My Paladin is Lawrence Meinseney, a human who will swear the Oath of the Crown. Lawrence is the youngest son of a baron and has chosen knighthood since he has no real inheritance coming to him beyond a good sized chunk of gold. He tries to be as good as his nobility should, but a youth and teenage years full of using his family name to get what he wants has left him with a taste for both fine and carnal pleasures which really goes against the ideals of his class.
My Previous Paladin, Isilud Tengille, was the knightly son of a lesser human noble in Baldur's Gate. His father, Folmarv, made his name and fortune as a military captain with ties to the Crimson Fist before going on to work closely with the Church of Helm. While Folmarv was pleased with the material rewards of his life of violence, in his semi-retirement he grew resentful of the grim reputation that followed him, and the disrespect that earned him from his peers within the church. As such, he raised Isilud to be a 'champion of the people', drilled him in martial combat from a young age, filled his head with talk of 'chivalry' and stories of heroic knights and the fawning public who adored them, and paid the church of Helm a small fortune to have him trained as a paladin. Though Isilud took to martial and even divine skills with aplomb, his privileged upbringing had instilled in him a sense of entitlement - eager to fight to defend the 'lesser classes', but always expecting payment in the adulation, praise, and deference of those he "served". The Paladins of Helm found this attitude unbecoming, and all refused to take him on as a squire to complete his training. So instead Isilud returned to his father in Baldur's Gate and joined the Crimson Fist, where he intended to further his training on his own and forge his own path as a paladin of conquest.
Unfortunately for Isilud, he was slain during a Crimson Fist operation investigating cultist activity within Baldur's gate. However, a wealthy noble who had been rescued by Isilud and his comrades moments before offered to pay to have the young knight resurrected in thanks for saving his life. Isilud's comrades agreed and handed his body over to the noble, who left with it while the party delved further into the cultist hideout. As it happens, though, the supposed noble was no noble at all, rather he was a doppleganger in the service of another faction operating in Baldur's Gate, one investigating the cultists, the crimson fists, and Isilud's companions for their own aims. When the now revived "Isilud" returned to the party later in the dungeon, none noticed or commented on his hazy memories, less refined combat style, and markedly different behavior - for instance deliberately leaving allies exposed to protect himself in combat rather than always charging into the fore, eager to claim all glory for himself. After all, it had been quite a blow to the head that slew him, and death & resurrection will instill a healthy respect for one's own mortality in anyone, right?
And so it is that my current paladin entered the game: "Isilud Tengille", a.k.a Dietrich the Pale, a changeling raised by the fallen paladin and outlaw mercenary Goffard Gaffgarion, after finding the child in a village his mercenary band had pillaged and burned. Goffard trained Dietrich as a squire, and put Dietrich's shape-changing abilities to good use. In time, they came to view each other as father and son. And when Goffard's outlaw band was eventually cornered, surrounded, and wiped out by a rival mercenary company, Goffard fought to the death to buy Dietrich time to escape, probably the first and last selfless act performed by Goffard since he fell as a paladin. From there Dietrich went on to work by himself, offering his services as a mercenary soldier, bodyguard, and spy to various organizations in Faerun, until the day one of them sent him to investigate some cultist activity in Baldur's gate. His cover was blown and he was captured, only for a group working for the Crimson Fist to find and rescued him. When one of the group was killed in the process, Dietrich claimed he could have the young man revived, only to instead take his place, furthering his investigation of the cult and infiltrating the Crimson Fist as well.
Unlike the real Isilud, who at least believed himself to be a devout follower of Helm, Dietrich worships the concept of battle itself, manifested as a broken sword that whispers to him in his dreams, and where Isilud had intended to advance as a single classed paladin of conquest, Dietrich will in time multiclass as a hexblade warlock and follow in his father's footsteps as a paladin of treachery. If the DM allows it, which he might not as oath of treachery is abandoned playtest content, in which case Dietrich will either go conquest or oathbreaker, or maybe just advance as hexblade or multi out into shadow sorcerer or whisper bard. Lots of advancement options for cha primaries, and Dietrich is new enough that I have't fully decided on a build yet.
Not mine, one of the paladin characters that plays in one of my games.
Henenu Bakafre, human paladin oath of conquest. He wields a greatsword and is level 16, he destroys everything in combat. We're playing in Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage and we're almost done. He is lawful good, he is a leader to his party, he crushes his enemies but is great to his friends. He owns a major corporation in Waterdeep, killed Xanathar twice (long story), destroyed Cassalanter Manor, retrieved 500,000 gold pieces for Waterdeep, owns a tavern, has made beggars into rich people, and has become very well known throughout the Sword Coast, destroyed Doomvault, killed Tarul Var and Kazit Gul, two thayan liches, and became the Chosen of Torm.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Not mine, one of the paladin characters that plays in one of my games.
Henenu Bakafre, human paladin oath of conquest. He wields a greatsword and is level 16, he destroys everything in combat. We're playing in Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage and we're almost done. He is lawful good, he is a leader to his party, he crushes his enemies but is great to his friends. He owns a major corporation in Waterdeep, killed Xanathar twice (long story), destroyed Cassalanter Manor, retrieved 500,000 gold pieces for Waterdeep, owns a tavern, has made beggars into rich people, and has become very well known throughout the Sword Coast, destroyed Doomvault, killed Tarul Var and Kazit Gul, two thayan liches, and became the Chosen of Torm.
Yup...that sounds like a Conquest Paladin.
Yours sounds much nicer than the one in my group...Henenu used their power to improve things and earn prestige.
Our paladin Markus lost his mind in the jungles of Chult and then became a major antagonist in our next camapign.
He started lopping off heads of people who committed even minor crimes, and then stuffed them in a sack...and became the puppet of an otherwordly evil from the Far Realm.
Conquest paladins make great friends...and terrifying enemies.
My Conquest Paladin is trying to ride the line. Trying desperately to earn the respect he was always denied growing up through martial prowess. He is a teifling, born to a dwarven family. Because of his appearance they refused to teach him proper crafting, thinking him clearly unfit. So he got into fight after fight, until he became known for how well he fought. Now that he has received recognition for how well he fights he will bring honor and glory to his clan, and like others before him he shall win glory in the name of Morridan!
Not mine, one of the paladin characters that plays in one of my games.
Henenu Bakafre, human paladin oath of conquest. He wields a greatsword and is level 16, he destroys everything in combat. We're playing in Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage and we're almost done. He is lawful good, he is a leader to his party, he crushes his enemies but is great to his friends. He owns a major corporation in Waterdeep, killed Xanathar twice (long story), destroyed Cassalanter Manor, retrieved 500,000 gold pieces for Waterdeep, owns a tavern, has made beggars into rich people, and has become very well known throughout the Sword Coast, destroyed Doomvault, killed Tarul Var and Kazit Gul, two thayan liches, and became the Chosen of Torm.
Yup...that sounds like a Conquest Paladin.
Yours sounds much nicer than the one in my group...Henenu used their power to improve things and earn prestige.
Our paladin Markus lost his mind in the jungles of Chult and then became a major antagonist in our next camapign.
He started lopping off heads of people who committed even minor crimes, and then stuffed them in a sack...and became the puppet of an otherwordly evil from the Far Realm.
Conquest paladins make great friends...and terrifying enemies.
In one game, just because one goblin insulted him, he started a massive battle with 50 other goblins, taking all the hits, killing them all, that one battle took 6 hours. Everyone hated that he did that, it was so hard to run.
His character wields a dragon slayer greatsword named Torment Jr., and a mind-piercing pistol named Psych. He wears +1 plate armor, and the rest of the party has consisted of the following:
1. Jasper Copperkettel, stout halfling level 11 swashbuckler rogue. He dual wields sunblades (don't ask me how he got them), and is known as Shadow Slayer (he is very good at killing shadows and shadow assassins). He's died twice, first on level 2 of undermountain, took 2 fireballs to the face when he was 7th level, died, they kept his body in their portable hole forever until they raised him from the dead. He later died in Doomvault, had his soul trapped there and he had to be resurrected with the help of a necromancer.
2. Lia Liadon, high elf level 14 diviner wizard. She loves electricity, and uses lightning bolt in any circumstance that needs it. She wields a Staff of Power, and has a ring of force resistance (just in case she needs to break her Staff of Power), and has a +1 arcane focus. She uses portent to make enemies fail saves, and if she ever gets a natural 20, she gives that to Henenu to smite the BBEG.
3. Erdan Liadon, shadar-kai level 13 kensei monk, uncle of Lia Liadon. He uses a longsword to slash weak enemies to bits and a long bow to snipe anyone within 600 ft. He's died 3 times, first disintegrated by Xanathar and was resurrected by a cleric who owed them a favor, next killed by an aboleth in Undermountain, the wizard cast gentle repose on him and the next day the paladin revived him, and finally had its brain devoured by an intellect devourer, and fought against the party for a few sessions until they were able to kill the intellect devourer and raise him from the dead. He's alive now, but retired and is the proprietor of the party's tavern.
4. Ohr Aurelius, half-orc level 6 battlemaster fighter. He used a maul in battle to trip foes, push them back, and disarm them. He adventured with the characters until level 2 of Undermountain, where the same wizard that killed Jasper the first time killed him with the same fireball that killed Jasper. The characters didn't want to bring him back, so he remained dead.
5. Alberich Trollbleeder, bronze dwarf level 14 artificer (XP to level 3's version.) Alberich is a character. He is insane, has 3 different types of indefinite madness, has an invisible elf woman friend, thinks he is more beautiful, smart, strong, fast, larger, and better than everyone else. He also is obsessed with cutting off parts of his body and replacing them with metal (essentially trying to turn himself into a robot). He has a metal left hand, metal right arm, 2 metal eyes, metal nose, a metal ear, metal hairs he's implanted into his scalp and beard, metal left foot, metal right foot's big to middle toes, metal chest, metal stomach, metal lungs, and gold-infused blood. His left hand gives him sorcerer spells that he can cast 3 times each day, his right hand has a chain through it that has a spool of chain in his stomach. He wields his Dwarven Thrower, named Blud, that his hand detaches from the rest of his arm, with a chain following behind it, which he electrocutes his targets at long range through. He owns a blacksmith shop that he runs with his family (not children or wife, they "died" in an orc raid, his nephew is the one who "owns" it). Alberich has never died, but has come close to completely going mad and turning himself into a construct that wants to kill everyone. He is obsessed with not dying, all his loved ones have died.
This is everyone that Henenu has gotten to follow him. It is impressive to be able to get an insane metal dwarf, an arrogant halfling rogue, a high elf wizard (high elves are known for their haughtiness), and a shadar-kai monk. This is one of our best campaigns we've done so far, and the only two characters that have been there the whole time are Henenu and Alberich, two of my favorite personalities that I've ever seen roleplayed before.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
My Paladin is Illyana Sunburst, an Oath of the Ancients Eladrin (Summer mostly). She is a DEX Paladin using the Double-Bladed Scimitar and the Revenant Blade feat. She wears a set of Mithral Plate that covers her entire body from the neck down. The armor looks a bit like this: https://images.app.goo.gl/VHfgbzPfQta5a2eu8 with her hair in the same style but is bright yellow with a bit of red at the roots.
She grew up in the Feywild learning about the balance needed between light and dark, good and evil. Therefor the Feywild also has its places of light and places of darkness. As it should be. However the balance in the Material Plane seems to be tipping towards the darkness a little too much, sometimes spilling over into the Feywild as well. She has been tasked with keeping it in check, which she performs with great determination. She doesn't care about "minor" squabbles between humanoids (up to murder, because killing is very natural in nature) because she knows a balance needs to exist but she will hunt down evil that intends to (magically) corrupt a population or piece of land.
My Paladin is Imina Darklight. She is a Fallen Aasimar. She grew up a normal life not in poverty but not much far off it but showed talent in magic and as a very strict person, as she become an Adult she went to the Paladin Order of Iomedae. (Oath of Heroism - Lawful Neutral/Good)
Iomedae is the Sun Goddess of Fire,Honesty,War and Order, she doesnt tolerate any evil beings in the World and her entiry purpose is to exterminate anything that stains the world. There are only very few applicants for her Order because it requires sometimes hard Decisions to place Law and Order over Good. However when Imina wanted to make her Pledge to fight for her, there was sign. Iomedae didnt accept her. Later Imina found out this was because she had some natural Talent for Shadowmagic (Sorcerer, Shadow Ancestry) that she didnt knew about.
But Imina never doubted the decision of the Goddess Iomedae. So, without an Oath but her natural Powers she is set to fight Evil. Just in the Way of the Order she wanted to join, even if the Goddess herself send her away she will still try to live up to her ideals.
(She is a Dexchar, no heavy armor because no money, she prays to Iomedae even though she knows the Goddess hates her because she is not "pure", and tries to act as a proper Paladin should. She refuses to use Stealth, Lying or any type of deception or trap. She cant Use Paladin Spells or features that are not explainable by her Shadowmagic or physical possibilities.
My Paladin of Devotion(yes I'm bad with city names)
Michael of the Lights Hammer I actually had a fairly simple life, growing up in Goldshire my father the blacksmith for the guards, my mother a seamstress. However the guards always had grand tales of adventure and war. So when I was just old enough, and the recruiters came looking for men- ha if only I was a man yet. But I volunteered all to easy for the Stormwind front. I passed basic easily and was sent off to battle. We were fighting a demonic cult of orcs who convinced a mighty chieftain to join their cause. I grew in rank rather quickly due to my superiors meeting their makers quickly as well. However with my guidance we got within striking distance to Go'el, rumored dreadlord. Cut off from retreat and surrounded we were dead men. Not all was lost, we were able to save a paladin and her squad from a demons camp. Her having the rank, she lead us to the gates of Go'el. The battle was a slaughter loosing 80% of the company in the final push, but finally the great demon Go'el found my blade, unfortunately my blade was no match. Just as Go'el was about to consume my soul I saw a blurry light blocking his advancement. As Go'el fell to her might, I felt my body being dragged away as the avenging armies came swarming on us. I woke up several weeks later. The paladin had moved on to her next mission being the only other survivor and being the only one to know how we got out of their other then she dragged my lifeless body across miles of hostile lands. She left my superiors of a what I believe to be an exaggerated tale about how I went toe to toe with the demon Go'el. Fighting valiantly and courageously, she was trained at the temple of Palor. So I requested to be released to her order and after a few years of training I seek to raise an army to help me fight by my side and vanquish the demons of this world. My unaware, soon to be goblin squire, Jackso will be the first of many in my army of Burning Light.
I see you have some Warcraft universe elements in your backstory (Goldshire, Stormwind). Did you know that Go'el is the actual birthname of the Orc Warchief Thrall, not a dreadlord. Maybe you could take one from this list https://wow.gamepedia.com/Nathrezim#Notable for inspiration.
Yeah I am terrible with making up names, I went with Go'el as the Dreadlord to show that this is not World of Warcraft. I could had gone with Magtherium, however then everyone would just assume i am from Azeroth
I have a Dragonborn Gold Paladin to the church of Bahamut named Valdenar who was told since birth he was a descendant of Bahamut sworn to fight the Dragon Cultists of Tiamat. However upon completing his Training Valdenar received a vision from Bahamut that told him he was in fact a reincarnated Paladin of Bahamut's named Valdenar Octi, history had another name for them The Platinum Knight of Bahamut (real paladin of Bahamut in d&d lore he was a Chondathan human who did the Rite of Rebirth and became a gold dragonborn). So my character is trying to live up to this past life of his and hopes to surpass the legend his past life left before him. (For the reincarnation concept let's say Bahamut knew Valdenar's work wasn't done so I blessed his soul to continue to reincarnate until the cult of Tiamat was destroyed for good)
Bit of a long story but I play a teifling vengeance paladin with the urchin background. This gave him a pet mouse in his starting equipment. After a somewhat elaborate side quest, my pet mouse was killed and reborn by an ancient silver dragon. And by 'reborn', I mean she was transformed into a 3 foot tall humanoid mouse knight that serves as my squire. Having discussed it with the DM, I'm using her as a secondary PC for when my 'loner' paladin goes off on his own.
So I'm running her as a lightfoot halfling paladin of devotion 5/ silver draconic sorcerer 2. I'm planning on leaving the paladin levels at 5 and just going sorcerer for the rest. The whole idea will be that she's trying to emulate the tiefling who she adores but will gradually have to realise he's not as noble as she's always believed. She's very unsure of herself, particularly in social situations but has an almost anime energy level in combat.
Last session we were fighting wraiths and I used shape water on a flask of holy water to form a 'holy ice rapier'.
I think I'm enjoying playing her more than the tiefling..
Allow me to introduce to you to a great champion for his god. A tortle of great strength and fully devoted to his god Yortle, the god of the Tortles, L. He may not know the rest of his name but he is loyal to his friends atop his magical steed K named after his cleric friend Kiki.
I was inspired yesterday by this piece of Bob Kehl's artwork and came up with the following (which still needs a little polish and editing for consistency of voice):
Jutta Stonesinger, Dwarvish Oath of the Ancients Paladin
As the only child in a family of stonecutters, I learned to work stone and to fight from an early age. I liked both, and worked hard to hone my skill and make my parents proud. I questioned travelers returning to town about the sights they'd seen, and dreamed of someday traveling the world to see the greatest creations of other artisans. I loved to create beautiful patterns in stone and soon began to specialise in decorative stonework. I spent hours studying the patterns of growing things, learning to recreate their lines in solid stone.
On one trip into the forest I stumbled across three goblins tormenting a delicate little pixie that was caught in a snare. I killed them -- barely -- but I was badly hurt in the process. I freed the pixie, which flew off in a burst of sparks, but I was too weak to stand and collapsed under a tree, falling into a deep sleep.
When I awoke it was dark and a dazzlingly beautiful elf maiden cloaked in bright light stood before me. "I am the Queen of Light[1]. Thank you for saving my little one," she said, in a voice so musical it brought tears to my eyes at its beauty. "I shall grant you a boon." She placed her soft white hands on my wounds and I felt the light of her fey magic burn like fire through my veins before I once again fell unconscious.When I awoke it was dawn and I was unhurt and refreshed, the light still pulsing in my blood. I can still feel it to this day, and have found that I can also understand and speak Sylvan.
I quickly realised that I had a new purpose: to defend beauty and share the light and life I was granted with those who need it. My parents don't understand my decision to leave home, but they'll come around eventually. After all, I am their only child, and it's natural that they want me to carry on the family line. There's only one problem with that: I don't go for men.
Background: Guild Artisan (Mason's Tools)
Personality Traits: Relentlessly cheerful and can find a silver lining to any cloud, no matter how unlikely.
Ideals: Beauty. That which is beautiful brings joy to people's hearts, so the arts must be nurtured and protected.
Bonds: Where there is good, beauty, love, and laughter in the world, I will stand against the wickedness that would swallow it. Where life flourishes, I will stand against the forces that would render it barren. (Stolen directly from the Oath of the Ancients, because why not?)
Flaws: Exclusively attracted to elf maidens, with whom she is terminally awkward.
This is my current Paladin, a Levistus Tiefling named Rev!
I was born Kifre Greyblade, but say that name and you’re dead. You can call me Reverence. Or better yet, call me Rev.
I suppose my story begins on the unfortunate day of my birth. I was born in a normal house, in a normal town, to normal human parents with two normal human sons. Everything was blissfully mundane...until the day I popped out with two little horns and a tail.
There was no knowledge of infernal blood on either side. My father blamed my mother. My mother blamed my father. The town blamed them both.
My entrance to this world can best be likened to a blanket of misfortune laid upon my family. News of the tiefling child spread fast in our city of Darromar, and none were too happy to hear of my arrival. As I grew, our fortunes lessened. My father’s tavern began to sit empty for days. Less and less people seemed to need my mother for tailoring. My eldest brother was denied squiredom.
It wasn’t so bad, I guess, being outcasted in your own home. As time went on I grew used to the stares. It didn’t bother me as much when mothers hugged their children closer as I passed, or shopkeepers gave me distrustful looks as I entered their doors. I even learned to ignore the hint of fear in my father’s eyes each time he looked upon my little blue face. But still, no matter how old I grew, a part of me still longed for that which I had been missing my whole life. A sense of belonging. A true family.
And then I found them. The Gutter Guardians, they called themselves. When I joined their ranks, they were a small militia of about ten, operating from a headquarters beneath the Drinking Dragon. I was barely thirteen, but they took me in anyway. They fed me, trained me, educated me, accepted me. For the first time in my short life, I was judged on my character, not my heritage. It didn’t matter if I had horns as long as I could swing a sword.
The Gutter Guardians’ intentions were justifiable at first. We targeted the rich, the nobles, the corrupt salesmen. Our purpose was to redistribute the wealth of the city; to take from those who had too much and give to those with none. To level the playing field, if you will.
But soon our members began to fall into the hands of the greed in which we originally sought to destroy. I think the temptation was just too much for some.
Our numbers grew rapidly over the next five years, while our moral code diminished. We took all instead of some. We kept the wealth for ourselves. Some, I think, just liked the violence. We fought, we stole, we murdered. We did things in retrospect that I am not proud of, but I was young and impressionable. I had grown close with my comrades. They had become my family- I would have done anything for them. I would have died for them. In fact, I did.
You see, things got out of hand. Our numbers grew so rapidly we couldn’t properly train our newcomers. They were handed a weapon and told to “get out there and take back what is ours!”. It made us reckless; messy. The city watch caught on.
They came for us in the middle of the night. We were at a disadvantage- about seven had been killed before the majority of us had even had time to rub the sleep from our eyes. I rose from my cot just as a pair of guards were closing in on two of our newer members. They couldn’t have been more than eight, maybe nine. They were kids off the street, training in exchange for wardship. They were just kids, looking for a steady meal; looking for a place to belong...like I had once been. They were not responsible for the mistakes we had made. So I stepped in front of them.
The guards threatened to cut me down with them if I didn’t move. I’m surprised they even humored me that much- I was weaponless, defenseless, and bound to fall to them or one of their own soon enough. I like to think my hellsent good looks intimidated them for a moment. But deep inside, I knew it was hopeless. My two tiny blue fists against their chainmail?
I turned to the kids and told them to run. “I’ll buy you some time!” I shouted- I can remember their faces, white as alabaster, eyes wide in fright. Those faces come to me in my dreams still. I turned from them and took my stance. It was about three seconds later I felt the slash of a greatsword along my chest.
And that was it. Blackness. The empty void.
Until it wasn’t empty anymore. There was a blinding light, and suddenly a man cast in ethereal golden light appeared before me. My first thought was of the children, but the man smiled knowingly, and replied without me ever needing to speak: “They escaped. Your sacrifice granted them safety, tiefling.”
I can’t tell you the details of what transpired in this suspension between worlds. That which occured is deeply personal to me, but I will offer you the abridged version.
The man who appeared before me revealed himself to be Torm, The True and The Loyal Fury, the God of duty, righteousness, loyalty and law. He knew of my true intentions with the militia and the desire to do right that subsisted within my heart; the same heart that pumped the blood of Levistus. He had seen my sacrifice and chosen to resurrect me so that I may uphold his justice and stand with the light against the darkness: against those plagued by rapacity, greed, selfishness and dishonor, and against all forces of evil wherever they may lurk.
I had never considered myself to be a woman of worship before this day. It seemed contradictory to me, given the demon blood and all. An alatreist I suppose you could have called me. But the feeling I had when I awoke...it was like I had been reborn. My head seemed clearer. The world seemed brighter. For the first time, it felt as though my eyes had opened to the possibility of true happiness. How could I deny my calling, when it had granted me this new lease on life?
And so I returned to the rubble that was once the headquarters I called my home, gathered what few belongings I could salvage, and set off on this new life. I walked a great length through the Spires of Mir, the time of which I spent with a head full of doubts and an internal diametric conundrum. Quite literally, an angel and devil on my shoulders.
“But what do you owe them? Nothing! You desire to protect the same people who mistreated you, who oppressed you, who treated you with such a disregard for basic decency?” “But you were chosen! Torm has saved you from eternal damnation for a purpose!” “And who’s this Torm guy anyway? Since when do you take orders from big glowing men in the sky?” Etc...etc...
I wish I could say that coming upon Barakmordin and my subsequent training with the paladin sector which made base there had cleansed my head of doubts, but I still struggle with my uncertainties each and every day. Even now I cannot say that I understand why I, a tiefling girl of humble birth whose blood is tainted with that of the Rogue Archdevil Levistus, was chosen for this holy quest.
Nevertheless, I wear the mark of Torm adorned on my shield, and I travel the lands with the knowledge that each wrong I right, the malice in my own heart dwindles more and more.
I didn’t ask for this. But I’m going to make damn sure I do well by it.
(Except, yanno, remove the glowy sorcerer hands and replace it with a giant shield)
here is my character's backstory. her name is Kelsy brighttrack and its told from a first-person perspective
born in the town of wyverndale, I trained for combat since the moment I was old enough to handle a sword. I knew I had to protect my friends and family and will lay down my life to protect them. being from wyverndale, we all learn to speak to wyverns and can even persuade them to let us ride them. I was born into the middle-class family of the brighttracks. i grew up to have a fairly good life until our town was attacked by the dark knight. he killed my father and i have sworn myself to get revenge. a few months after the attack, i joined up with the wyvrendale guard to protect my city. i was giving my halberd, "law bringer," and a new wyvren construct named trakat.
The forest over the black hill had just started to regrow after the Great Fire was quelled, and already humans saw the new clearing as an easy place to establish a trade town.
Local druids argued that the forest was home to an ancient god that would not allow such things. They did not want to live in this place, as once the trees came back, so would the god. A knight with much experience in the matter came forth to tell their leader that even he would not collect tax on certain days due to the God being active in this area.
Their lord insulted the knight, and spat at the druid who continued to insist that some ancient god was going to come out the trees and gore them to death if they didn't leave. The druid was furious and pretended to cast a dark spell using prestidigitation to glow his eyes and enhance his voice. Unfortunately the human took it seriously and attacked him.
The battle began immediately once the Lord's blade slammed into the druid's chest.
The knight's men charged at the humans, immediately being slaughtered by the superior numbers. The druids tried to augment the soldiers as best they could, even joining the fray with strange magics and animal companions. Metal flashed between blue and green streaks of magical energy surging across the field.
Towards the end of the battle, the last druid was slain, and the knight was surrounded by the last group of the humans. As they charged him, time froze. He breathed air so fresh he swore it was blown from the winds into his lungs for him alone. He saw colors the likes of which no painter could capture. He heard the cries of battle so sharp it was as if all was silent before each individual sound...
...And then it was over.
The humans were dead, and the forest was allowed to live.
Make no mistake, Baymen served that Ancient Tree God, and it says you can kill people who attack you. It also says you can tell people not to go there. The god wants only the people who absolutely insist on going in regardless of being warned, even though they have no business being there.
My Paladin is Lawrence Meinseney, a human who will swear the Oath of the Crown. Lawrence is the youngest son of a baron and has chosen knighthood since he has no real inheritance coming to him beyond a good sized chunk of gold. He tries to be as good as his nobility should, but a youth and teenage years full of using his family name to get what he wants has left him with a taste for both fine and carnal pleasures which really goes against the ideals of his class.
My Previous Paladin, Isilud Tengille, was the knightly son of a lesser human noble in Baldur's Gate. His father, Folmarv, made his name and fortune as a military captain with ties to the Crimson Fist before going on to work closely with the Church of Helm. While Folmarv was pleased with the material rewards of his life of violence, in his semi-retirement he grew resentful of the grim reputation that followed him, and the disrespect that earned him from his peers within the church. As such, he raised Isilud to be a 'champion of the people', drilled him in martial combat from a young age, filled his head with talk of 'chivalry' and stories of heroic knights and the fawning public who adored them, and paid the church of Helm a small fortune to have him trained as a paladin. Though Isilud took to martial and even divine skills with aplomb, his privileged upbringing had instilled in him a sense of entitlement - eager to fight to defend the 'lesser classes', but always expecting payment in the adulation, praise, and deference of those he "served". The Paladins of Helm found this attitude unbecoming, and all refused to take him on as a squire to complete his training. So instead Isilud returned to his father in Baldur's Gate and joined the Crimson Fist, where he intended to further his training on his own and forge his own path as a paladin of conquest.
Unfortunately for Isilud, he was slain during a Crimson Fist operation investigating cultist activity within Baldur's gate. However, a wealthy noble who had been rescued by Isilud and his comrades moments before offered to pay to have the young knight resurrected in thanks for saving his life. Isilud's comrades agreed and handed his body over to the noble, who left with it while the party delved further into the cultist hideout. As it happens, though, the supposed noble was no noble at all, rather he was a doppleganger in the service of another faction operating in Baldur's Gate, one investigating the cultists, the crimson fists, and Isilud's companions for their own aims. When the now revived "Isilud" returned to the party later in the dungeon, none noticed or commented on his hazy memories, less refined combat style, and markedly different behavior - for instance deliberately leaving allies exposed to protect himself in combat rather than always charging into the fore, eager to claim all glory for himself. After all, it had been quite a blow to the head that slew him, and death & resurrection will instill a healthy respect for one's own mortality in anyone, right?
And so it is that my current paladin entered the game: "Isilud Tengille", a.k.a Dietrich the Pale, a changeling raised by the fallen paladin and outlaw mercenary Goffard Gaffgarion, after finding the child in a village his mercenary band had pillaged and burned. Goffard trained Dietrich as a squire, and put Dietrich's shape-changing abilities to good use. In time, they came to view each other as father and son. And when Goffard's outlaw band was eventually cornered, surrounded, and wiped out by a rival mercenary company, Goffard fought to the death to buy Dietrich time to escape, probably the first and last selfless act performed by Goffard since he fell as a paladin. From there Dietrich went on to work by himself, offering his services as a mercenary soldier, bodyguard, and spy to various organizations in Faerun, until the day one of them sent him to investigate some cultist activity in Baldur's gate. His cover was blown and he was captured, only for a group working for the Crimson Fist to find and rescued him. When one of the group was killed in the process, Dietrich claimed he could have the young man revived, only to instead take his place, furthering his investigation of the cult and infiltrating the Crimson Fist as well.
Unlike the real Isilud, who at least believed himself to be a devout follower of Helm, Dietrich worships the concept of battle itself, manifested as a broken sword that whispers to him in his dreams, and where Isilud had intended to advance as a single classed paladin of conquest, Dietrich will in time multiclass as a hexblade warlock and follow in his father's footsteps as a paladin of treachery. If the DM allows it, which he might not as oath of treachery is abandoned playtest content, in which case Dietrich will either go conquest or oathbreaker, or maybe just advance as hexblade or multi out into shadow sorcerer or whisper bard. Lots of advancement options for cha primaries, and Dietrich is new enough that I have't fully decided on a build yet.
Not mine, one of the paladin characters that plays in one of my games.
Henenu Bakafre, human paladin oath of conquest. He wields a greatsword and is level 16, he destroys everything in combat. We're playing in Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage and we're almost done. He is lawful good, he is a leader to his party, he crushes his enemies but is great to his friends. He owns a major corporation in Waterdeep, killed Xanathar twice (long story), destroyed Cassalanter Manor, retrieved 500,000 gold pieces for Waterdeep, owns a tavern, has made beggars into rich people, and has become very well known throughout the Sword Coast, destroyed Doomvault, killed Tarul Var and Kazit Gul, two thayan liches, and became the Chosen of Torm.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Yup...that sounds like a Conquest Paladin.
Yours sounds much nicer than the one in my group...Henenu used their power to improve things and earn prestige.
Our paladin Markus lost his mind in the jungles of Chult and then became a major antagonist in our next camapign.
He started lopping off heads of people who committed even minor crimes, and then stuffed them in a sack...and became the puppet of an otherwordly evil from the Far Realm.
Conquest paladins make great friends...and terrifying enemies.
My Conquest Paladin is trying to ride the line. Trying desperately to earn the respect he was always denied growing up through martial prowess. He is a teifling, born to a dwarven family. Because of his appearance they refused to teach him proper crafting, thinking him clearly unfit. So he got into fight after fight, until he became known for how well he fought. Now that he has received recognition for how well he fights he will bring honor and glory to his clan, and like others before him he shall win glory in the name of Morridan!
In one game, just because one goblin insulted him, he started a massive battle with 50 other goblins, taking all the hits, killing them all, that one battle took 6 hours. Everyone hated that he did that, it was so hard to run.
His character wields a dragon slayer greatsword named Torment Jr., and a mind-piercing pistol named Psych. He wears +1 plate armor, and the rest of the party has consisted of the following:
1. Jasper Copperkettel, stout halfling level 11 swashbuckler rogue. He dual wields sunblades (don't ask me how he got them), and is known as Shadow Slayer (he is very good at killing shadows and shadow assassins). He's died twice, first on level 2 of undermountain, took 2 fireballs to the face when he was 7th level, died, they kept his body in their portable hole forever until they raised him from the dead. He later died in Doomvault, had his soul trapped there and he had to be resurrected with the help of a necromancer.
2. Lia Liadon, high elf level 14 diviner wizard. She loves electricity, and uses lightning bolt in any circumstance that needs it. She wields a Staff of Power, and has a ring of force resistance (just in case she needs to break her Staff of Power), and has a +1 arcane focus. She uses portent to make enemies fail saves, and if she ever gets a natural 20, she gives that to Henenu to smite the BBEG.
3. Erdan Liadon, shadar-kai level 13 kensei monk, uncle of Lia Liadon. He uses a longsword to slash weak enemies to bits and a long bow to snipe anyone within 600 ft. He's died 3 times, first disintegrated by Xanathar and was resurrected by a cleric who owed them a favor, next killed by an aboleth in Undermountain, the wizard cast gentle repose on him and the next day the paladin revived him, and finally had its brain devoured by an intellect devourer, and fought against the party for a few sessions until they were able to kill the intellect devourer and raise him from the dead. He's alive now, but retired and is the proprietor of the party's tavern.
4. Ohr Aurelius, half-orc level 6 battlemaster fighter. He used a maul in battle to trip foes, push them back, and disarm them. He adventured with the characters until level 2 of Undermountain, where the same wizard that killed Jasper the first time killed him with the same fireball that killed Jasper. The characters didn't want to bring him back, so he remained dead.
5. Alberich Trollbleeder, bronze dwarf level 14 artificer (XP to level 3's version.) Alberich is a character. He is insane, has 3 different types of indefinite madness, has an invisible elf woman friend, thinks he is more beautiful, smart, strong, fast, larger, and better than everyone else. He also is obsessed with cutting off parts of his body and replacing them with metal (essentially trying to turn himself into a robot). He has a metal left hand, metal right arm, 2 metal eyes, metal nose, a metal ear, metal hairs he's implanted into his scalp and beard, metal left foot, metal right foot's big to middle toes, metal chest, metal stomach, metal lungs, and gold-infused blood. His left hand gives him sorcerer spells that he can cast 3 times each day, his right hand has a chain through it that has a spool of chain in his stomach. He wields his Dwarven Thrower, named Blud, that his hand detaches from the rest of his arm, with a chain following behind it, which he electrocutes his targets at long range through. He owns a blacksmith shop that he runs with his family (not children or wife, they "died" in an orc raid, his nephew is the one who "owns" it). Alberich has never died, but has come close to completely going mad and turning himself into a construct that wants to kill everyone. He is obsessed with not dying, all his loved ones have died.
This is everyone that Henenu has gotten to follow him. It is impressive to be able to get an insane metal dwarf, an arrogant halfling rogue, a high elf wizard (high elves are known for their haughtiness), and a shadar-kai monk. This is one of our best campaigns we've done so far, and the only two characters that have been there the whole time are Henenu and Alberich, two of my favorite personalities that I've ever seen roleplayed before.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
My Paladin is Illyana Sunburst, an Oath of the Ancients Eladrin (Summer mostly). She is a DEX Paladin using the Double-Bladed Scimitar and the Revenant Blade feat. She wears a set of Mithral Plate that covers her entire body from the neck down. The armor looks a bit like this: https://images.app.goo.gl/VHfgbzPfQta5a2eu8 with her hair in the same style but is bright yellow with a bit of red at the roots.
She grew up in the Feywild learning about the balance needed between light and dark, good and evil. Therefor the Feywild also has its places of light and places of darkness. As it should be. However the balance in the Material Plane seems to be tipping towards the darkness a little too much, sometimes spilling over into the Feywild as well. She has been tasked with keeping it in check, which she performs with great determination. She doesn't care about "minor" squabbles between humanoids (up to murder, because killing is very natural in nature) because she knows a balance needs to exist but she will hunt down evil that intends to (magically) corrupt a population or piece of land.
My Paladin is Imina Darklight. She is a Fallen Aasimar. She grew up a normal life not in poverty but not much far off it but showed talent in magic and as a very strict person, as she become an Adult she went to the Paladin Order of Iomedae. (Oath of Heroism - Lawful Neutral/Good)
Iomedae is the Sun Goddess of Fire,Honesty,War and Order, she doesnt tolerate any evil beings in the World and her entiry purpose is to exterminate anything that stains the world. There are only very few applicants for her Order because it requires sometimes hard Decisions to place Law and Order over Good. However when Imina wanted to make her Pledge to fight for her, there was sign. Iomedae didnt accept her. Later Imina found out this was because she had some natural Talent for Shadowmagic (Sorcerer, Shadow Ancestry) that she didnt knew about.
But Imina never doubted the decision of the Goddess Iomedae. So, without an Oath but her natural Powers she is set to fight Evil. Just in the Way of the Order she wanted to join, even if the Goddess herself send her away she will still try to live up to her ideals.
(She is a Dexchar, no heavy armor because no money, she prays to Iomedae even though she knows the Goddess hates her because she is not "pure", and tries to act as a proper Paladin should. She refuses to use Stealth, Lying or any type of deception or trap. She cant Use Paladin Spells or features that are not explainable by her Shadowmagic or physical possibilities.
3Lv Paladin, 1 Lv Shadow Sorcerer)
My Paladin of Devotion(yes I'm bad with city names)
Michael of the Lights Hammer I actually had a fairly simple life, growing up in Goldshire my father the blacksmith for the guards, my mother a seamstress. However the guards always had grand tales of adventure and war. So when I was just old enough, and the recruiters came looking for men- ha if only I was a man yet. But I volunteered all to easy for the Stormwind front. I passed basic easily and was sent off to battle. We were fighting a demonic cult of orcs who convinced a mighty chieftain to join their cause. I grew in rank rather quickly due to my superiors meeting their makers quickly as well. However with my guidance we got within striking distance to Go'el, rumored dreadlord. Cut off from retreat and surrounded we were dead men. Not all was lost, we were able to save a paladin and her squad from a demons camp. Her having the rank, she lead us to the gates of Go'el. The battle was a slaughter loosing 80% of the company in the final push, but finally the great demon Go'el found my blade, unfortunately my blade was no match. Just as Go'el was about to consume my soul I saw a blurry light blocking his advancement. As Go'el fell to her might, I felt my body being dragged away as the avenging armies came swarming on us. I woke up several weeks later. The paladin had moved on to her next mission being the only other survivor and being the only one to know how we got out of their other then she dragged my lifeless body across miles of hostile lands. She left my superiors of a what I believe to be an exaggerated tale about how I went toe to toe with the demon Go'el. Fighting valiantly and courageously, she was trained at the temple of Palor. So I requested to be released to her order and after a few years of training I seek to raise an army to help me fight by my side and vanquish the demons of this world. My unaware, soon to be goblin squire, Jackso will be the first of many in my army of Burning Light.
I see you have some Warcraft universe elements in your backstory (Goldshire, Stormwind). Did you know that Go'el is the actual birthname of the Orc Warchief Thrall, not a dreadlord. Maybe you could take one from this list https://wow.gamepedia.com/Nathrezim#Notable for inspiration.
Yeah I am terrible with making up names, I went with Go'el as the Dreadlord to show that this is not World of Warcraft. I could had gone with Magtherium, however then everyone would just assume i am from Azeroth
I have a Dragonborn Gold Paladin to the church of Bahamut named Valdenar who was told since birth he was a descendant of Bahamut sworn to fight the Dragon Cultists of Tiamat. However upon completing his Training Valdenar received a vision from Bahamut that told him he was in fact a reincarnated Paladin of Bahamut's named Valdenar Octi, history had another name for them The Platinum Knight of Bahamut (real paladin of Bahamut in d&d lore he was a Chondathan human who did the Rite of Rebirth and became a gold dragonborn). So my character is trying to live up to this past life of his and hopes to surpass the legend his past life left before him. (For the reincarnation concept let's say Bahamut knew Valdenar's work wasn't done so I blessed his soul to continue to reincarnate until the cult of Tiamat was destroyed for good)
Bit of a long story but I play a teifling vengeance paladin with the urchin background. This gave him a pet mouse in his starting equipment. After a somewhat elaborate side quest, my pet mouse was killed and reborn by an ancient silver dragon. And by 'reborn', I mean she was transformed into a 3 foot tall humanoid mouse knight that serves as my squire. Having discussed it with the DM, I'm using her as a secondary PC for when my 'loner' paladin goes off on his own.
So I'm running her as a lightfoot halfling paladin of devotion 5/ silver draconic sorcerer 2. I'm planning on leaving the paladin levels at 5 and just going sorcerer for the rest. The whole idea will be that she's trying to emulate the tiefling who she adores but will gradually have to realise he's not as noble as she's always believed. She's very unsure of herself, particularly in social situations but has an almost anime energy level in combat.
Last session we were fighting wraiths and I used shape water on a flask of holy water to form a 'holy ice rapier'.
I think I'm enjoying playing her more than the tiefling..
Allow me to introduce to you to a great champion for his god. A tortle of great strength and fully devoted to his god Yortle, the god of the Tortles, L. He may not know the rest of his name but he is loyal to his friends atop his magical steed K named after his cleric friend Kiki.
Do you know the word "kiki" in spanish it means... "do/make sex" ???? :-)
My Ready-to-rock&roll chars:
Dertinus Tristany // Amilcar Barca // Vicenç Sacrarius // Oriol Deulofeu // Grovtuk
I am but the person who made Kiki lives in the Philippines so she may not have known it when she made the character
I was inspired yesterday by this piece of Bob Kehl's artwork and came up with the following (which still needs a little polish and editing for consistency of voice):
Jutta Stonesinger, Dwarvish Oath of the Ancients Paladin
As the only child in a family of stonecutters, I learned to work stone and to fight from an early age. I liked both, and worked hard to hone my skill and make my parents proud. I questioned travelers returning to town about the sights they'd seen, and dreamed of someday traveling the world to see the greatest creations of other artisans. I loved to create beautiful patterns in stone and soon began to specialise in decorative stonework. I spent hours studying the patterns of growing things, learning to recreate their lines in solid stone.
On one trip into the forest I stumbled across three goblins tormenting a delicate little pixie that was caught in a snare. I killed them -- barely -- but I was badly hurt in the process. I freed the pixie, which flew off in a burst of sparks, but I was too weak to stand and collapsed under a tree, falling into a deep sleep.
When I awoke it was dark and a dazzlingly beautiful elf maiden cloaked in bright light stood before me. "I am the Queen of Light[1]. Thank you for saving my little one," she said, in a voice so musical it brought tears to my eyes at its beauty. "I shall grant you a boon." She placed her soft white hands on my wounds and I felt the light of her fey magic burn like fire through my veins before I once again fell unconscious.When I awoke it was dawn and I was unhurt and refreshed, the light still pulsing in my blood. I can still feel it to this day, and have found that I can also understand and speak Sylvan.
I quickly realised that I had a new purpose: to defend beauty and share the light and life I was granted with those who need it. My parents don't understand my decision to leave home, but they'll come around eventually. After all, I am their only child, and it's natural that they want me to carry on the family line. There's only one problem with that: I don't go for men.
Background: Guild Artisan (Mason's Tools)
Personality Traits: Relentlessly cheerful and can find a silver lining to any cloud, no matter how unlikely.
Ideals: Beauty. That which is beautiful brings joy to people's hearts, so the arts must be nurtured and protected.
Bonds: Where there is good, beauty, love, and laughter in the world, I will stand against the wickedness that would swallow it. Where life flourishes, I will stand against the forces that would render it barren. (Stolen directly from the Oath of the Ancients, because why not?)
Flaws: Exclusively attracted to elf maidens, with whom she is terminally awkward.
[1] It's Titania, in case it wasn't obvious.
This is my current Paladin, a Levistus Tiefling named Rev!
I was born Kifre Greyblade, but say that name and you’re dead. You can call me Reverence. Or better yet, call me Rev.
I suppose my story begins on the unfortunate day of my birth. I was born in a normal house, in a normal town, to normal human parents with two normal human sons. Everything was blissfully mundane...until the day I popped out with two little horns and a tail.
There was no knowledge of infernal blood on either side. My father blamed my mother. My mother blamed my father. The town blamed them both.
My entrance to this world can best be likened to a blanket of misfortune laid upon my family. News of the tiefling child spread fast in our city of Darromar, and none were too happy to hear of my arrival. As I grew, our fortunes lessened. My father’s tavern began to sit empty for days. Less and less people seemed to need my mother for tailoring. My eldest brother was denied squiredom.
It wasn’t so bad, I guess, being outcasted in your own home. As time went on I grew used to the stares. It didn’t bother me as much when mothers hugged their children closer as I passed, or shopkeepers gave me distrustful looks as I entered their doors. I even learned to ignore the hint of fear in my father’s eyes each time he looked upon my little blue face. But still, no matter how old I grew, a part of me still longed for that which I had been missing my whole life. A sense of belonging. A true family.
And then I found them. The Gutter Guardians, they called themselves. When I joined their ranks, they were a small militia of about ten, operating from a headquarters beneath the Drinking Dragon. I was barely thirteen, but they took me in anyway. They fed me, trained me, educated me, accepted me. For the first time in my short life, I was judged on my character, not my heritage. It didn’t matter if I had horns as long as I could swing a sword.
The Gutter Guardians’ intentions were justifiable at first. We targeted the rich, the nobles, the corrupt salesmen. Our purpose was to redistribute the wealth of the city; to take from those who had too much and give to those with none. To level the playing field, if you will.
But soon our members began to fall into the hands of the greed in which we originally sought to destroy. I think the temptation was just too much for some.
Our numbers grew rapidly over the next five years, while our moral code diminished. We took all instead of some. We kept the wealth for ourselves. Some, I think, just liked the violence. We fought, we stole, we murdered. We did things in retrospect that I am not proud of, but I was young and impressionable. I had grown close with my comrades. They had become my family- I would have done anything for them. I would have died for them. In fact, I did.
You see, things got out of hand. Our numbers grew so rapidly we couldn’t properly train our newcomers. They were handed a weapon and told to “get out there and take back what is ours!”. It made us reckless; messy. The city watch caught on.
They came for us in the middle of the night. We were at a disadvantage- about seven had been killed before the majority of us had even had time to rub the sleep from our eyes. I rose from my cot just as a pair of guards were closing in on two of our newer members. They couldn’t have been more than eight, maybe nine. They were kids off the street, training in exchange for wardship. They were just kids, looking for a steady meal; looking for a place to belong...like I had once been. They were not responsible for the mistakes we had made. So I stepped in front of them.
The guards threatened to cut me down with them if I didn’t move. I’m surprised they even humored me that much- I was weaponless, defenseless, and bound to fall to them or one of their own soon enough. I like to think my hellsent good looks intimidated them for a moment. But deep inside, I knew it was hopeless. My two tiny blue fists against their chainmail?
I turned to the kids and told them to run. “I’ll buy you some time!” I shouted- I can remember their faces, white as alabaster, eyes wide in fright. Those faces come to me in my dreams still. I turned from them and took my stance. It was about three seconds later I felt the slash of a greatsword along my chest.
And that was it. Blackness. The empty void.
Until it wasn’t empty anymore. There was a blinding light, and suddenly a man cast in ethereal golden light appeared before me. My first thought was of the children, but the man smiled knowingly, and replied without me ever needing to speak: “They escaped. Your sacrifice granted them safety, tiefling.”
I can’t tell you the details of what transpired in this suspension between worlds. That which occured is deeply personal to me, but I will offer you the abridged version.
The man who appeared before me revealed himself to be Torm, The True and The Loyal Fury, the God of duty, righteousness, loyalty and law. He knew of my true intentions with the militia and the desire to do right that subsisted within my heart; the same heart that pumped the blood of Levistus. He had seen my sacrifice and chosen to resurrect me so that I may uphold his justice and stand with the light against the darkness: against those plagued by rapacity, greed, selfishness and dishonor, and against all forces of evil wherever they may lurk.
I had never considered myself to be a woman of worship before this day. It seemed contradictory to me, given the demon blood and all. An alatreist I suppose you could have called me. But the feeling I had when I awoke...it was like I had been reborn. My head seemed clearer. The world seemed brighter. For the first time, it felt as though my eyes had opened to the possibility of true happiness. How could I deny my calling, when it had granted me this new lease on life?
And so I returned to the rubble that was once the headquarters I called my home, gathered what few belongings I could salvage, and set off on this new life. I walked a great length through the Spires of Mir, the time of which I spent with a head full of doubts and an internal diametric conundrum. Quite literally, an angel and devil on my shoulders.
“But what do you owe them? Nothing! You desire to protect the same people who mistreated you, who oppressed you, who treated you with such a disregard for basic decency?”
“But you were chosen! Torm has saved you from eternal damnation for a purpose!”
“And who’s this Torm guy anyway? Since when do you take orders from big glowing men in the sky?”
Etc...etc...
I wish I could say that coming upon Barakmordin and my subsequent training with the paladin sector which made base there had cleansed my head of doubts, but I still struggle with my uncertainties each and every day. Even now I cannot say that I understand why I, a tiefling girl of humble birth whose blood is tainted with that of the Rogue Archdevil Levistus, was chosen for this holy quest.
Nevertheless, I wear the mark of Torm adorned on my shield, and I travel the lands with the knowledge that each wrong I right, the malice in my own heart dwindles more and more.
I didn’t ask for this. But I’m going to make damn sure I do well by it.
(Except, yanno, remove the glowy sorcerer hands and replace it with a giant shield)
here is my character's backstory. her name is Kelsy brighttrack and its told from a first-person perspective
born in the town of wyverndale, I trained for combat since the moment I was old enough to handle a sword. I knew I had to protect my friends and family and will lay down my life to protect them. being from wyverndale, we all learn to speak to wyverns and can even persuade them to let us ride them. I was born into the middle-class family of the brighttracks. i grew up to have a fairly good life until our town was attacked by the dark knight. he killed my father and i have sworn myself to get revenge. a few months after the attack, i joined up with the wyvrendale guard to protect my city. i was giving my halberd, "law bringer," and a new wyvren construct named trakat.
Sir Baymen Bronel
The forest over the black hill had just started to regrow after the Great Fire was quelled, and already humans saw the new clearing as an easy place to establish a trade town.
Local druids argued that the forest was home to an ancient god that would not allow such things. They did not want to live in this place, as once the trees came back, so would the god. A knight with much experience in the matter came forth to tell their leader that even he would not collect tax on certain days due to the God being active in this area.
Their lord insulted the knight, and spat at the druid who continued to insist that some ancient god was going to come out the trees and gore them to death if they didn't leave. The druid was furious and pretended to cast a dark spell using prestidigitation to glow his eyes and enhance his voice. Unfortunately the human took it seriously and attacked him.
The battle began immediately once the Lord's blade slammed into the druid's chest.
The knight's men charged at the humans, immediately being slaughtered by the superior numbers. The druids tried to augment the soldiers as best they could, even joining the fray with strange magics and animal companions. Metal flashed between blue and green streaks of magical energy surging across the field.
Towards the end of the battle, the last druid was slain, and the knight was surrounded by the last group of the humans. As they charged him, time froze. He breathed air so fresh he swore it was blown from the winds into his lungs for him alone. He saw colors the likes of which no painter could capture. He heard the cries of battle so sharp it was as if all was silent before each individual sound...
...And then it was over.
The humans were dead, and the forest was allowed to live.
Make no mistake, Baymen served that Ancient Tree God, and it says you can kill people who attack you. It also says you can tell people not to go there. The god wants only the people who absolutely insist on going in regardless of being warned, even though they have no business being there.