So, I've introduced a friend of mine to D&D and he's asked me for help coming up with his character's backstory. The only criterion he asked me to keep in mind is that his character is a wizard who is also a "war veteran," which sounds interesting to me. The thing is, his character is going to start off at Level Two -- not exactly war veteran material, so...yeah, I'm having a little trouble trying to reconcile that with what my friend wants. After all, how do you really justify a veteran wizard only possessing level one spells? Lol.
So, I have a basic concept that his character is basically the wizard equivalent of an enlisted man who, at some point, participated in a war against whoever our DM deems appropriate, and in the present day is just getting by as a sort of mercenary mage. I did have the idea of his spellbook not being his original spellbook, which would explain why he has such minor spells for a "war veteran," but aside from that, I'm kind of scratching my head for ideas and inspiration.
They could have taken up magic after the war. Maybe they were badly wounded, and recovered somewhere where they had access to a magical school or teacher and discovered their aptitude for magic for the first time
Also, the Eberron books -- which, granted, is a very unusual setting -- talk about soldiers called wandslingers (think fighter or rogue with the Magic Initiate feat, essentially) who could cast a limited number of combat-oriented spells, so it's not an unheard of idea to have casters only capable of low-levels spells among the troops
I'd get them to try and be more specific about the "war veteran" part. What exactly was their job in whatever military they were in? "Soldier" doesn't have to mean "on the front lines". Maybe they looked after the animals that pulled the wagons or worked in the mess hall. Maybe they were part of a forward scouting/spying unit trying to avoid getting in fights if possible, as that would delay reporting back. I made a "war veteran" warlock once who was part of a unit that came in and scavenged for re-usable weapons and armor after a battle, rather than participating in it
Really, the most important thing about making a character with a "war veteran" sort of back story is their experiences in the war and how those shaped them as a person, not the skills/spells they learned
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Awesome, thank you for the advice! The wandslingers idea sounds like it could be an interesting way to go. Like I said, my idea for my friend's character's backstory was that he was the wizard equivalent of an enlisted man, so something akin to these wandslingers may be ideal. Perhaps we can say that his character was put through basic training; something like a six-week course of learning the most basic combat spells like Fire Bolt and Magic Missile before he went off to war and that hopefully explains his lack of spells after coming home and doing his thing. And I'll have a chat with him about his character's former role when I next see him, too. Perhaps that will give me some ideas as well.
Late to the discussion but … another possibility is that he was an enlisted man that had joined and completed training then had only experienced the last few days of combat before the war was ended and he was mustered out. Think PFC in a squad that reached the frontlines of Europe in WWII in August 1945. He has seen combat, maybe a death camp, slung a few spells ( mostly cantrips as the only thing he can sling all day long) but hasn’t earned the 901 EXP needed to make L3 - maybe he has 500. If they were starting at L1 even that would be possible as he was there but hadn’t been put on the frontline yet and has now mustered out with whatever spells he was taught in training. I know of several vets of several wars that saw no combat but gained skills they could use outside the military.
Apologies for the late reply! Funnily enough, that's pretty similar to what we decided on; a young wizard's apprentice who (along with other apprentices) decided to enlist in the war against the wishes of the academy to serve as magical support, I guess you could say. He was attached to a regiment commanded by a fellow who was a genuine Miles Gloriosus, who only fought in battles when victory -- and therefore his personal glory -- was guaranteed. Because of his commander's reluctance to fight, the wizard spent his time far behind the front lines, and his combat experience pretty much amounted to a small handful of minor skirmishes and witnessing the aftermath of battles his commander was "tragically too late to reinforce." Less than a year later the war was over. The wizard was on the losing side, his commander got his glory regardless while he has to make ends meet as a lowly mercenary wizard, and the rest, as they say, is history.
But thank you very much for the suggestion anyway; it's a little late to the party, but it's no less appreciated. ^_^
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So, I've introduced a friend of mine to D&D and he's asked me for help coming up with his character's backstory. The only criterion he asked me to keep in mind is that his character is a wizard who is also a "war veteran," which sounds interesting to me. The thing is, his character is going to start off at Level Two -- not exactly war veteran material, so...yeah, I'm having a little trouble trying to reconcile that with what my friend wants. After all, how do you really justify a veteran wizard only possessing level one spells? Lol.
So, I have a basic concept that his character is basically the wizard equivalent of an enlisted man who, at some point, participated in a war against whoever our DM deems appropriate, and in the present day is just getting by as a sort of mercenary mage. I did have the idea of his spellbook not being his original spellbook, which would explain why he has such minor spells for a "war veteran," but aside from that, I'm kind of scratching my head for ideas and inspiration.
Can anyone help?
They could have taken up magic after the war. Maybe they were badly wounded, and recovered somewhere where they had access to a magical school or teacher and discovered their aptitude for magic for the first time
Also, the Eberron books -- which, granted, is a very unusual setting -- talk about soldiers called wandslingers (think fighter or rogue with the Magic Initiate feat, essentially) who could cast a limited number of combat-oriented spells, so it's not an unheard of idea to have casters only capable of low-levels spells among the troops
I'd get them to try and be more specific about the "war veteran" part. What exactly was their job in whatever military they were in? "Soldier" doesn't have to mean "on the front lines". Maybe they looked after the animals that pulled the wagons or worked in the mess hall. Maybe they were part of a forward scouting/spying unit trying to avoid getting in fights if possible, as that would delay reporting back. I made a "war veteran" warlock once who was part of a unit that came in and scavenged for re-usable weapons and armor after a battle, rather than participating in it
Really, the most important thing about making a character with a "war veteran" sort of back story is their experiences in the war and how those shaped them as a person, not the skills/spells they learned
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Awesome, thank you for the advice! The wandslingers idea sounds like it could be an interesting way to go. Like I said, my idea for my friend's character's backstory was that he was the wizard equivalent of an enlisted man, so something akin to these wandslingers may be ideal. Perhaps we can say that his character was put through basic training; something like a six-week course of learning the most basic combat spells like Fire Bolt and Magic Missile before he went off to war and that hopefully explains his lack of spells after coming home and doing his thing. And I'll have a chat with him about his character's former role when I next see him, too. Perhaps that will give me some ideas as well.
Thank you, again! :D
Late to the discussion but …
another possibility is that he was an enlisted man that had joined and completed training then had only experienced the last few days of combat before the war was ended and he was mustered out. Think PFC in a squad that reached the frontlines of Europe in WWII in August 1945. He has seen combat, maybe a death camp, slung a few spells ( mostly cantrips as the only thing he can sling all day long) but hasn’t earned the 901 EXP needed to make L3 - maybe he has 500. If they were starting at L1 even that would be possible as he was there but hadn’t been put on the frontline yet and has now mustered out with whatever spells he was taught in training. I know of several vets of several wars that saw no combat but gained skills they could use outside the military.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Apologies for the late reply! Funnily enough, that's pretty similar to what we decided on; a young wizard's apprentice who (along with other apprentices) decided to enlist in the war against the wishes of the academy to serve as magical support, I guess you could say. He was attached to a regiment commanded by a fellow who was a genuine Miles Gloriosus, who only fought in battles when victory -- and therefore his personal glory -- was guaranteed. Because of his commander's reluctance to fight, the wizard spent his time far behind the front lines, and his combat experience pretty much amounted to a small handful of minor skirmishes and witnessing the aftermath of battles his commander was "tragically too late to reinforce." Less than a year later the war was over. The wizard was on the losing side, his commander got his glory regardless while he has to make ends meet as a lowly mercenary wizard, and the rest, as they say, is history.
But thank you very much for the suggestion anyway; it's a little late to the party, but it's no less appreciated. ^_^