I'm going to be playing in a campaign soon set in a world where the industrial revolution has come and the world is steampunk. I've knocked this out today and my DM likes it a lot, and so do I, so I thought I'd share it!

Deep in the forests sits the druidic circle of the Celtic God of the forest Silvanus, around which there exists in isolation a small culture which lives in harmony with nature. The town, called Silvan after the god to which it is dedicated, is ruled by the elders of the circle and generally keeps itself disconnected from the rest of the world. There is an ancient tradition, winding back through the years, where a chosen one is born and will ultimately take up the relic weapon Oakhammer and deliver the town from evil. These Chosen ones are Tieflings, born to human parents, and then taken by the druidic circle and raised and indoctrinated as paladins of Silvanus.

And this is where Sal was born. He was born a tiefling to human parents, and so taken in by the druids and indoctrinated. He was named, as all chosen ones are, by the town elders, who chose the name "Salvation". The Chosen one is always named after what their quest is deemed to be, and Sal was destined to bring salvation to the town, as the elders had seen the forests edges fall before the ever hungry furnaces of industry and sought to establish a balance between the old and the new. However, Sal's training would last until his 18th birthday, and the elders would see the forests fall like dominoes before the steel wheel of progress while they waited for Sal to be ready. But then, before his 18th birthday and the ceremony to imbue him with Oakhammer and begin his quest, another Tiefling was born. Tradition dictates that there can be only one chosen one, and they are delivered by the gods when to fulfil their destinies, and so the red carpet of destiny was whipped out from before Sal's feet, and a new Chosen one was taken in. The elders, in anger and hatred of those who has destroyed their forest, named this tiefling "Retribution". Sal feared the worst, thinking that the world would surely only suffer from the inevitable war, and truly believed that he could put the world back in balance, so he stole the Oakhammer and fled his town to try and put the world to rights.

What he met was a world where he is viewed with suspicion and mistrust, shunned and alienated, Sal wears a hood and dark glasses to blend in. He has made little progress in the 17 years that have passed since then, and has become disillusioned with his quest.

This is where I'm taking control - Sal is a level 2 paladin and level 1 fighter, and is struggling to decide between oath of the ancients or the oath of vengeance, depending on whether he thinks the world can be saved or must be punished. I am moving towards the weapon bond of an eldritch knight to keep hold of the hammer, and then pick an oath from there depending on which destiny he chooses to fulfil - Salvation or Retribution.

I like how you did a twist, where you were going to be the chosen one, but then you got bumped.

You didn't say much about how this character is going to fit into a steampunk world, but it should be fine, if only as a contrast.

Quote from pavilionaire >>

I like how you did a twist, where you were going to be the chosen one, but then you got bumped.

You didn't say much about how this character is going to fit into a steampunk world, but it should be fine, if only as a contrast.

Thanks! The idea was to give a bizarre twist of conflict should the DM decide to introduce Retribution as a hostile NPC - Salvation believes that Retribution stole his destiny by being born, Retribution thinks Salvation stole her destiny by stealing the sacred hammer.

Been in discussions with the DM about the lore and such today and the premise is that at the time of our adventures, the world has been scoured of natural forests, the town of Silvan is long gone, and a steampunk machine uprising has taken place, been mostly thwarted (the machines roam the wastelands but the cities are safe zones) and Sal is still seeking ways to recover the forests and put the world back on the path to salvation, so he can live up to his name.

This being decided, my character will be older than my original plan of 35, to allow the whole world lore to have taken place. Sal is going to have become something of muscle for hire but also an eco-warrior, making ends meet where he can but also spending his free time tending gardens and trying to collect seeds to grow new forests. I'm still trying to flesh out the between-years, I may include falling into drink and despair at some point, or perhaps falling in with the wrong people and getting involved in the criminal underworld as a loyal right-hand man. We shall see!