I'm making a posessed fighter. Do you have any tips of advise that may improve this backstory?
Dolan spent most of his life traveling around. Home has always been where gold is. Dolan has been haunted by the ghost of a man named Richter for as long as he can remember. Richter claims to have been a skilled fighter from a noble family and a detective of sorts. In life, Richter was an adventurer for years and claimed to have been murdered by a fellow party member. He believed it was the warlock. A male tiefling named Xaokar, but never got a good look at his killer. He now seeks answers and possible justice by any means.
Dolan however was a mere boy when he began speaking to Richter. Dolan doesn't have any memories of his family as his parents believed him to be speaking with demons and blamed him for the strange occurrences around the family ranch. Richter knew the occurrences were not his doing nor Dolan, but it did not matter much since Dolan was inevitably be sent to an orphanage.
He was raised in a very strict religious orphanage that was very devout to the god of Lathander. Dolan was ostracized by the other children for his strange behavior which led to rumors. Some are more hurtful than others. When he attempted to lash out, he would be punished which made him resentful and mistrustful of religious figures. Over the years he began to adopt bad habits like counting out loud, pointing at things or people he is speaking about, and compulsive lying.
By the age of fourteen Dolan had left the orphanage seven different times, but this one was different because rather than return the next day, a man that smelled strongly of cheap mead and other similar beverage choices crossed his path one day. Under normal circumstances, one would avoid someone like this, but this man was an exception to that rule. Kinda.
Richter vaguely recognized the man as Rice Thistle, former thief. Rice thistle was in the same party as Richter, Xaokar, and a paladin named Horace. After Dolan explained his relationship with Richter to him, he offered young Dolan a place to lay his head. Rice was a happy go lucky, carefree alcoholic and beggar. Rice was fairly nimble and graceful for a somewhat fat and out of shape middle aged man. In Rice's youth he was a thief and a devout worshiper of Tymora. Now in his old age, his religion and luck were the only two things he still maintained from his youth.
Dolan never cared much for religion, but Richter did and so did Rice. Rice was kind of a father figure to Dolan. Albeit he was drunk half the time and brought home prostitutes and random trinkets. He also occasionally brought home books. Mostly written in elven. It took Dolan a few years to be able to properly read them. With luck often on his side, Rice gambled in his spare time. His adventuring days were behind him, but his mind was sharp as ever. He still knew some tricks of the trade, and because he traveled a lot, he stayed in decent shape, though his beer belly would suggest otherwise. He knew how to win big and did so often. Rice lived in an old mage tower in the middle of a lake he won in a gambling bet and redecorated it into a bachelor pad of sorts.
Rice never knew Richter was murdered before meeting Dolan and had never suspected Xaokar was capable of such. He had seen neither Xaokar nor Horace within the last 10 years. He had a few sources left but couldn't find any info on either of them. By the age of 19, Rice didn't come home one day. A went to town the next day to find out Rice had been killed. Many people suspect the murderer was someone Rice cheated in a gambling match and they got payback. Richter believed it may have been something more. With Rice deceased, Dolan had inherited Rice's home. It was an old somewhat crumbling tower, but it was better than nothing. Dolan used the old tower as a base of operation, but with Rice gone, Dolan had to rely on himself. Using some of the skills Rice gave him, and some of the advice Richter gave him, he became a mercenary and made plans to travel far and wide.
Spoilers!
The true killer is actually the paladin, turned oath breaker, and not the warlock. It seemed like a neat plot twist.
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"We are what we repeatedy do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle.
The classy class clown passes cracked black brass glasses in class. (try saying that really fast.)
Solid backstory, but you shouldn't be the one to decide what comes of it. Your spoilers indicate you want the story of your character to follow a Very Specific Story, which isn't what DND necessarily is about. That part is generally where your DM comes in and crafts quests/stories/etc for your character.
If the idea of giving up creative control like that doesn't sit well for this character, consider either writing a short story/novel or changing the concept until be it's at a place where you feel better about giving up some control of the story.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
I'm making a posessed fighter. Do you have any tips of advise that may improve this backstory?
Dolan spent most of his life traveling around. Home has always been where gold is. Dolan has been haunted by the ghost of a man named Richter for as long as he can remember. Richter claims to have been a skilled fighter from a noble family and a detective of sorts. In life, Richter was an adventurer for years and claimed to have been murdered by a fellow party member. He believed it was the warlock. A male tiefling named Xaokar, but never got a good look at his killer. He now seeks answers and possible justice by any means.
Dolan however was a mere boy when he began speaking to Richter. Dolan doesn't have any memories of his family as his parents believed him to be speaking with demons and blamed him for the strange occurrences around the family ranch. Richter knew the occurrences were not his doing nor Dolan, but it did not matter much since Dolan was inevitably be sent to an orphanage.
He was raised in a very strict religious orphanage that was very devout to the god of Lathander. Dolan was ostracized by the other children for his strange behavior which led to rumors. Some are more hurtful than others. When he attempted to lash out, he would be punished which made him resentful and mistrustful of religious figures. Over the years he began to adopt bad habits like counting out loud, pointing at things or people he is speaking about, and compulsive lying.
By the age of fourteen Dolan had left the orphanage seven different times, but this one was different because rather than return the next day, a man that smelled strongly of cheap mead and other similar beverage choices crossed his path one day. Under normal circumstances, one would avoid someone like this, but this man was an exception to that rule. Kinda.
Richter vaguely recognized the man as Rice Thistle, former thief. Rice thistle was in the same party as Richter, Xaokar, and a paladin named Horace. After Dolan explained his relationship with Richter to him, he offered young Dolan a place to lay his head. Rice was a happy go lucky, carefree alcoholic and beggar. Rice was fairly nimble and graceful for a somewhat fat and out of shape middle aged man. In Rice's youth he was a thief and a devout worshiper of Tymora. Now in his old age, his religion and luck were the only two things he still maintained from his youth.
Dolan never cared much for religion, but Richter did and so did Rice. Rice was kind of a father figure to Dolan. Albeit he was drunk half the time and brought home prostitutes and random trinkets. He also occasionally brought home books. Mostly written in elven. It took Dolan a few years to be able to properly read them. With luck often on his side, Rice gambled in his spare time. His adventuring days were behind him, but his mind was sharp as ever. He still knew some tricks of the trade, and because he traveled a lot, he stayed in decent shape, though his beer belly would suggest otherwise. He knew how to win big and did so often. Rice lived in an old mage tower in the middle of a lake he won in a gambling bet and redecorated it into a bachelor pad of sorts.
Rice never knew Richter was murdered before meeting Dolan and had never suspected Xaokar was capable of such. He had seen neither Xaokar nor Horace within the last 10 years. He had a few sources left but couldn't find any info on either of them. By the age of 19, Rice didn't come home one day. A went to town the next day to find out Rice had been killed. Many people suspect the murderer was someone Rice cheated in a gambling match and they got payback. Richter believed it may have been something more. With Rice deceased, Dolan had inherited Rice's home. It was an old somewhat crumbling tower, but it was better than nothing. Dolan used the old tower as a base of operation, but with Rice gone, Dolan had to rely on himself. Using some of the skills Rice gave him, and some of the advice Richter gave him, he became a mercenary and made plans to travel far and wide.
Spoilers!
The true killer is actually the paladin, turned oath breaker, and not the warlock. It seemed like a neat plot twist.
"We are what we repeatedy do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle.
The classy class clown passes cracked black brass glasses in class.
(try saying that really fast.)
Solid backstory, but you shouldn't be the one to decide what comes of it. Your spoilers indicate you want the story of your character to follow a Very Specific Story, which isn't what DND necessarily is about. That part is generally where your DM comes in and crafts quests/stories/etc for your character.
If the idea of giving up creative control like that doesn't sit well for this character, consider either writing a short story/novel or changing the concept until be it's at a place where you feel better about giving up some control of the story.
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
Thanks for the advice. I'll keep that in mind.
"We are what we repeatedy do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle.
The classy class clown passes cracked black brass glasses in class.
(try saying that really fast.)