful-Neutral
Background: Custom “Tikori Jnawi” (Far Traveller's All Eyes on You feature)
Character Concept:
Class Bonds: potentially serving as a spiritual advisor, councillor and medium to Warlocks, Barbarians, Rangers, Sorcerers, Rogues, *Druids, *Monks and Blood Hunters
Class Frictions: likely ideological clashes with Clerics, Paladins, Artificers, Wizards, *Druids, *Monks and Bards of other collages
Aesthetics & Inspiration:
Here are the real-world musical and cultural inspirations behind this character:
Background:
Whichever campaign world this character ends up in, it's highly likely he'll exist as a foreigner:
Game Mechanics:
Appearance:
His appearance in traveller's clothes:
His appearance in medium armour:
Update! Fiego has been on many an adventure and has grown more powerful, both personally and politically. He did spend a lot of time associating with some shadier characters and picked up some of their skills and habits, but is currently on a campaign to end the threat of orc hordes ravaging the countryside around Waterdeep, hopefully by installing his friend Skorg, a half orc fighter, as their leader by defeating their current war chief.
College of Swords 5/Swashbuckler 4/Hexblade 1
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
Name: Loquentiam Imperium
Race: Half-elf
Level: 3
Subclass: Eloquence
Expertise: Persuasion, Deception. Nat 1 on the die = 18
Playing in a one-shot Eberron game, I created a level 15 bard named Normal.
He's a diplomat and messenger for House Orien, capable of travelling across the world in an instant and transporting groups to important meetings.
Sub-class: College of Creation, so at Level 15 he's able to create single large objects. Combined with 'fly' it gives him the ability to drop large objects on foes from a devastating height.
Direct combat ability is highly limited, though a high level casting of 'banish' can thin the numbers of enemies effectively while others take care of the ones left behind.
Edward Atlas, level 3 Eloquence Minotaur Charlatan.
Being slow, equipped with a weak, almost useless Sling, and a Hornmonica (harmonica made out of a horn), Edward knows his most useful muscle is his tongue. No, not to lick the life out of enemies. He relies on his confidence and presence with high charisma and wisdom. However, having low-average intellect Edward uses simple and short sentences to confuse monsters, charm people and lead conversations in a beneficial way...sometimes with a little melody to create the mood. Also, he speaks quite slow, since it was raised by Tortle step-parents who found him as baby, with the Hornmonica wrapped around him (a little bit of mystery). In case he doesn't succeed in convincing the opponent, usually a headbutt with horns follow up.
Being Charlatan, Edward Specialize in forging documents (Scam feature). This is how he took over an Inn for years, got to travel (with a document stating he is Royal Messenger), and got in basically everywhere. For this purpose Edward has Diplomat's Pack (starting equipment) and a signet ring (royal messenger).
Edward is good at only 1 thing...convincing others about something...whatever benefits most, and it seem to be a funny idea. He enjoys explaining the Dire Wolf (at higher lvl with Universal Speech) why the Dire Wolf attacking the city should run away because Wolf Jackets are the new trend and humans are on the Hunt.
Thank you.
I am a pretty new bard (on the cusp of lvl3) and still trying to find the spells that fit me.
I'm intrigued by Song of Rest, but can't make sense of its terms: what does
"If a creature is willing to spend one or more hit dice, it gains 1d6 HPs."
Huh? Say what? Ick bin ganz konfus. Can someone explain this sentence to me?
Kirk Urk, apprentice bard, lvl 2.
PS: This may not be the right place to ask for help on this topic, but every reference I can find to Song of Rest just parrots the Players Handbook.
Players can expend “Hit Die” in order to heal themselves when they “rest”.
If you’re a Bard in the party, and are present when they do this, they receive extra healing from you, equal to the roll of 1d6 die (six sided die).
Basically, the get extra healing from you for just being around to entertain them. Lifting their spirits, so to speak.
Gliss (short for Glissando, a musical term for "flowing") Level 1 Warforged Bard.
Built as an experiment to see if constructs could learn music without any external input, he did not function as expected. Re-purposed as a soldier, he fought in a war against Drow. After the war he was thrown in a scrap heap. He was rescued from the scrap heap by a Drow named Nendra. She put him back together as best she could, but she did not understand his purpose as he also would not fight.
Every night she played music and Gliss responded instantly. They played music together and even filled theatres and inns. Nendra gifted Gliss an MGH unit - a Musical Gear Heart, which happened to be heart-shaped. This allowed Gliss to feel feelings and allowed him to write his own music, but it also took over his vital functions. They fell into a strange love.
Some Drow had not gotten over the war or their hatred of Warforged. The couple were ambushed and Nendra was stabbed in the heart and they tried to steal the MGH from Gliss. Gliss let out an almighty screech, which basically boiled the brains of the assassins in their skulls. Gliss, crawling over to Nendra, he retrieved his MGH but was unable to fit it back in in time. Gliss deactivated with the MGH in his hand, next to his beloved...
...and that's when the party found him!
Thanks, Tony1. In other words, I don't have to DO anything but be present during the rest? Except notify the player that I'm laying the extra 1d6 buff on them??
Gryffyn
Name: Ehput-Ki Murnyethara
Race: Human (Would be reborn)
Subclass: College of Spirits
Personality Traits:
I know a story relevant to almost every situation.
I have a strong sense of fair play and always try to find the most equitable solution to arguments.
If you do something foolhardy, you get what you deserve. Earn my help.
I am an open and outgoing person, but it takes a long time for me to truly open up.
I don’t talk about the thing that torments me. I’d rather not burden others with my curse.
Ideals:
Bonds:
Flaws:
Backstory:
I was born in a middle class family (0). My mother was a diplomat and my father was a scholar. They taught me everything to know about the art of speech, and gave rise to my love of storytelling. I had an amazing childhood, meeting new people and making new friends wherever I went. By the time I was 12 years old, I was extremely educated. One day, an eldritch storm hit the village we were staying in. When as the storm peaked, it became a necrotic tempest, giving life to countless undead. Among them, a revenant awoke with a grudge against my parents. I watched it kill my mother and father with just a touch. I blacked out. When I woke days later, the survivors told me that I was found dead. But, by some miracle, I had returned back to life at sunset. From that moment on, I started hearing voices. (Shadow touched feat, 12). Following the tragedy, I fell into a downward spiral of depression, anxiety, and almost insanity. I couldn't get the voices out of my head, and occasionally couldn't control myself. I was adopted by a powerful bard. I made new friends, and took advantage of my situation to educate myself. With the help of healing magic, it took me 3 years to regain my composure (16). I began seeing the spirits too. I saw my parents, grandparents, friends, and strangers, all them watching me. In a few months, I could talk to them. I was able to live as if everyone who had died in my life was still alive, teaching me things and telling me their stories. My parents told me the identity revenant, and that it was their fault I had to endure my pain. At this point, I was convinced that it was my destiny to do something important (18). That idea began to evolve and unfold as I began to listen to more and more strangers recount the stories of their lives. I felt a calling to recount the deeds of champions and heroes, to bring them alive in song and story. So, I joined a loose society of scholars and orators to learn new techniques of performance and magic. After studying for 5 years under my own adopted mother, I set out into the world.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/WallineDungeonMaster/characters/38734609
My only good homebrews: Races, Subclasses.
An aspiring DM and Homebrewer. Ask me if you need anything.
This is wonderful! I was needing some ‘bardic inspiration’ for my College of Spirits bard. She is for a Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign and modeled after Tia Dalma/Calypso from the Pirates movies. Thanks for sharing your unique and richly considered character :)
You're very welcome! Post up your Calypso-inspired bard when you feel they're ready :)
A bit late to the party, but here is my Bard:
Name: Mirik
Level: 8
Race: Lizardfolk
College: Lore (currently)
Background: Outlander
Misc: Mirik is quite mischievous and curious in nature, preferring to make new friends and cause mischief rather than pay attention to the specifics of what's happening around him. His playstyle revolves around his childlike nature and his ignorance of societal norms, as one would find him playing with the bear cubs or fairies in the nearby forest when given the opportunity or collecting body parts that have been discarded (or even buried). Despite being a bard, he actually is naturally tanky and taking any feat/class that gives Shield proficiency makes him quite hard to hit which makes him a pretty solid front-liner where he likes to be anyways (rolled stats so CON is also solid). So long as Mirik considers you a friend, you can bet he will rush to your aid when you need it.
Rolled a Lore Bard for my first ever D&D campaign (well as a PC at least, I've played a bit as DM), so may have gone a bit overboard. In any case, I welcome the feedback!
Name: Aelfric Silvernote
Level: 3
Race: Half-elf
College: Lore
Background: Urchin
Backstory (I went a bit overboard here):
Aelfric never knew his mother. Separated from her care as a small child of barely two years, her name has long since escaped his memory, leaving only the hazy contoured images of her youthful face and the lunar necklace she left around his neck as the scant evidence of her existence. Aelfric remembers she was a beautiful Teu-tel-quessir, or Moon Elf – a nomadic, adventurous people who often scoured the Western Sword Coast seeking trade and driven by wanderlust. He thinks she was kind and Aelfric likes to attribute his passion for song to the soothing and mystic melody he vaguely recalls she sang to put him to sleep. He remembers her enchanting voice put him at ease and Aelfric often finds he hums the tune to himself to this day when he allows his mind to wander.
But those simple days have long since past, replaced instead by the harsh reality and dogged determination brought on by years of toil and squalor within the slums of Waterdeep. He doesn’t know why he was left to rot in such an unforgiving city by the one person who was supposed to care for him, only that it taught him that he needed to do whatever it takes to survive. And survive he did.
Living a life of abject poverty and destitution, Aelfric would spend his childhood, first bouncing from orphanage to orphanage, and then cast out on the streets to beg and thieve for food or to search for a less-than-comfortable place to lay his head outside the reach of the city guard or Waterdeep’s miscreant underbelly. He could always feel the palpable sense of hopelessness among his fellow street rats. Yet through it all, lying deep within that pang of impoverishment, Aelfric also found an ember of something else…opportunity.
Aelfric discovered that when someone doesn’t even consider that you exist, they are far more lax of tongue in your presence. He found that if he loitered among Waterdeep’s many hubs of trade, hidden in plain sight, he would pick up whispers and hushed secrets weaved between the bustle of commerce. He soon found that information was of value to those willing to pay - first for a meal, then for coin, and eventually for a favor. As he matured both in age and stature as a broker of secrets, Aelfric developed a seemingly innate ability to not only shepherd information, but to manipulate it to his liking. A subtly placed word here, or a slight voice intonation there could change the entire outcome of his dealings and yield astounding results in his favor. Words became his weapon, sharper than any sword or more potent than any Wizard’s spell. With this small but momentous realization, Aelfric’s world opened itself to him as did his fierce dedication to mastering his craft.
Why stop at manipulating words when you can alter your entire persona to bring added weight and credence to your delivery? If Aelfric could merely glean the wants and comforts of an individual, couldn’t he then simply present himself as a paragon of those needs to get what Aelfric desired, not by theft, but willingly given? The mind became a joyous puzzle for him to sort, shape, and ultimately connect into a beautiful landscape of his choosing – and Aelfric found himself to be a master gamesman.
He adopted the surname Silvernote, perhaps as homage to Selune, Our Lady of Silver, the Moonmaiden and deity of seekers, as much as a tribute to his mother, whose crescent necklace still hangs around his neck and imprinted with his name. As Silvernote, Alfrec has dedicated his purpose to understanding the depths of the psyche and using that knowledge to insert his influence, to the weal or woe of his targets. His travels have taken him across the Sword Coast in search of knowledge that would aid in his practice, while assuming many the role needed to secure that knowledge in his grasp. For instance, one particularly humorous, if not ironic, example Aelfric often recalls was when he convinced the prestigious College of Canaith’s Master Illusionist to take Aelfric under his wing and offer his expertise in the Art of Disguise, by convincing the man that Aelfric was a professor himself from a rival institution seeking the Master's tutelage.
Aelfric’s latest target is perhaps his crowning achievement and takes him to the present day. Hired by Lord Lylar of House Emveolstone, a noble of Waterdeep and the region’s premier purveyor of magical trinkets, Aelfric had been commissioned to infiltrate the Neverwinter merchant house of Baron Krumdahr & Baroness Mardille Crestforge of Leilon to understand the couple’s trade agreements. Being the only major trading hub on the High Road between Neverwinter and Waterdeep, the Baron and Baroness held a tight, if not lucrative monopoly over land-based trade in the region. Aelfric was to uncover their business arrangements with a rival Waterdavian merchant of magical curiosities. Once known, he was to influence those dealings in Lylar’s favor or thwart them outright. Unbeknownst to Lord Lylar, Aelfric’s interest went well beyond the hefty purse and valuable influence gained in Waterdavian nobility circles if successful. Instead, Aelfric had intelligence that the Baron Krumdahr possessed several magical items rumored to enhance a person’s persuasive abilities. Aelfric wanted these items for study. To win the trust, favor, and contract from Lord Lylar, Aelfric assumed his latest persona – Cyrus Karn, Viscount of Sembia. His disguise was thorough - a Viscount because it denoted a noble heritage, but being a largely symbolic title, would be impossible to trace back to land titles for verification. And Sembia because it represented a relatively well-known yet largely decentralized merchant state, adding credibility to Cyrus’ qualifications, yet equally difficult to validate. All Cyrus needed to do was play the part. And play it he did. With the aid of Lord Lylar, Cyrus gained entrance to the Baron & Baroness’ estate during one of the couple’s illustrious dinner soirees. With an abundance of panache and guile, and through song, dance, and enchanting conversation, Cyrus managed to seduce the Baroness Crestforge into giving him after-hour access to the living quarters for a late-night rendezvous. In a matter of hours later, Viscount Karn managed to extract himself from the premises having masterfully achieved his goals - successfully leaving behind forged documents “implicating” Lord Lylar’s rival in the sale of false magic trinkets, acquiring the secret location and key to Krumdahr’s personal vault (housing the Baron’s most prized magical objects). All that was left was for Aelfric to put as much distance between him and Krumdahr’s reach as possible.
I’ve got a pretty good bard concept. She’s kind of like a medieval aquatic Herodotus, who specializes in pursuing the truth behind popular myths and legends.
Altulyn Lerollath
Race: Triton
Background: Sage
Level 3
College: Lore
Backstory: Sage
Altulyn was born in the depths of the ocean, in an obscure dark trench where light barely penetrated,
largely unknown to humans. For Tritons, however, it was a thriving community. At this point, still a
newborn, Altulyn’s parents lived in happiness.
That changed with the sudden arrival of a monstrous- and quite vindictive- Kraken. Apparently, it had experienced a humiliating defeat at the ends of Tritons here sometime in the past. Nobody could remember what happened, except the Kraken. Whatever happened must have been hundreds or thousands of years ago. At most they were distant descendants of whoever defeated it, if even that.
But the Kraken did not care. As far as it was concerned, these were the same Tritons, and it had been spending a long time planning revenge, learning from the past and modifying itself to take on its old enemy. The Kraken managed to cut through the Tritons’ resistance in a few short hours, during which time only a few lucky individuals managed to escape, among them Altulyn’s parents.
Its enemies crushed, the Kraken enslaved what remained of the Tritons- those not killed or who failed to escape in its initial attack. They were mutated to serve its needs, and brainwashed into revering it.
The incident was extremely traumatic for Altulyn’s parents, who resolved to get their daughter as far
away as possible, somewhere the Kraken could never touch her. There was only one such place- the surface. After a long trek through the ocean, they finally made their way to the surface, and stumbled onto a beach which lined a small fishing town. It was not perfect, but it was safe. Despite difficulty adjusting to life on land and some initial resistance from locals who had never seen a triton before, they learned to fit in and finally had a place their daughter could be safe. Altulyn grew up to be a very inquisitive young girl. Having never seen another Triton besides her parents, she had many questions about who she was and where she came from. When she was old enough her parents told her of the Kraken that drove them to the surface, a story which seemed to terrify and fascinate her at the same time.
Young and naïve, she dreamed of slaying the Kraken and freeing her people. But it also seemed
incredible that such a monster could exist in the ocean. Her parents, still paranoid of the Kraken, were reluctant to even let Altulyn learn how to swim. Eventually, they relented, but always warned her not to swim too deep. The creatures Altulyn would see in the nearby reefs fascinated her to no end.
Despite some difficulty from being the only Triton in town, Altulyn was an extremely outgoing and social person- though her endless questions sometimes irritated the townsfolk. Of course, she loved hearing stories of the sea and its strange creatures, especially the stories of strange monsters.
As she got older, Altulyn started to realize her dream of slaying the Kraken was not feasible, but she started to find that she as a talented artist. She developed an interest in music, as well as in writing and drawing, much of which was fueled by her burning curiosity. But even if what she once thought for sure she would do was impossible, that did not mean she was no longer interested in the Kraken or any other monsters. She still listened to stories, and even used them as inspiration for her art.
But the more Altulyn researched, the more she started to notice variations in the stories. Different
people offered vastly different, sometimes contradictory myths about sea monsters. She began to take notes on different accounts, identifying patterns and discrepancies. Before long she had filled a whole book just with her analysis of whatever legends she could find, and she was still curious for more.
So Altulyn began interviewing people around the town, asking questions about their stories or strange sightings, and making notes on everything. Any outsiders who came to town were often asked questions as well. Her notes became extremely detailed, as she collected different legends, theories, counter-arguments, always comparing them and trying to pull out the truth from fiction. Eventually Altulyn managed to publish a book detailing not only the Kraken, but every sea monster she was told about.
The more people she talked to, the more Altulyn started to realize just how complex the world was- how many strange and otherworldly creatures were said to exist within it. She may not have seen any of them herself, but she was fascinated just by what was claimed. After documenting a variety of sea monster legends, Altulyn also started to find that there were just as many strange myths on land. Her collection had expanded from documenting stories of sea monsters to also include stories of dragons, beholders, hecatoncheires, and a strange nightmarish creature known as the Tarrasque.
But there was only so much that could be done in one town. Only so many people to ask. She started
travelling to other nearby towns, especially ones where sightings or strange occurrences were reported.
She would write down every account she could get, draw sketches of what was described, though she also entertained with her musical skills, sometimes incorporating her research into songs.
Altulyn is easily attracted to a mystery, thanks to her insatiable curiosity. She is generally a good person, though her endless questioning can sometimes put people off. As a bard, she makes a living by performing, but she is happy to take any job that might reveal something interesting.
Halfling Bard: Marty Von Brawn
Current level: 11
Proud member of the Legendary band of hero's known as "The Badgers of Honour"
Once a traveling musician Marty left his band after feeling ashamed he lost a battle of the bards due to his lute string snapping during a rather rad solo.
While traveling alone he came across a wise old human artificer by the name of Prof. Hurcuel Ulkalith, seeing the potential in Marty, the Prof took him under his wing as his apprentice and during their time together using his artificer skills constructed a special lute that would ensure that when Marty plays is not only will he be able to change magic but the strings will never snap again.
One morning marty arrived at the profs shop in Neverwinter to see the place is trashed and the prof is nowhere to be seen. He sets off on a journey to find the prof and while on his travels runs into his former band mates tagging along with them to Phandalin where there had been a sighting of someone calling themselves Professor Ulk (close enough)
While there a group of adventurers come back from a quest with on of the party members fallen. It was the Prof. Only he was no longer human he was now a half orc (likely an experiment gone wrong marty thought) its from there Marty joins with the Profs traveling companions to help finish what the prof had started.
After successfully completing the mission that took the profs life Marty decided to continue to travel with and write songs about the group that would go on to be know through out the land as
"THE BADGERS OF HONOUR"
(Yeah also been writing parodies for the party too)
https://youtu.be/YV6OjQ5icLs
The lyrics... When a humble bard arrived in Phandalin on a quest for his master the ending was grim when the half Orc fell in the cavern of evil This band of Heroes at his feet did they revel They recruited me to take my master's place I charged up my lute and got on with the race We avenged the Ulk Through some skill and some luck and so cried the Badgers we can't be beat! Toss a coin to the Bagers! The Badgers of honour The badgers of honour, oh! Toss a coin to the Bagers! The Badgers of honour... At the edge of the world upon an icy peak We fought a beat they said can't be beat! We pierced every scale We fought tooth and nail high on the mountain The badgers shan't fail we wiped out your pest we plundered every chest we're a friend to humanity now give us a rest That's our Epic tail The badgers shall prevail Defeated the dragons now pore us some Ale! Toss a coin to the Bagers! The Badgers of honour The badgers of honour, oh! Toss a coin to the Bagers! The Badgers of honour... Toss a coin to the Bagers! The Badgers of honour The badgers of honour, oh! Toss a coin to the Bagers! The Badgers of honour... Toss a coin to the Bagers! The Badgers of honour The badgers of honour, oh! Toss a coin to the Bagers! The Badgers of honour...
Little more than a concept (and not thoroughly thought-out), but it's one that I smile at.
Azrael Ozmos
Race: Infernal Tiefling
Background: Sailor
College: Undecided
Backstory (here goes):
Azrael was an orphan, and like in any good orphan story, he wanted out of his Home For Lost Ones. After finally escaping and stowing away on a merchant ship at the age of 15, he thought his worries were over...until he was found by a none-too-happy Triton and taken straight to fearsome Gnomish Captain Novak Yimble. To avoid being thrown overboard, the young Tiefling pleads and pledges himself to the captain's service, and (shocker) while the Gnome is merciful and accepts, the Triton responds to this by making the lad do the most undesirable jobs, not the least of which included prying the barnacles from the bottom of the ship.
"What does that have to do with being a Bard?" So glad you didn't ask!
After six months of hard labor, the young lad found himself in the captain's cabin again; expecting more work, he instead found a bass viol in his hands and the old Gnome telling him to play. Dumbfounded but curious to try, Azrael plucked and tuned and, after about 10 minutes, recreated an old lullaby, much to Captain Yimble's delight. For reasons unknown, the old sailor offered to trade the finger-destroying barnacle jobs for viol lessons on the condition that the lad play what he learned every seventh day. And so, for the next 7 years, Azzy/Ozzy learned to play the bass viol and speak with greater clarity with the closest thing to a father he ever had.
Until Novak Yimble, feared merchant captain, died in his sleep.
The next captain was much younger (about two years older than Azrael) and MUCH hungrier, looking to make things much harder and more dangerous for the crew in order to turn a larger profit, meaning more valuable goods, more treacherous routes, and less time for relaxation and music. Having only begun to go through mourning for their beloved Yimble, the new captain and old crew clashed, leaving Azzy/Ozzy to try and keep the peace with his oratory skill. Eventually, the ship came under attack by pirates looking for an easy mark, and Captain Yuldra Eloetin wasn't about to have it, ending up driving them back with her skill with a rapier. She had gotten all but one, a Kobold that had snuck up behind her to strike...until Azrael punts it off the ship's side (yayyy). After that victory, the crew got along with their captain more easily and, as thanks for saving her life, the half-elf taught the musician how to use a rapier, opening the door to a 20-year friendship.
And then he met HER.
Sayra Goldleaf, Goliath owner of a small chain of inns and taverns. The moment Azrael saw her, he knew he had to see her more. So, in a sad farewell, he requested a switch to a ship that made port in Sayra's home town more often, and after 7 more years of service, he left the sea and finally settled down, marrying his love and using his skills to bolster the success of the inn.
At age 55, a restlessness had overtaken him, and after much debate, he thought to make it official and set out to learn from the best musicians. No one could know that his adventures had only just begun...
Aaaaand that's all I have right now. Still not fully thought-out, but the general idea is to make an old Bard with dad jokes, life experience, and a dad bod. Any questions, criticisms, and general thoughts are accepted!
Could it be? I'm...a mOroN?!?
Yes. 100% ignoramus, no additives.