Quote from AEDorsay >>

I still don't understand what's happening to me -- one minute I'm a tavern wench and the next I'm somehow important to the future of the world?

I was saved from some kind of unstoppable monster force thanks to the help of a stranger and a large block of stone that crushed it, but now I have to stay alive long enough to make sure the future I've been told about never comes true.

And I swear, I saw the same monster not two days ago, still somehow coming for me...

This is a really good one. Trying to think what class would work best for her... battle master fighter, or something like zealot barbarian?

So, yeah, I'm a Teamster and I got a route and I like to gamble, and I'm able to handle a lot of crazy things because that's what someone who drives a team around this big ole world has to do.

But now I've got a friend who owes me money dragging me down to the docks to meet his green eyed girlfriend, in my wagon, with my team, and I'm supposed to hang with him and help bring her back to his place so they can get married.

All I can hope for at a time like this is that the Gods above don't laugh at me and send me down and into some wild adventure -- but if I was a betting man, and I surely am, I wouldn't bet on this, or my name's not...

I finally have my chance -- a chance to get out of this damnable desert, and head out into the world!

One of the bits of junk my uncle bought and expected me to take care of had a funny magical thing attached to it that spoke a message, and I think it has to do with this weird old guy in the hills.

Once I finish my chores, tomorrow I am going to go and find him and see if this message is real -- I am certain it is, because the girl in it was super cute!

Quote from AEDorsay >>

I finally have my chance -- a chance to get out of this damnable desert, and head out into the world!

One of the bits of junk my uncle bought and expected me to take care of had a funny magical thing attached to it that spoke a message, and I think it has to do with this weird old guy in the hills.

Once I finish my chores, tomorrow I am going to go and find him and see if this message is real -- I am certain it is, because the girl in it was super cute!

 that last part makes it sound like the start of an anime or something

Quote from P4R4D153_39989 >>

Quote from AEDorsay >>

I finally have my chance -- a chance to get out of this damnable desert, and head out into the world!

One of the bits of junk my uncle bought and expected me to take care of had a funny magical thing attached to it that spoke a message, and I think it has to do with this weird old guy in the hills.

Once I finish my chores, tomorrow I am going to go and find him and see if this message is real -- I am certain it is, because the girl in it was super cute!

 that last part makes it sound like the start of an anime or something

Well, I suppose there are a lot of anime versions of Star Wars.  Although, it is more because I try to make the backstory have a hook or an angle that the DM can run with -- even if they don't use the film I am notorious for stealing from. And "chasing a cute girl" is a better and more personal reason to adventure than "gotta save the princess".

.-=[deep cut for today]=-.

A friend of mine died, and I had to travel to the inn to pay my respects -- it was still run by his wife and father, one of those somewhat out of the way places between two other places people want to be.

I'm not all that much, but I did my time in the military, and I still remember some of that old training, which I think might come in useful.

There's a bunch of folks staying at the Inn, came in after me, and I don't like the look of them -- reminds me of the gangs back home.

[I'd say this is good for any fighter, but also a rogue. Bogie was just a knockabout...]

I am a scavenger of the great junkyards in the Abyss. I only remember one thing: me screaming as I fall into the endless darkness before I arrived here. I found a distress message in a bottle, and was reminded of a wisp of my life above the Abyss.

I grew up in a tribe of Orc farmers that lived near the city of Florievstein. One day, a gang of orc bandits attacked Florievstein, took the citizens as slaves, and fled with gold. My group of Orcs was entirely peaceful and had been known as such for years, but men from the city still came and butchered everyone in my tribe but me and now I must avenge my fallen kin.

(Species: Orc. Origin: Farmer (From 5.5e). Class: Could be anything but I was thinking Barbarian or perhaps Fighter. Btw, condensing this backstory into three sentences only was tough.)

The island I was born on is all I have ever known, and has been filled with all manner of amazing and magical things, but as I grew, I became bored and maybe even a little jaded about it.

Then, a man was shipwrecked upon our shores, telling wild tales about how he had found the lost island, and he was kinda funny, but we don’t like strangers so he was gonna die.

i don’t know why, exactly, I chose to do it, but I helped him escape and now we are in a small dinghy passing through the clouds that surround our island, and looking forward to what wonders await in a brand new world.

I am desert born and desert raised. I remember this desert before the empire claimed it as their land and I have no respect for their boundary lines and laws. As a punishment for leading a bloody revolution against their rule, I have been sent to an island prison and a stone island in the middle of the sea is a hellscape to a desert dweller like me.

I was always a curious soul and would often disguise myself and go into the woods in search of the werebears that folklore said roamed the area. Then I learned of one special day the werebears held dear where they had a great feast and played games and those with good souls were given special treats as a reward. I snuck into the forest and played hide and seek with the werebears and was given a special elixir to drink so that I might become one of them and now I travel and recount the tale and how...if you go down to the woods on a certain day, you too may see the werebears having a picinic.

*Daft idea for a Bloodhunter Order of the Lycan based around the childrens song "Teddy Bears Picinic", otherwise any other bits you like.

I was born into a family of changelings, raised to embrace my nature and explore the many identities I could wear. Fascinated by elves from a young age, I often mimicked their elegance. But after my parents were murdered when I was 14, I crafted my favorite persona: Elara Whisperwind, a tall, silver-haired elf with dark skin and eyes as black as the void—someone who could move through the world with mystery and authority.

I was always fascinated by the circus and wanted to become a famous performer of death defying arts, so one day i made a visit to the town well and flipped a gold piece into it and made a wish which was the custom at the time and at that moment a parchment floated past on the breeze advertising a travelling carnival would be heading our way. When it arrived I pestered them until they agreed to train me and I followed them on their travels as the self proclaimed "Greatest Axe thrower in the world!" unfortunately the parchments had got printed advertising me as "the worlds only Great Axe Thrower", so now I juggle and throw great axes for people amusement. One day the canrival was waylaid by bandits and I got seperated from them with only my trusty axe at my side, still, could be worse I suppose.

*Anothe daft idea using 2014 rules: Probably Variant Human + Entertainer + Fighter + Tavern Brawler + Great Weapon Fighter + Sharpshooter. So whether your in melee or ranged you can always get your -5 to hit/+10 damage and you need to look lovingly at your DM to decide on what damage and range a Great Axe has as an improvised thrown weapon. And at a pinch and a break from the axe you could always lob fallen enimies weapons.

Every seven years the Fey Courts must pay a tithe to the devil, sending one of their number to the depths of hell. I was chosen and have spent a hundred years in the torturous bowels of Tartarus. I have managed to escape at the cost of my freedom for I now must serve as the chosen champion of one of the Archdevils that dwells in that fiendish plan.

(Some sort of fey related class, probably an elf but potentially a changeling, satyr, or centaur. Fiend Warlock or maybe that new Illrigger thing. It could be cool to combine the fey and the fiend in some sort of devilishly corrupted sylvan warrior.)

I am a kobold named Kribeby. I seek revenge upon the adventuring party who killed my tribe while I was at Burger Archfey. Now, armed with my eldritch cannon, I will hunt artifacts of power so that I may become strong enough to kill them.

"My name is Arvana and my parents chucked me into the forest when I was born. I grew up in the woods with the bears, deer, lions and beasts. Now, I am an adventurer and can transform into almost any beast or animal at will."

(Druid. Hermit. Any species.)

I've always been fond of studying the forms, abilities and habits of animals both great and small, mundane and fantastical. I honed my skills at a reputable school of magical arts but was cast out and ridiculed for my chosen field of expertise. Now I travel, observe, lend my abilities and increase my knowledge wherever I can.

*Using 2014 rules, Variant Human with Ritual Caster (Probably Wizard) + Sage (Descredited Academic) + Ranger/Monster Slayer, taking Beasts and Monstrosities for favoured enemies (also Dragons and something else at later levels). Approaching Ranger as a Wizardly version of an Indiana Jones inspired crypto-zoologist rather than a lover/respecter of nature, maybe even taking a small bit of inspiration from the Witcher, focusing more on cantrips for damage over weapons whilst hunting and cataloguing beasties of various types.

EDIT: I forgot to say to take Duidic Warrior for a fighting style to get a damaging cantrip.