I've been wanting to play DnD for a very long time, and after discovering places like r/lfg and the DNDBeyond Discord server, I feel like I finally have a chance. I've been rummaging through sources to try and come up with an idea of the kind of character I want to make, and I've come up with a lot of ideas, but I'm having trouble trying to settle on one. Was wondering if any folks here could help me sort stuff out.
1. A Shadow Sorcerer that grew up with a violently overprotective "imaginary" friend (actually a skulk), whose interactions with the phantasmal creature slowly built up a synergy with the power of shadow magic within him OR a half-elf sired by the union of a human and shadar-kai, whose existence has brought on the attention of the Raven Queen.
2. A Hexblade Warlock who made a pact with an ancient gold shadow dragon that seeks to bring some light into the Shadowfell, no matter what it takes OR a member of a noble house who has inherited a pitch-black blade said to have brought his ancestors glory and conquest... and it's starting to talk to him.
3. An Undead Warlock (if you can't tell at this point, I really like spooky shadow magic) who made a pact with a dracolich who regrets it's transformation and seeks a cure OR a slave of a vampire in the Shadowfell who has tasked him with obtaining the blood of powerful spellcasters to revive his former master, who has been reduced to nothing more than vampiric mist.
4. A Lurker in the Deep Warlock who has been reached out to by one of the last few krakens who remain allied with the deities of good.
I would advise going down the warlock route -- metamagic is very complicated, and the backstories for you warlocks will be more adaptable to any campaign setting. As a warning, in general edgelord characters are often frowned upon, but I think going down a horror route is perfectly reasonable. Good luck.
PS I've seen a lot of new players on these forums going for a lot of the cool stuff in Volo's and Xanathar's. Very interesting trend, resulting in cool concepts :)
These sound like cool concepts, but some of them contradict established lore, so better check with your DM first. Also, I actually like edgy stuff (within reason), but your DM may feel differently. Anyway, check with them after you pick which one you wanna go with and make sure they approve it.
What level are you starting at?
Tell you what. Pick one and write like a first draft and I’ll be happy to give you some advice.
My intent was actually to create a character that contradicts the edginess so commonly found in Shadowfell-related persons, but as I'm rereading some of my character ideas, I realize most of them have pretty traumatic, angsty backstories implied... I screwed myself up subconsciously :p
It's starting right from level 1.
Would you mind telling me which ones go against source material lore?
Oh, is there a big difference between eladrin/shadar and elves? I thought they were kind of a planar trio (high/wood elves=Prime; eladrin=Feywild; shadar-kai=Shadowfell) in a similar manner to the planar quartet of the genasi; influenced by different kinds of energy and magic, but fundamentally the same type of creature.
What I meant by "gold shadow dragon" was a gold dragon with the shadow template applied, like with the red shadow dragon in the MM. I figured their status as chromatic or metallic would be a variable in how the Shadowfell influences them after their adaptation: the worst traits of a chromatic becoming more exaggerated, and a metallic may become more sadistic/temperamental/sorrowful/zealous without necessarily losing their goodness. I also remember reading that the transformation within the Shadowfell is less harsh on dragon breeds who prefer isolation in the first place, so I figured the shy and elusive gold dragon would be a good candidate for a good/neutral shadow dragon patron.
And the kraken thing was just to play around with what the lore does and doesn't implicitly state. How could ALL krakens immediately turn to evil after the wars of the gods? Was there a giant kraken conference or something where they unanimously decided to turn into tyrants? I figured "no," and that there might be some handful of krakens left who are ashamed of what their brethren have become.
I've been wanting to play DnD for a very long time, and after discovering places like r/lfg and the DNDBeyond Discord server, I feel like I finally have a chance. I've been rummaging through sources to try and come up with an idea of the kind of character I want to make, and I've come up with a lot of ideas, but I'm having trouble trying to settle on one. Was wondering if any folks here could help me sort stuff out.
1. A Shadow Sorcerer that grew up with a violently overprotective "imaginary" friend (actually a skulk), whose interactions with the phantasmal creature slowly built up a synergy with the power of shadow magic within him OR a half-elf sired by the union of a human and shadar-kai, whose existence has brought on the attention of the Raven Queen.
2. A Hexblade Warlock who made a pact with an ancient gold shadow dragon that seeks to bring some light into the Shadowfell, no matter what it takes OR a member of a noble house who has inherited a pitch-black blade said to have brought his ancestors glory and conquest... and it's starting to talk to him.
3. An Undead Warlock (if you can't tell at this point, I really like spooky shadow magic) who made a pact with a dracolich who regrets it's transformation and seeks a cure OR a slave of a vampire in the Shadowfell who has tasked him with obtaining the blood of powerful spellcasters to revive his former master, who has been reduced to nothing more than vampiric mist.
4. A Lurker in the Deep Warlock who has been reached out to by one of the last few krakens who remain allied with the deities of good.
Insert interesting signature here.
I would advise going down the warlock route -- metamagic is very complicated, and the backstories for you warlocks will be more adaptable to any campaign setting. As a warning, in general edgelord characters are often frowned upon, but I think going down a horror route is perfectly reasonable. Good luck.
PS I've seen a lot of new players on these forums going for a lot of the cool stuff in Volo's and Xanathar's. Very interesting trend, resulting in cool concepts :)
Proud poster on the Create a World thread
These sound like cool concepts, but some of them contradict established lore, so better check with your DM first. Also, I actually like edgy stuff (within reason), but your DM may feel differently. Anyway, check with them after you pick which one you wanna go with and make sure they approve it.
What level are you starting at?
Tell you what. Pick one and write like a first draft and I’ll be happy to give you some advice.
My intent was actually to create a character that contradicts the edginess so commonly found in Shadowfell-related persons, but as I'm rereading some of my character ideas, I realize most of them have pretty traumatic, angsty backstories implied... I screwed myself up subconsciously :p
It's starting right from level 1.
Would you mind telling me which ones go against source material lore?
Insert interesting signature here.
1. Shadar-Kai aren’t elves. They’re more like shadow eladrin. This one is minor.
2. There’s no such thing as a gold shadow dragon. Gold dragons and shadow dragons are totally different.
3. This one I like. I like crimson mists.
4. There are no good krakens that I know of, but I could be wrong about that.
But it doesn’t matter really. Whatever background you create will have to be approved by your DM anyway.
And Dw. Angst is cool 😊.
Oh, is there a big difference between eladrin/shadar and elves? I thought they were kind of a planar trio (high/wood elves=Prime; eladrin=Feywild; shadar-kai=Shadowfell) in a similar manner to the planar quartet of the genasi; influenced by different kinds of energy and magic, but fundamentally the same type of creature.
What I meant by "gold shadow dragon" was a gold dragon with the shadow template applied, like with the red shadow dragon in the MM. I figured their status as chromatic or metallic would be a variable in how the Shadowfell influences them after their adaptation: the worst traits of a chromatic becoming more exaggerated, and a metallic may become more sadistic/temperamental/sorrowful/zealous without necessarily losing their goodness. I also remember reading that the transformation within the Shadowfell is less harsh on dragon breeds who prefer isolation in the first place, so I figured the shy and elusive gold dragon would be a good candidate for a good/neutral shadow dragon patron.
And the kraken thing was just to play around with what the lore does and doesn't implicitly state. How could ALL krakens immediately turn to evil after the wars of the gods? Was there a giant kraken conference or something where they unanimously decided to turn into tyrants? I figured "no," and that there might be some handful of krakens left who are ashamed of what their brethren have become.
Insert interesting signature here.
All of your explanations are great. If I was your DM I would allow any of those characters 😊.
I like the Undead Warlock with the dracolich patron the best. The Hexblade with the talking shadow sword is pretty cool too.