One day when I was very young I went for a walk in the woods, that was when the gloaming settled among the trees and when I finally made my way through it I found myself in the magical, dangerous realm of the fairie. I spent many untold years doing my best to survive among them, I picked up some of their traits and habits, and even made a few friends among them. Now that I’ve returned to the mortal realm I miss the fey and their gossamer realm, and one day hope to find myself back there once again.
I was once a dancer and performer in a travelling circus but our caravan was attacked on the road. I don;t know what happened but I woke up in a small monestary in the mountains where the monks nursed me back to health, however vengeance stole my heart and I stole one of their training manuals and a warhammer and fled into the night. My name is Rapp McHammer and using the knowledge I gleaned from the manual I have learned somne fighting techniques and I won't stop...it's McHammer time!
*Entertainer background, Monk/Kensei for class and whatever race floats your boat. Grab a warhammer and your best pair of parachute pants and get to it, imagine MC Hammer meets Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
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* Need a character idea? Search for "Rob76's Unused" in the Story and Lore section.
I was at a party when I got news that raiders had attacked my farm and butchered my staff. That was when I decided enough was enough and I was gonna do something about the problem, so I kissed my wife and daughters goodby and went out to put an end to those raiders once and for all. Now that task is completed I feel a yearning to keep going, righting more wrongs and seeing more action, so I’m off to be an adventurer.
I come over the great, blue ocean from beneath the grand Strongroots Mountains. The voyage took many weeks, and was fraught with peril. Now that I’m here, I plan to make my fortune before returning home.
(Dwarf, either Sailor or Far Traveler background, any class)
Because of my... leporine qualities, my father sent me to a [school/monastery/knight/other] away from his kingdom after I was born. He didn't want it to become a scandal. Nevertheless, he never appointed another successor, and I am the hare to his throne.
They said I was worthless and I would never amount to anything. They were right, I died on my first quest. But my body has use to this fathomless creature puppeting me.
My mother always told me that if I was patient, the world would reveal itself to me in its own time. I am not patient, and I grow tired of waiting for the world to come to me, so I’m off to travel the world and hopefully have some adventures along the way. Luckily my grand uncle Peter showed me how to handle myself in a brawl so I can survive those adventures.
My father, a surgeon, has been teaching me to heal since before I could even walk; he chose my life for me without any concern for what I wanted. Recently, some soldiers came through town to recruit new members and in an act of defiance, I enlisted. Now as I ram my spear into another soldier’s belly, I am beginning to wonder if my father was right - that a healer has more value than a spearman and their glory, while quieter, is far more grand.
I envied my half-orc servant who always found happiness no matter what. I set him free so he’d explain to me that true happiness is found in helping others. I now tear across the surface world, forcing my help on the lesser creatures here until I claim the power of true happiness for myself!
Igne always knew she was different, though she didn’t exactly understand how and, unfortunately, that was the problem. Igne was born slow-minded in the Wastes of Xhorhas, where life was too hard to let live anyone who couldn't be relied on to pull their own weight, so her tribe left her to die as a child. Instead, she found a couple of powerful earth elemental relics and formed an attachment to rocks. Ten years later, she now wanders the world accompanied by an earth minimental attracted to her relics, trying to collect one of every kind of rock and visit the Earth Elemental Plane, if only she didn’t believe clay workers & glassblowers were earth mages, glass was a special kind of see-through rock, and lava was earth blood.
Aasimar, bard (College of Glamour)
(must be read in a snooty, supercilious tone or you’re doing it wrong)
As a babe, I was chosen amongst all other infants in the clan for an arranged marriage to ensure continued peace between warring factions, and thus was given luxurious care and exorbitant schooling to become a most excellent companion for my Intended. Between lessons, my every whim was indulged and every wish fulfilled, until one season before my wedding, when my Hatfield fiancé suddenly died, leaving me without any support since I now served no purpose to Clan McCoy. My entire life, everyone in the clan told me I was special and destined for greatness, and now they want to throw me away! Before they could take back everything they’ve ever given me, I grabbed as much of MY stuff as I could and ran off in the middle of the night, vowing to return one day to show them how I had managed to achieve my great destiny without them. Instead of recognizing how wonderful and special I am, everyone I meet keeps calling me ridiculous or spoiled rotten, and if even one more tavern drunkard tells me to, “Just shut up, bard, and play another song!”, I swear I’ll have Mittens, my elephant companion, squash them, even if it gets me banned from yet another tavern!
Mountain dwarf, Monk (Way of the Ascendant Dragon)
A violent storm left ten-year-old Arem clinging to wreckage as the ship full of his ransoming kidnappers sunk beneath the waves and, had a dire shark not attacked the large dolphin that seemed to be ferrying him safely back to shore, no one would have ever known that his rescuer was actually a shapeshifted bronze dragon! Unsurprisingly, the events of that day had a profound and lasting effect on the young boy: the terror of being kidnapped and at sea for the first time in a storm, the awe of being in a dragon’s presence and feeling the very air around him vibrate with the power radiating off it, the glory of flight, watching everyone near the docks flee in terror at the nearing dragon before cautiously returning as they watched a child slide off its back, the single scale that same, very amused dragon gifted the tiny dwarf boy brave enough to ask for it, and the dreams he continues to have about his dragon savior to this day. From then on, Arem aspired to be like a bronze dragon in all aspect of his life, from his appearance to putting an end to all injustice and cruelty he encountered, and now that his ailing father has finally passed and his youngest sister has married, he can begin his quest to right the wrongs that exist outside his town.
The travelling circus who adopted and raised Thea found her as a half-starved and feverishly delirious, eight year-old wandering through the woods, the sole survivor of gnoll attack. Horrible though it was to say, Thea didn’t miss her parents, who were abusive alcoholics & violent thugs, very much at all and thought was better off without them. Even though she thrived in this new environment, Thea never forgot what it was like to wander through the woods frightened, confused, and injured, and devoted her studies to healing and the pursuit of knowledge. When she was almost thirty, a couple of boys from noble families snuck into the circus at night and were injured, causing the circus to be shutdown, its ringleaders arrested on trumped up charges, and everyone else to go their separate ways. Having spent most of her life in an ever-changing, colorful sea of organized chaos, Thea found she was unable to happily settle down with a safe and normal job in a boring, everyday-is-the-same town, so she hit the road looking for adventure and camaraderie.
Tiefling, ranger (Drakewarden of acid drake)
Mine is the classic fairytale: mother died when I was a very young and father died the season before my 12th birthday, but not before remarrying to my wicked stepmother. After father died, she became a source of unending torment with idea after idea of how to cleanse the Tiefling-ness from my veins (like beating or starving the evil out of me). It became habit for me to spend increasingly longer periods of time in the woods to avoid being at home, and one day, I realized I didn’t need to go back: I knew which berries and nuts were safe to eat and where and when they grew; how to make spear, rope, and net out of natural materials; where to place my snares; how to prepare and cook rabbit and fish over an open fire; which clouds meant rain was coming; how to make the roof of my hut rain-proof, what each animal’s call sounded like, how to make a bed that wasn’t itchy, and more. The forest embraced me, became my new home and new family, and I never looked back, wandering far and wide, eventually making a name for myself as someone who could guide travelers or transport packages through the most remote, dangerous, inhospitable of wildernesses.
rogue (frying pan as shield/club)
Just months ago, I was living my dream: working as the renowned, well-esteemed head chief of an important noble household, then I was framed for poisoning a visiting Duke and imprisoned for my so-called crime. Very recently, I escaped and am now on the run as a wanted fugitive trying to clear my name & determine who framed me & why.
kobold, crystal; wizard of Graviturgy or Evocation school
Daja was a shy kobold with humble aspirations and simple desires, but it seemed everyone around her had plans and goals for her that had nothing to do with what she wanted:
Her mentors wanted her to use her intelligence and arcane skills to rise through the ranks of the clan
Her clanmates wanted her unusual coloration to mean she would be the next clan leader or shaman
The shaman wanted her to perform the duties & rites overseen by their dying priest
The dying priest wanted his apprentice to inherit his position rather than Daja
The clan leader wanted her dead because he felt threaten by the unwanted popularity that her intelligence, arcane aptitude, and crystal scales garnered her
The head of the neighboring gnoll tribe wanted to wear her scales as a fancy cloak to cement the new tribe-clan alliance
Daja didn’t learn about those last two goals until it was almost too late and barely escaped the trap set for her. She ran for her life, with only the contents of her pockets to help her survive her travels, and headed for the only place that would be safe from her own kind, gnolls, and the monsters of the wilds: the nearest humanoid city.
Wild Magic Sorcerer, human Mark of Handling
I would have been accepted without issue if my powers were normal – I mean, our village priest is a tiefling, so it’s not like they weren’t accepting folk – but no one had even heard of powers like mine, and I didn’t have the best control. Still, it wasn’t until the gnolls attacked and I was able to dispatch half of them singlehandedly that my fellow villagers realized just how dangerous I was, so when the dust settled, they tearfully demanded I stay away until I could guarantee the safety of my neighbors. Joining an adventuring party might just be the best way for a smalltown homebody to get all the practice they need without endangering innocent folk and maybe return home with a bit of coin in my pocket, too.
Tortle, druid (Circle of the Stars)
Tribecka’s egg hatched on a ship sailing to the rich collector who’d purchased her and, if Tribecka had been the wyvern that the rich merchant thought he was buying, then the ship would have been in trouble, but since she was a tortle, only Tribecka was in trouble. Disgusted at being swindled, the collector who purchased her egg cast her aside without care, but the crew had grown attached to her during their journey together and happily adopted her. Tribecka had a wonderful childhood on Shore Thing, learning how to man the sails, batten the hatches, transport cargo, tie all sorts of knots, fight off the occasional pirates, navigate using the stars, and lots of other great skills. Tribecka loved nature, the stars, the sea, and her life on Shore Thing, in that order, but ships only need one navigator, so when Shore Thing was sent to dry docks for extensive repairs after striking a reef and Tribecka was unable to find work on any of the same ships as her favorite crewmates, she decided to engage in the common tortle pastime of wandering and, since she ended up alone, the crew gave her the ship’s mascot, Gulper the pelican, to keep her company. It took less than week for her to figure out how she’d make coin for her travels, and all it took was catching and turning in the scoundrel who’d tried to run her through on his knife after she refused to give up her coin purse. Now she spends her time wandering from town to town, hunting down fugitives and bringing them to justice.
tortle, rogue (thief)
Callie had fond memories of growing in a merchant caravan and it taught her many useful skills (how to haggle, how to recognize when a deal was good or bad, and how to handle the dangers encountered on the road), but that life ended when a sickness swept across the land, killing most caravan members, including her parents. By the time the pandemic had run its course, Callie was left penniless, friendless, and alone in a strange land with only one item not stolen: the family’s heirloom magic ring that allowed the wearer to wild shape like a druid into felines. At first, she resisted the efforts of the local street kids and gangs that encouraged her to steal (she knew the value of hard work and had been raised to hate thieves) but a girl’s gotta eat, and she eventually became an expert cat burglar (pun totally intended) with the help of her family ring. Now that she’s old enough to earn a proper wage, Callie is trying to leave her thieving ways behind her, but bad habits die hard. Maybe if she joins a travelling adventure group, she can satisfy her sticky-fingered and excitement-craving urges while still doing honest work.
centaur, cleric (Twilight Domain)
Calderash was an orphan of unknown origin, rescued from the wilderness as a toddling foal by a travelling caravan and given into the care of a temple-run orphanage. Ash thought of that sad, incomplete story of his origin as an unremarkable bit of trivia in a childhood otherwise filled with excitement, mischief, the love of a few caretakers and many friends, and too many boring lessons and chores. The one shadow in his life was that the other children used his fear of the dark to torment him but, despite that fear, Ash was no coward, possessing steady hands and an iron stomach even in the face of blood and gore that made grown men turn green. This interest and natural aptitude steered his lessons toward the healing arts, which required stitches and bandages until the evening his healing powers first manifested and he accidentally healed a grievous injury on the young son of a noble whose family was sheltering in the temple from a violent storm. The grateful noble father became a patron of the orphanage and, upon inquiry of an appropriate personal token of gratitude, gifted Ash with Goggles of Night. After gaining the dark vision bestowed by his gift, Ash’s fear turned into a newfound fascination that guided the course of his clerical studies into becoming a Twilight Cleric. Now Ash has come of age and must leave the orphanage to find his way in the world and forge his own destiny.
white dragonborn, barbarian
As a young child, Frosty was the sole survivor of a shipwrecked vessel who then grew to adulthood alone on an uncharted, tropical island — at least that’s what the crew who finally found the runty, half-feral, adult, white dragonborn managed to piece together from the wreckage as they plundered it. The deeply superstitious captain, felt that the gods had used a storm to push his ship far, far off course but saved it from smashing against the same reef that had sunk this other vessel because they, in their divine wisdom, wanted the dragonborn (named Frosty by his crew) to be taken from the island and brought back to civilization, but the captain felt his responsibility ended there and abandoned the dragonborn once they reached port. The crew wasn’t as heartless as their captain and, during the journey back to port, gave Frosty lessons on how to talk and wear clothes, important concepts like money and property ownership (because he kept stealing their stuff and destroying things), and basically how to be a person. They scraped together a few provisions for him to have and found an adventuring party for him to join, since he was obviously a skilled at fighting and wilderness survival but was also clearly unnerved by the multitude of unfamiliar sights and sounds in the busy port city.
Mountain Dwarf with gigantism, barbarian (Path of the Ancestral Guardian)
My family loved me, really they did, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t also a source of embarrassment to them and, sadly, I can’t say I really blame them: a dwarf with gigantism sounds like a bad joke, and any dwarf pushing 6 feet tall is a freak of nature! It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if we lived in a more diverse area, but in a 99% dwarven city, there was no disguising or accommodating my differences. I couldn’t be a craftsman like half of my family because my hands were too big to fit the tools, nor a miner like the other half since I was too big to fit in the mines, so I became a salesman instead, except I wasn’t any good at that either. When the business I put my heart and soul into failed, I left town to seek my fortunes on the road. Even for non-dwarfs (like elves and humans), I’m a big guy; maybe it’s time I stop holding back my temper and really let loose like my warrior ancestors used to.
Changeling, fighter (Battle Master)
As a toddler, my parents recognized the uniqueness of my abilities and patriotically entrusted my care to the military and my future to ensure the continued greatness of the Emperor. Brainwashed extremist? Hah! They gifted me with a purpose by training me and then sending me behind enemy lines in deep cover! I excelled for years until I grew too cocky and got caught, interrogated, and then thrown in a fighting pit as that night's entertainment.
I barely managed to kill my opponent with innate fighting skill I didn't realize I had, but still would've died that night had the pit champion not liked the idea of having a changeling for a bunk *****. He nursed me back to health, taught me to fight, introduced me to more than a few experiences that offended me, and even more new concepts & ideas that shattered my world perspective, and then the bastard died during a mass prison escape. Doubting everything I thought I knew, purposeless and adrift for the first time in my life, I assumed his identity and now wander the land as I try to figure out who I am and what I want in life.
Shadar-kai Halfling, rogue (Thief/Phantom)
cursed via homebrew Shadow Mastiff version of Hell Hound Cloak to be shadar-kai halfling who polymorphs into ‘shadow hound’
I was a common street urchin who made a living by lightening the purses of folks traveling through my turf of the city until the day I robbed this dandy wearing a pith helmet. He told me not to, saying something about curses, but his words were too similar to those spoken by a thousand other marks, so I ignored his warning not to don the fancy cloak I stole from him, and now.... No matter how sneaky you are, it’s really freaking hard to get away with crimes when you’re the only person in a thousand miles who looks like a walking corpse, so I had to hit the road and become a wandering thief as I try to figure this mess out. My name is Lucky F Boone and I'm shadow-cursed. (If you must know, the F stands for F*cker.)
Like something you read here? Grab an idea, pick a direction to run in with it, and see where you end up!
"I am a Tortle who grew up in a family of Tortles in a large hut in the wilderness. From the day I was born, I always loved reading and learning and sought knowledge. Soon, I learned the art of magic, and I wished my family farewell as I set out into the world, ready to use my new powers for (mostly) good."
(Tortle, Wizard)
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BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
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It was a tradition among the three villages, one home to Wood Elf, one to High Elf and one to Dark Elf, to send a child from one ot the other, this was to cement our very tenuous truce to avoid a return to the battles of yester-year. I was one of these children, sent from the High Elf cummnity to the Dark Elf where the elders called me a hostage but trreated me fairly. Recently a Wood Elf staggered into the Dark Elf village and with their dying breath warned of an impending threat, the village scouts went out and returned with news that both hIgh and Wood Elf villages had been laid waste and I have been sent out and charged to find out what happened.
"I lost my life in battle while saving the lives of many. The Queen of Twilight must have been pleased with me. Now I'm her Watcher in the Night, not living, not dead, forever guarding"
For 300 years I lived with my shame, for 300 years I have sort forgiveness and until I die I shall continue to do so. I was not able to save my liege lord's family nor was I able to avenge their deaths and so I went into exile, a former Samurai now a patronless Ronin. Maybe I will find my redemption at the end of another's blade or maybe the spirits of those I could not save will forgive me, unitl then I will wander and try to find my honour again.
*Fighter/Samurai of some long lived race (probably elf), try not to be too edgy and be a little more of a optimistic pessimist: Hoping for the best but prepared for the worst.
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* Need a character idea? Search for "Rob76's Unused" in the Story and Lore section.
When my sister died, that’s when there was nothing left for me at home. That’s when I decided to set out into he world and see what it had to offer that my hometown did not. Now, using my wits and my nimble fingers, I plan to find something or someone who can make life worth living again.
My name is Draugr Nightblade, you can thank my parents for giving me such a nefarious sounding name but me becoming a Necromancer was all my own doing. Not long ago I was content to be an apprentice at a local alchemist guild but then a wave of sickness swept the city and I found myself helping the city watch get to the bottom of things, that earned me the nickname of "the Toxicologist". Due to my ability with poisons and contagions the local wizards academy invited me to study with them and I now use my knowledge of poisons, both arcane and mundane, to further to lore of the local chapter of Necromancers.
*Goodly aligned Guidl Artisan / Wizard Necromancer with a slight leaning towards private investigatior. No elemental damage just poisons and mostly utility related spells.
I really, really needed to pee, that’s how I found myself waiting in line at the outhouse when suddenly it exploded. I rushed forward and pulled a young man from the burning wreckage just before the whole thing collapsed on him, and that’s when I realized I was the type of person who runs towards danger instead of away from it. That’s when I made two promises to myself: 1) to live a life of excitement, and 2) not to hold it anymore.
(any race, Folk Hero background, any class, callback humor)
One day when I was very young I went for a walk in the woods, that was when the gloaming settled among the trees and when I finally made my way through it I found myself in the magical, dangerous realm of the fairie. I spent many untold years doing my best to survive among them, I picked up some of their traits and habits, and even made a few friends among them. Now that I’ve returned to the mortal realm I miss the fey and their gossamer realm, and one day hope to find myself back there once again.
(Any race and class, Feylost background)
I was once a dancer and performer in a travelling circus but our caravan was attacked on the road. I don;t know what happened but I woke up in a small monestary in the mountains where the monks nursed me back to health, however vengeance stole my heart and I stole one of their training manuals and a warhammer and fled into the night. My name is Rapp McHammer and using the knowledge I gleaned from the manual I have learned somne fighting techniques and I won't stop...it's McHammer time!
*Entertainer background, Monk/Kensei for class and whatever race floats your boat. Grab a warhammer and your best pair of parachute pants and get to it, imagine MC Hammer meets Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
I was at a party when I got news that raiders had attacked my farm and butchered my staff. That was when I decided enough was enough and I was gonna do something about the problem, so I kissed my wife and daughters goodby and went out to put an end to those raiders once and for all. Now that task is completed I feel a yearning to keep going, righting more wrongs and seeing more action, so I’m off to be an adventurer.
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My friend saved me from evil men when I was a child. I owe my life to him and wherever he goes, I go.
Two sentence backstory!
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
EXTENDED SIGNATURE!
Doctor/Published Scholar/Science and Healthcare Advocate/Critter/Trekkie/Gandalf with a Glock
Try DDB free: Free Rules (2024), premade PCs, adventures, one shots, encounters, SC, homebrew, more
Answers: physical books, purchases, and subbing.
Check out my life-changing
I come over the great, blue ocean from beneath the grand Strongroots Mountains. The voyage took many weeks, and was fraught with peril. Now that I’m here, I plan to make my fortune before returning home.
(Dwarf, either Sailor or Far Traveler background, any class)
Because of my... leporine qualities, my father sent me to a [school/monastery/knight/other] away from his kingdom after I was born. He didn't want it to become a scandal. Nevertheless, he never appointed another successor, and I am the hare to his throne.
Harengon noble.
I have a weird sense of humor.
I also make maps.(That's a link)
They said I was worthless and I would never amount to anything. They were right, I died on my first quest. But my body has use to this fathomless creature puppeting me.
(Reborn Fathomless Warlock)
I am also here.
Am snek.
My mother always told me that if I was patient, the world would reveal itself to me in its own time. I am not patient, and I grow tired of waiting for the world to come to me, so I’m off to travel the world and hopefully have some adventures along the way. Luckily my grand uncle Peter showed me how to handle myself in a brawl so I can survive those adventures.
(Any race, Far Traveler, Fighter)
My father, a surgeon, has been teaching me to heal since before I could even walk; he chose my life for me without any concern for what I wanted. Recently, some soldiers came through town to recruit new members and in an act of defiance, I enlisted. Now as I ram my spear into another soldier’s belly, I am beginning to wonder if my father was right - that a healer has more value than a spearman and their glory, while quieter, is far more grand.
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | He/Him/They/Them
EXTENDED SIGNATURE!
Doctor/Published Scholar/Science and Healthcare Advocate/Critter/Trekkie/Gandalf with a Glock
Try DDB free: Free Rules (2024), premade PCs, adventures, one shots, encounters, SC, homebrew, more
Answers: physical books, purchases, and subbing.
Check out my life-changing
I envied my half-orc servant who always found happiness no matter what. I set him free so he’d explain to me that true happiness is found in helping others. I now tear across the surface world, forcing my help on the lesser creatures here until I claim the power of true happiness for myself!
(my clueless, thick-headed Duergar fighter)
Darbakh - Duergar warden [Pic] [Model]
Quorian - half-elf watcher [Model]
Ruffler - human wizard [Model]
PM me the word ‘tomato’
Yes, some of them are 5 sentences long. Bite me!
monk, Way of the Four Elements (Earth)
Igne always knew she was different, though she didn’t exactly understand how and, unfortunately, that was the problem. Igne was born slow-minded in the Wastes of Xhorhas, where life was too hard to let live anyone who couldn't be relied on to pull their own weight, so her tribe left her to die as a child. Instead, she found a couple of powerful earth elemental relics and formed an attachment to rocks. Ten years later, she now wanders the world accompanied by an earth minimental attracted to her relics, trying to collect one of every kind of rock and visit the Earth Elemental Plane, if only she didn’t believe clay workers & glassblowers were earth mages, glass was a special kind of see-through rock, and lava was earth blood.
Aasimar, bard (College of Glamour)
(must be read in a snooty, supercilious tone or you’re doing it wrong)
As a babe, I was chosen amongst all other infants in the clan for an arranged marriage to ensure continued peace between warring factions, and thus was given luxurious care and exorbitant schooling to become a most excellent companion for my Intended. Between lessons, my every whim was indulged and every wish fulfilled, until one season before my wedding, when my Hatfield fiancé suddenly died, leaving me without any support since I now served no purpose to Clan McCoy. My entire life, everyone in the clan told me I was special and destined for greatness, and now they want to throw me away! Before they could take back everything they’ve ever given me, I grabbed as much of MY stuff as I could and ran off in the middle of the night, vowing to return one day to show them how I had managed to achieve my great destiny without them. Instead of recognizing how wonderful and special I am, everyone I meet keeps calling me ridiculous or spoiled rotten, and if even one more tavern drunkard tells me to, “Just shut up, bard, and play another song!”, I swear I’ll have Mittens, my elephant companion, squash them, even if it gets me banned from yet another tavern!
Mountain dwarf, Monk (Way of the Ascendant Dragon)
A violent storm left ten-year-old Arem clinging to wreckage as the ship full of his ransoming kidnappers sunk beneath the waves and, had a dire shark not attacked the large dolphin that seemed to be ferrying him safely back to shore, no one would have ever known that his rescuer was actually a shapeshifted bronze dragon! Unsurprisingly, the events of that day had a profound and lasting effect on the young boy: the terror of being kidnapped and at sea for the first time in a storm, the awe of being in a dragon’s presence and feeling the very air around him vibrate with the power radiating off it, the glory of flight, watching everyone near the docks flee in terror at the nearing dragon before cautiously returning as they watched a child slide off its back, the single scale that same, very amused dragon gifted the tiny dwarf boy brave enough to ask for it, and the dreams he continues to have about his dragon savior to this day. From then on, Arem aspired to be like a bronze dragon in all aspect of his life, from his appearance to putting an end to all injustice and cruelty he encountered, and now that his ailing father has finally passed and his youngest sister has married, he can begin his quest to right the wrongs that exist outside his town.
cleric (Knowledge Domain) g-y-p-s-y fortune teller
The travelling circus who adopted and raised Thea found her as a half-starved and feverishly delirious, eight year-old wandering through the woods, the sole survivor of gnoll attack. Horrible though it was to say, Thea didn’t miss her parents, who were abusive alcoholics & violent thugs, very much at all and thought was better off without them. Even though she thrived in this new environment, Thea never forgot what it was like to wander through the woods frightened, confused, and injured, and devoted her studies to healing and the pursuit of knowledge. When she was almost thirty, a couple of boys from noble families snuck into the circus at night and were injured, causing the circus to be shutdown, its ringleaders arrested on trumped up charges, and everyone else to go their separate ways. Having spent most of her life in an ever-changing, colorful sea of organized chaos, Thea found she was unable to happily settle down with a safe and normal job in a boring, everyday-is-the-same town, so she hit the road looking for adventure and camaraderie.
Tiefling, ranger (Drakewarden of acid drake)
Mine is the classic fairytale: mother died when I was a very young and father died the season before my 12th birthday, but not before remarrying to my wicked stepmother. After father died, she became a source of unending torment with idea after idea of how to cleanse the Tiefling-ness from my veins (like beating or starving the evil out of me). It became habit for me to spend increasingly longer periods of time in the woods to avoid being at home, and one day, I realized I didn’t need to go back: I knew which berries and nuts were safe to eat and where and when they grew; how to make spear, rope, and net out of natural materials; where to place my snares; how to prepare and cook rabbit and fish over an open fire; which clouds meant rain was coming; how to make the roof of my hut rain-proof, what each animal’s call sounded like, how to make a bed that wasn’t itchy, and more. The forest embraced me, became my new home and new family, and I never looked back, wandering far and wide, eventually making a name for myself as someone who could guide travelers or transport packages through the most remote, dangerous, inhospitable of wildernesses.
rogue (frying pan as shield/club)
Just months ago, I was living my dream: working as the renowned, well-esteemed head chief of an important noble household, then I was framed for poisoning a visiting Duke and imprisoned for my so-called crime. Very recently, I escaped and am now on the run as a wanted fugitive trying to clear my name & determine who framed me & why.
kobold, crystal; wizard of Graviturgy or Evocation school
Daja was a shy kobold with humble aspirations and simple desires, but it seemed everyone around her had plans and goals for her that had nothing to do with what she wanted:
Daja didn’t learn about those last two goals until it was almost too late and barely escaped the trap set for her. She ran for her life, with only the contents of her pockets to help her survive her travels, and headed for the only place that would be safe from her own kind, gnolls, and the monsters of the wilds: the nearest humanoid city.
Wild Magic Sorcerer, human Mark of Handling
I would have been accepted without issue if my powers were normal – I mean, our village priest is a tiefling, so it’s not like they weren’t accepting folk – but no one had even heard of powers like mine, and I didn’t have the best control. Still, it wasn’t until the gnolls attacked and I was able to dispatch half of them singlehandedly that my fellow villagers realized just how dangerous I was, so when the dust settled, they tearfully demanded I stay away until I could guarantee the safety of my neighbors. Joining an adventuring party might just be the best way for a smalltown homebody to get all the practice they need without endangering innocent folk and maybe return home with a bit of coin in my pocket, too.
Tortle, druid (Circle of the Stars)
Tribecka’s egg hatched on a ship sailing to the rich collector who’d purchased her and, if Tribecka had been the wyvern that the rich merchant thought he was buying, then the ship would have been in trouble, but since she was a tortle, only Tribecka was in trouble. Disgusted at being swindled, the collector who purchased her egg cast her aside without care, but the crew had grown attached to her during their journey together and happily adopted her. Tribecka had a wonderful childhood on Shore Thing, learning how to man the sails, batten the hatches, transport cargo, tie all sorts of knots, fight off the occasional pirates, navigate using the stars, and lots of other great skills. Tribecka loved nature, the stars, the sea, and her life on Shore Thing, in that order, but ships only need one navigator, so when Shore Thing was sent to dry docks for extensive repairs after striking a reef and Tribecka was unable to find work on any of the same ships as her favorite crewmates, she decided to engage in the common tortle pastime of wandering and, since she ended up alone, the crew gave her the ship’s mascot, Gulper the pelican, to keep her company. It took less than week for her to figure out how she’d make coin for her travels, and all it took was catching and turning in the scoundrel who’d tried to run her through on his knife after she refused to give up her coin purse. Now she spends her time wandering from town to town, hunting down fugitives and bringing them to justice.
tortle, rogue (thief)
Callie had fond memories of growing in a merchant caravan and it taught her many useful skills (how to haggle, how to recognize when a deal was good or bad, and how to handle the dangers encountered on the road), but that life ended when a sickness swept across the land, killing most caravan members, including her parents. By the time the pandemic had run its course, Callie was left penniless, friendless, and alone in a strange land with only one item not stolen: the family’s heirloom magic ring that allowed the wearer to wild shape like a druid into felines. At first, she resisted the efforts of the local street kids and gangs that encouraged her to steal (she knew the value of hard work and had been raised to hate thieves) but a girl’s gotta eat, and she eventually became an expert cat burglar (pun totally intended) with the help of her family ring. Now that she’s old enough to earn a proper wage, Callie is trying to leave her thieving ways behind her, but bad habits die hard. Maybe if she joins a travelling adventure group, she can satisfy her sticky-fingered and excitement-craving urges while still doing honest work.
centaur, cleric (Twilight Domain)
Calderash was an orphan of unknown origin, rescued from the wilderness as a toddling foal by a travelling caravan and given into the care of a temple-run orphanage. Ash thought of that sad, incomplete story of his origin as an unremarkable bit of trivia in a childhood otherwise filled with excitement, mischief, the love of a few caretakers and many friends, and too many boring lessons and chores. The one shadow in his life was that the other children used his fear of the dark to torment him but, despite that fear, Ash was no coward, possessing steady hands and an iron stomach even in the face of blood and gore that made grown men turn green. This interest and natural aptitude steered his lessons toward the healing arts, which required stitches and bandages until the evening his healing powers first manifested and he accidentally healed a grievous injury on the young son of a noble whose family was sheltering in the temple from a violent storm. The grateful noble father became a patron of the orphanage and, upon inquiry of an appropriate personal token of gratitude, gifted Ash with Goggles of Night. After gaining the dark vision bestowed by his gift, Ash’s fear turned into a newfound fascination that guided the course of his clerical studies into becoming a Twilight Cleric. Now Ash has come of age and must leave the orphanage to find his way in the world and forge his own destiny.
white dragonborn, barbarian
As a young child, Frosty was the sole survivor of a shipwrecked vessel who then grew to adulthood alone on an uncharted, tropical island — at least that’s what the crew who finally found the runty, half-feral, adult, white dragonborn managed to piece together from the wreckage as they plundered it. The deeply superstitious captain, felt that the gods had used a storm to push his ship far, far off course but saved it from smashing against the same reef that had sunk this other vessel because they, in their divine wisdom, wanted the dragonborn (named Frosty by his crew) to be taken from the island and brought back to civilization, but the captain felt his responsibility ended there and abandoned the dragonborn once they reached port. The crew wasn’t as heartless as their captain and, during the journey back to port, gave Frosty lessons on how to talk and wear clothes, important concepts like money and property ownership (because he kept stealing their stuff and destroying things), and basically how to be a person. They scraped together a few provisions for him to have and found an adventuring party for him to join, since he was obviously a skilled at fighting and wilderness survival but was also clearly unnerved by the multitude of unfamiliar sights and sounds in the busy port city.
Mountain Dwarf with gigantism, barbarian (Path of the Ancestral Guardian)
My family loved me, really they did, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t also a source of embarrassment to them and, sadly, I can’t say I really blame them: a dwarf with gigantism sounds like a bad joke, and any dwarf pushing 6 feet tall is a freak of nature! It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if we lived in a more diverse area, but in a 99% dwarven city, there was no disguising or accommodating my differences. I couldn’t be a craftsman like half of my family because my hands were too big to fit the tools, nor a miner like the other half since I was too big to fit in the mines, so I became a salesman instead, except I wasn’t any good at that either. When the business I put my heart and soul into failed, I left town to seek my fortunes on the road. Even for non-dwarfs (like elves and humans), I’m a big guy; maybe it’s time I stop holding back my temper and really let loose like my warrior ancestors used to.
Changeling, fighter (Battle Master)
As a toddler, my parents recognized the uniqueness of my abilities and patriotically entrusted my care to the military and my future to ensure the continued greatness of the Emperor. Brainwashed extremist? Hah! They gifted me with a purpose by training me and then sending me behind enemy lines in deep cover! I excelled for years until I grew too cocky and got caught, interrogated, and then thrown in a fighting pit as that night's entertainment.
I barely managed to kill my opponent with innate fighting skill I didn't realize I had, but still would've died that night had the pit champion not liked the idea of having a changeling for a bunk *****. He nursed me back to health, taught me to fight, introduced me to more than a few experiences that offended me, and even more new concepts & ideas that shattered my world perspective, and then the bastard died during a mass prison escape. Doubting everything I thought I knew, purposeless and adrift for the first time in my life, I assumed his identity and now wander the land as I try to figure out who I am and what I want in life.
Shadar-kai Halfling, rogue (Thief/Phantom)
cursed via homebrew Shadow Mastiff version of Hell Hound Cloak to be shadar-kai halfling who polymorphs into ‘shadow hound’
I was a common street urchin who made a living by lightening the purses of folks traveling through my turf of the city until the day I robbed this dandy wearing a pith helmet. He told me not to, saying something about curses, but his words were too similar to those spoken by a thousand other marks, so I ignored his warning not to don the fancy cloak I stole from him, and now.... No matter how sneaky you are, it’s really freaking hard to get away with crimes when you’re the only person in a thousand miles who looks like a walking corpse, so I had to hit the road and become a wandering thief as I try to figure this mess out. My name is Lucky F Boone and I'm shadow-cursed. (If you must know, the F stands for F*cker.)
Like something you read here? Grab an idea, pick a direction to run in with it, and see where you end up!
"I am a Tortle who grew up in a family of Tortles in a large hut in the wilderness. From the day I was born, I always loved reading and learning and sought knowledge. Soon, I learned the art of magic, and I wished my family farewell as I set out into the world, ready to use my new powers for (mostly) good."
(Tortle, Wizard)
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.It was a tradition among the three villages, one home to Wood Elf, one to High Elf and one to Dark Elf, to send a child from one ot the other, this was to cement our very tenuous truce to avoid a return to the battles of yester-year. I was one of these children, sent from the High Elf cummnity to the Dark Elf where the elders called me a hostage but trreated me fairly. Recently a Wood Elf staggered into the Dark Elf village and with their dying breath warned of an impending threat, the village scouts went out and returned with news that both hIgh and Wood Elf villages had been laid waste and I have been sent out and charged to find out what happened.
Reborn Twilight Cleric
"I lost my life in battle while saving the lives of many. The Queen of Twilight must have been pleased with me. Now I'm her Watcher in the Night, not living, not dead, forever guarding"
Finland GMT/UTC +2
For 300 years I lived with my shame, for 300 years I have sort forgiveness and until I die I shall continue to do so. I was not able to save my liege lord's family nor was I able to avenge their deaths and so I went into exile, a former Samurai now a patronless Ronin. Maybe I will find my redemption at the end of another's blade or maybe the spirits of those I could not save will forgive me, unitl then I will wander and try to find my honour again.
*Fighter/Samurai of some long lived race (probably elf), try not to be too edgy and be a little more of a optimistic pessimist: Hoping for the best but prepared for the worst.
I was a farmer. Then I was a soldier. Now I have PTSD.
When my sister died, that’s when there was nothing left for me at home. That’s when I decided to set out into he world and see what it had to offer that my hometown did not. Now, using my wits and my nimble fingers, I plan to find something or someone who can make life worth living again.
(Any background, any race, Rogue)
My name is Draugr Nightblade, you can thank my parents for giving me such a nefarious sounding name but me becoming a Necromancer was all my own doing. Not long ago I was content to be an apprentice at a local alchemist guild but then a wave of sickness swept the city and I found myself helping the city watch get to the bottom of things, that earned me the nickname of "the Toxicologist". Due to my ability with poisons and contagions the local wizards academy invited me to study with them and I now use my knowledge of poisons, both arcane and mundane, to further to lore of the local chapter of Necromancers.
*Goodly aligned Guidl Artisan / Wizard Necromancer with a slight leaning towards private investigatior. No elemental damage just poisons and mostly utility related spells.
Paladin who turned to heresy and became a Blackguard. Wielder of the blade, Ruin. Respectful and pragmatic.
"You are a beginner once, but a student for life." - Firearm Instruction Adage.
I really, really needed to pee, that’s how I found myself waiting in line at the outhouse when suddenly it exploded. I rushed forward and pulled a young man from the burning wreckage just before the whole thing collapsed on him, and that’s when I realized I was the type of person who runs towards danger instead of away from it. That’s when I made two promises to myself: 1) to live a life of excitement, and 2) not to hold it anymore.
(any race, Folk Hero background, any class, callback humor)