I have a character designed for one of the ravenloft domains, specifically Demenlieu, which is a horror re-telling of Cinderella. I decided that good characters for Ravenloft would be heroic versions of a Dark Lord. So I designed a character in the form of another incarnation of the fairy tale character, though obviously with more badassery. (though I haven't picked a name, race, or gender yet. I've seen gender-swapped versions of the story, so they can be modified to be any gender) Anyway, they are a druid. And like most versions of the fairy tale character started out as an servant/slave to an abusive step-family. And went through the usual story, and ended up marrying into royalty or nobility. They also learned druid magic from the fairy godparent.
But this is where the horror aspects of the character come in. The trauma that comes with the territory of living much of your life being abused and treated as a slave, it doesn't go away overnight. Even when you escape that and start a new life away from it all. Trauma can take many different forms. And for this character, it takes the form of a battle with their inner demons to stop an abusive cycle from continuing. Now that they are in the class that calls the shots, part of them is tempted to indulge in the same cruelty the stepfamily inflicted on them. For example, as punishment for their crimes, the stepfamilies wealth was stripped away and they now are servants in houses that are just as cruel as they were. In the PC's mind, there are two conflicting mindsets. One is "They deserve to have all the cruelty they inflicted on me, inflicted on them. This policy should be enforced across the Kingdom so no one suffers anymore." The other is "This is not justice, it's just reversing the roles. And maybe the wretched life I used to live is a systemic flaw in this Kingdom." It's also important to note their spouse didn't make this sentence. The PC's new parent in-laws did. The PC's spouse is just as conflicted about this. And now this PC has found themselves in a nightmare ruled by someone who was once in their shoes, but made all the wrong choices.
A crude summery would be that this PC's flaw is "Part of me wants to relish in the power that my stepfamily used on me." So, how could that translate into gameplay?
I'm also struggling with the PC's background. I'm torn between Folk Hero, Inheritor, and Noble. Folk Hero because they were born a commoner. Inheritor because they married into royalty or nobility. And Noble because now they technically ARE royalty or nobility. Which do you think fits best? On one hand, their the upper class now. On the other hand, their a newcommer in the upper class. Plus, I wrote down that this character's adventuring career starts 3 month's after they were married.
I have a character designed for one of the ravenloft domains, specifically Demenlieu, which is a horror re-telling of Cinderella. I decided that good characters for Ravenloft would be heroic versions of a Dark Lord. So I designed a character in the form of another incarnation of the fairy tale character, though obviously with more badassery. (though I haven't picked a name, race, or gender yet. I've seen gender-swapped versions of the story, so they can be modified to be any gender) Anyway, they are a druid. And like most versions of the fairy tale character started out as an servant/slave to an abusive step-family. And went through the usual story, and ended up marrying into royalty or nobility. They also learned druid magic from the fairy godparent.
But this is where the horror aspects of the character come in. The trauma that comes with the territory of living much of your life being abused and treated as a slave, it doesn't go away overnight. Even when you escape that and start a new life away from it all. Trauma can take many different forms. And for this character, it takes the form of a battle with their inner demons to stop an abusive cycle from continuing. Now that they are in the class that calls the shots, part of them is tempted to indulge in the same cruelty the stepfamily inflicted on them. For example, as punishment for their crimes, the stepfamilies wealth was stripped away and they now are servants in houses that are just as cruel as they were. In the PC's mind, there are two conflicting mindsets. One is "They deserve to have all the cruelty they inflicted on me, inflicted on them. This policy should be enforced across the Kingdom so no one suffers anymore." The other is "This is not justice, it's just reversing the roles. And maybe the wretched life I used to live is a systemic flaw in this Kingdom." It's also important to note their spouse didn't make this sentence. The PC's new parent in-laws did. The PC's spouse is just as conflicted about this. And now this PC has found themselves in a nightmare ruled by someone who was once in their shoes, but made all the wrong choices.
A crude summery would be that this PC's flaw is "Part of me wants to relish in the power that my stepfamily used on me." So, how could that translate into gameplay?
I'm also struggling with the PC's background. I'm torn between Folk Hero, Inheritor, and Noble. Folk Hero because they were born a commoner. Inheritor because they married into royalty or nobility. And Noble because now they technically ARE royalty or nobility. Which do you think fits best? On one hand, their the upper class now. On the other hand, their a newcommer in the upper class. Plus, I wrote down that this character's adventuring career starts 3 month's after they were married.