Hi everyone! This is my first time doing a post on a forum, but I've been using the app longer, I have a tiefling background i'd like to share with y'all and I wanna see what you think, because I think this is one of my best work. So this character's a tiefling Illrigger serving Dispater, his name is Demonash, i'll put in the backstory and reply if I had inaccuracies, if any.
Demonash was born in the Nine Hells, more specifically Dis, and he was a native Infernal speaker, and his parents are both tieflings, shocker, they raised Demonash to sharpen him like a blacksmith sharpening your sword after years of battling with it, his father's kin hail from Neverwinter, artisans and merchants obsessed with pride and reputation, which meant if they wanted to take Demonash to the material plane for family gatherings, he has to learn common, and after like 1-2 family gatherings without him, Demonash finally knew Common, and he could go to the annual family gatherings the Heartfires held in Driftwood Tavern, but no one actually said they have to be nice to the tiefling kid, you know? To the human Heartfires, they're stains on the family name, and unfortunately, Demonash learned too early that some people WILL NOT like you because of what you are...
So he made a descision...
Try win their love...
Or try to win their fear instead..
And it seems like the ladder was picked...
He started training, not knowing what to train for... Not yet... From the moment steel was in his tiny hands with a dummy in front of him, he was what his name promised him to be... A demon who causes ash...
Someone noticed... Someone noticed his training, wanna know who it is? None other than Dispater, the Iron Duke, Lord of Dis... The very person who rules the place Demonash and his parents live in, and Dispater knew... He was a great candidate for the Order of Desolation. In Dispater's shadow, Demonash learned 2 things, purpose, and loyalty.
By 18, he was in the order knights sworn to serve Hell first, their patron Archdevil second, and he made his own twist to that.
"Hell First, Life and Dispater second"
He put this in his mind like a longsword stab, easy to put in, hard to pull out, and Dispater made sure to help it.
But 5 years later... Zariel's forces came to Dis.
The Reckoning of hell erupted, burning buildings and causing panic, Demonash fought for Hell, Life, and Dispater in that battlefield.
He survived, but not whole anymore, he got trauma, and became colder, because what's the point when Zariel could send her army again and take Dis?
He also became more angry, yelling at other people for small mistakes.
And his surviving family, cut contact with him, only his parents still have contact with him.
Now he lives in Dis, and yet that same creed remains.
It sounds like a great backstory for an NPC. But personally, I see a ton of potential for problems with this as a player character. A PC that yells at people for small mistakes, is just generally angry, and serves Hell first is not going to fit into most adventuring parties.
Ok, I see your feedback and honestly, that unstable anger does seem overboard, so guess I will save that for a future barbarian or something. Serving hell first however, he is an Illrigger, of course he is loyal to hell! Is there any other things I should look out for?
Ok, I see your feedback and honestly, that unstable anger does seem overboard, so guess I will save that for a future barbarian or something. Serving hell first however, he is an Illrigger, of course he is loyal to hell! Is there any other things I should look out for?
It's highly unlikely the campaign will start in Dis (many don't visit the 9 Hells at all), so you should think of some ideas for why he leaves Dis.
You also should come up with a reason why he would hang out with a bunch of randos that will be the rest of the adventuring party. Why does he need their help? Why would he trust them / work with them? Why would he do things that they want to do which may have nothing to do with Hell or even be actively against Hell's wishes.
E.g. for my more morally-gray / evil characters I've used motivations like the following:
1) They are in hiding from someone hunting them and there's safety in numbers.
2) They are chronically broke (b/c they love spending money) and will do whatever and work with whomever as long as they get paid.
3) They are physically weak and need some meat-shields to keep them alive.
4) They are desperately lonely, and will befriend anyone who is nice to them.
I haven't got him in a campaign yet but I think if the campaign's in Neverwinter, I think i'd have a reason for being in Neverwinter.
1a: Why he isn't at Dis and might be in Neverwinter.) Dispater gave him a mission: Get payback on the most anti-tiefling family member in the family; Great Grandpa Jim Heartfire, he's also hypocritical, starting the entire tiefling drama by adding fiendish DNA in the family. The steps are as follows.
Place a seal on the cake and burn it when Jim starts to cut the cake, exploding it in his racist face.
Pull off Demonash's disguise and call him out.
Make Jim apologize.
1b: Why he isn't at Dis and might be somewhere else.) Dispater might've given him a mission that is the same goal as the actual campaign (ex: Defeat a king)
2: Why he would wanna be with randos.) He wouldn't immediately trust them, and my just be with them out of agreement, and may trust them if they prove themselves.
Hi everyone! This is my first time doing a post on a forum, but I've been using the app longer, I have a tiefling background i'd like to share with y'all and I wanna see what you think, because I think this is one of my best work. So this character's a tiefling Illrigger serving Dispater, his name is Demonash, i'll put in the backstory and reply if I had inaccuracies, if any.
Demonash was born in the Nine Hells, more specifically Dis, and he was a native Infernal speaker, and his parents are both tieflings, shocker, they raised Demonash to sharpen him like a blacksmith sharpening your sword after years of battling with it, his father's kin hail from Neverwinter, artisans and merchants obsessed with pride and reputation, which meant if they wanted to take Demonash to the material plane for family gatherings, he has to learn common, and after like 1-2 family gatherings without him, Demonash finally knew Common, and he could go to the annual family gatherings the Heartfires held in Driftwood Tavern, but no one actually said they have to be nice to the tiefling kid, you know? To the human Heartfires, they're stains on the family name, and unfortunately, Demonash learned too early that some people WILL NOT like you because of what you are...
So he made a descision...
Try win their love...
Or try to win their fear instead..
And it seems like the ladder was picked...
He started training, not knowing what to train for... Not yet... From the moment steel was in his tiny hands with a dummy in front of him, he was what his name promised him to be... A demon who causes ash...
Someone noticed... Someone noticed his training, wanna know who it is? None other than Dispater, the Iron Duke, Lord of Dis... The very person who rules the place Demonash and his parents live in, and Dispater knew... He was a great candidate for the Order of Desolation. In Dispater's shadow, Demonash learned 2 things, purpose, and loyalty.
By 18, he was in the order knights sworn to serve Hell first, their patron Archdevil second, and he made his own twist to that.
"Hell First, Life and Dispater second"
He put this in his mind like a longsword stab, easy to put in, hard to pull out, and Dispater made sure to help it.
But 5 years later... Zariel's forces came to Dis.
The Reckoning of hell erupted, burning buildings and causing panic, Demonash fought for Hell, Life, and Dispater in that battlefield.
He survived, but not whole anymore, he got trauma, and became colder, because what's the point when Zariel could send her army again and take Dis?
He also became more angry, yelling at other people for small mistakes.
And his surviving family, cut contact with him, only his parents still have contact with him.
Now he lives in Dis, and yet that same creed remains.
"Hell First, Life and Dispater second"
It sounds like a great backstory for an NPC. But personally, I see a ton of potential for problems with this as a player character. A PC that yells at people for small mistakes, is just generally angry, and serves Hell first is not going to fit into most adventuring parties.
Ok, I see your feedback and honestly, that unstable anger does seem overboard, so guess I will save that for a future barbarian or something. Serving hell first however, he is an Illrigger, of course he is loyal to hell! Is there any other things I should look out for?
It's highly unlikely the campaign will start in Dis (many don't visit the 9 Hells at all), so you should think of some ideas for why he leaves Dis.
You also should come up with a reason why he would hang out with a bunch of randos that will be the rest of the adventuring party. Why does he need their help? Why would he trust them / work with them? Why would he do things that they want to do which may have nothing to do with Hell or even be actively against Hell's wishes.
E.g. for my more morally-gray / evil characters I've used motivations like the following:
1) They are in hiding from someone hunting them and there's safety in numbers.
2) They are chronically broke (b/c they love spending money) and will do whatever and work with whomever as long as they get paid.
3) They are physically weak and need some meat-shields to keep them alive.
4) They are desperately lonely, and will befriend anyone who is nice to them.
I haven't got him in a campaign yet but I think if the campaign's in Neverwinter, I think i'd have a reason for being in Neverwinter.
1a: Why he isn't at Dis and might be in Neverwinter.) Dispater gave him a mission: Get payback on the most anti-tiefling family member in the family; Great Grandpa Jim Heartfire, he's also hypocritical, starting the entire tiefling drama by adding fiendish DNA in the family. The steps are as follows.
1b: Why he isn't at Dis and might be somewhere else.) Dispater might've given him a mission that is the same goal as the actual campaign (ex: Defeat a king)
2: Why he would wanna be with randos.) He wouldn't immediately trust them, and my just be with them out of agreement, and may trust them if they prove themselves.