Life isn’t all that good in the old barren town of Gandell. There isn’t much room for schools and the schools that exist are full for the next few years. Only kids with wealthy parents get a chance to get into school at their younger age. Most kids will leave the town after attending schools when they are old enough to travel alone or with the monthly caravan that leaves the town to trade with Waterdeep and other cities. Gandell’s main income however isn’t from this monthly caravan but from the rather big harbor that only was built two years ago. Most of the trading is via this harbor and that has given the town a chance to develop. Since the harbor has come, a lot has changed. More schools started opening, more houses were being built because there were a lot of new people coming from all over the lands to make a living here. Although more people also brings more shady figures to town to shake things up pretty bad for the citizens. Corruption is spreading since the old mayor Gandell died a week ago. From here on we follow the story of Levari a young Tiefling with a rather good reputation among others.
Levari just about seven years of age is getting ready for school, packing his bag for school. His parents aren’t at home again. His mother working day and night for the largest company in Gandell a large smithing company being one of the supervisors. His dad recently got caught up in the development of the harbor and is now setting up his own company called “Imperial”. As a captain of a large fleet of six boats existing of four merchant ships and two fully fletched warships all of them fitted with crew and captains of their own. With all this crew he could easily stay at home and do nothing but earn money, but his lust for sailing the seas has never faded and even to this day he still likes it. The diamond was the crown jewel of his fleet. A gigantic merchant ship, outfitted with the most sturdy and expensive materials this is a hard rock to crack. The name however comes from one of his most famous battles that occurred a few months ago when his fleet left the harbor for Waterdeep to trade.
A couple hours into the trip above the horizon a fleet of around eight pirate ships started appearing. Coming from the warm and smooth light of the sun three giant ships heading straight for The Diamond and its fleet. Not soon after from the shadows appeared the other five pirate ships not quite that large but definitely faster and more agile. This cult of pirates was known as “the eight”. A rather simple name one would think, eight ships so that would make sense. However a man who has crossed the seas more than he crossed the roads knows the eight consist of eight of the most deadly pirates on the seas of Garon. Each with their own ship and specialty. Hendrick, Levari’s father, saw the ships approaching and only needed to say one word: “Positions” Hendrick said in the most ominous way. His crew at the moment panicking, praying for mercy. All six ships were in panic mode and the eight were approaching fast. Hendrick stared into the abyss as he saw his crew turning into a bunch of kids who just got yelled at by their mothers. It reminded him of his son, he swallowed and smiled. Another word left his mouth: “Raise”. The crew of the Diamond turned to Hendrick in disbelief. More words: “Did I ******* stutter?!” “Raise!!” this time louder and more urgent. The panic stopped for a second and the crew looked at Hendrick standing at the rudder still staring into the abyss. Suddenly the sound of panic turned into the sound of boots hitting the deck, crew started making their way to their appointed positions. More than half of the crew disappeared into the ship it’s belly. Only around twenty members stayed on top. Two climbing in the masts, two with Hendrick, six in the shrouds and the remaining crew where unchaining four huge pillars as thick as the foremast. After around two minutes they were done unchaining the masts, soon after the masts would be finding themselves at the outside of the ship. Four massive pillars now sticking from each side of the Diamond. Sails started appearing. “Extra sails?!” yelled a new member from the crew named Rasi. “How smart, we can definitely get away now!”. Hendrick let out a small smile. “FORWARD!” he said with the lowest voice a man possibly could make. The diamond, now almost twice as fast leaving the center of the fleet heading straight for the middle ship of the eight. Rasi with fear in his eyes looked at the contraption that was now driving the ship to its utmost limits, even bending the ship upwards starting from the front. “A diamond” he said. “That’s why they call this ship the diamond!”. Rasi once again turned to Hendrick now with a brighter grin on his face than ever before. Hendrick bursts out laughter, almost hysterical. Rasi now scared to death runs to the front of the ship to take a better look at what’s happening. “COWARD!” Hendrick yelled at Rasi. Rasi now almost crying running back to his post, “my apologies captain, we are going to ram them aren’t we?” he said. Hendrick stared at the middle pirate ship. “I’ll show you why they call her The Diamond”. Now going faster than ever before the eight were taking shape. Three massive ships clearly the leaders of the cult. Black sails, a flag with the shape of a burning turned eight on it. Wood rotten, sails shattered in some places and cannons sticking out from the side. They came closer and closer and so did The Diamond. Now leaving the five other ships far behind them the eight couldn’t believe their eyes. “One ship? Coming for all of us? This is a joke” Kergan said. “She is approaching fast captain what do we do?”, said one of Kergans deckhands. “Positions!” Kergan yelled. Three ships left started making a wide turn to the left and were clearly initiating a flank. So did the other two ships on the right. “And we Kergan?”, “We are gonna give him what he wants”, “Forward!”. And so The Diamond and the three pirate ships heading straight for each other on the seas Garon. “Brace yourself” Yelled Hendrick. Kergan now couldn’t believe his eyes. “He’s really gonna do it” he whispered. With merely a minute before the Diamond would clash with the eight. Kergan thought for a minute. “I thought he was bluffing, LOWER THE ANCHOR”. And so the anchor was lowered. Kergans ship making a turn almost smashing into his own fleet. Kergans ship now finds itself in a sideways position opposite from the front of The Diamond. “FIRE!”, simultaneously in a symphony of explosions around 30 cannons fired at The Diamond. Kergan laughed and laughed and laughed. The eight already cheering, when the cloud of smoke started to fade. They looked in disbelief as there was no dent, no scratch, but only a hole or two in the sails of The Diamond. Kergan saw what just happened and couldn’t move. He let out a last order which he couldn’t finish. The Diamond with incredible speed now has rammed the ship of Kergan. Quite literally splitting it in two, “FIRE” you could hear from in between the cracking of rotten wood. Wood hatches opening, after mere seconds from either side of The Diamond you could hear the sound of 120 cannons combined firing from The Diamond. Penetrating the opposite ships completely, a moment of silence and again multiple explosions. This time not from the diamond, the two other ships managed to get of some shots themselves. Once again the Diamond withstanding the shots as if they were shooting leather balls. A moment of silence and a deafening wave of explosions. Grown men screaming, the smell of burning flesh, wood hitting the water, ships sinking. The cannonballs from The Diamond were filled with gunpowder, exploding seconds after they penetrated the hull of the opposing ships. Out of the ash and smoke, The Diamond sails. Behind three of the eight completely destroyed, cut in half, now sinking while burning. Rasi’s mouth falls straight through the floor. He can’t believe his eyes on what just happened. He turns to Hendrick only to see him smile, scratches from flying wooden pieces covering his face, his fine clothes destroyed, it fits the rest of the crew. The sails full of holes and huge tears two of the four pillars that held up the extra sails destroyed. However the hull of the ship, only has a few scratches this time. Rasi’s mind can’t stop but thinking about how he survived this. From the belly of the ship you hear cheering and men come storming outside. The crew from the crow nest signals the other ships have been destroyed as well by the rest of the fleet. Short after the fleet regroups and once again sets sail to Waterdeep for repairs and to deliver goods and trade. Hendrick lets loose of the rudder and a deckhand quickly gets hold of it. “Listen men, your performance was outstanding and I’m so proud to have you all as my crew. With only a few casualties left we can say we almost entirely defeated the eight, however two ships got away after seeing what happened to their leaders. I have one thing left to say and then we’ll go on our way to Waterdeep. I DRINK TONIGHT”. Crew: “WE DRINK”, Hendrick: “YOU DRINK WITH ME”, Crew: “WE DRINK WITH YOU”. Hendrick: “WE. SHALL. DRINK”. And so Rasi finally understood why they actually called this ship The Diamond, not because of the extra sails, but because of the impenetrable hull and the impeccable durability it has.
Levari is headed to school he dashes through the small woods as usual. On his way he sees a few hunters inspecting claw marks on the trees and tracking some footprints on the ground. Interesting as it looks he needs to hurry to be on time. “What could they have been looking for?”, he takes a last sprint and arrives on time. In class he can’t stop thinking about the hunters he saw earlier, he never saw them before and really looked like trouble. However it was his turn to present his project he was been working on. He made a longbow with help of his mother, it was said it was made from the same wood as The Diamond was made of. Levari made the string himself and helped carve the wood in the smithing company his mother was working in. This particular wood was really dense but very flexible, this awesome combination made it one of the most expensive sorts of wood. Gandell is one of the two towns that has access to this type of wood and handles it with utmost care, they regularly have guards check the forests for any troublemakers. Levari shows the bow to everyone and tells the necessary information. He ends his presentation with a promise that once he is grown up he will be the best hunter men had ever seen. The class claps and they all inspect the bow a second time.
Levari finishes his day on school and walks home with some friend of him, they tell Levari they wanted to try the bow. “That might not be a good idea, we aren’t hunters after all” said Levari. “Oh c’mon! Just once!”. “Okay okay” says Levari. “I don’t have arrows so if you guys want to use it, you need to find one”. “Ah bummer, I hadn’t thought about that”. They approached the woods that Levari crossed to get to school. “I got an idea, I saw some hunters on their into the woods, maybe they are still around here somewhere, they should have an arrow and maybe can teach us to shoot one from the bow!”. His friends cheered and they rushed into the woods, Levari was right the hunters were definitely still around. However as they saw the four kids approach them, they made a run for it. In around five seconds they were gone from sight. “That’s weird” said one of the kids. Levari can’t but think these were the same hunters from before. How could they have been still searching after all this time, these woods aren’t that big at all and there has been no sign of wild life in the last three months. “We have to look out for something, they were doing something here, something wrong” said Levari whispering. They made their way to where the hunters were standing. “I don’t know Levari this looks very dangerous, we should head back home”. “No this is important, I need to know what they did here, I saw them on the way to school and I’m sure they are up to no good, go if you are too scared”.
And so his friends did go home and there Levari was, standing alone in the woods at the tree with the scratch marks the hunter was inspecting earlier. He searched around for footsteps, but nothing. He came at an intersection between paths in the middle of the woods, an arrow in the tree in front of him. Clearly a missed shot, as it was barely in the middle, further up, another tree another arrow. He sets food in the deeper part of the woods, more trees, less vision. It’s getting darker outside and Levari should really start heading home, not that it matters, there is no one waiting for him. However if they see him outside at this time of day, the family’s reputation will surely drop. Something they managed to build in all these years around this town. As Levari turns around and heads back home, he hears a faint sound. He turns around immediately only to hear it one more time. He heads into the direction the sound came from, paw marks now on the ground. Not symmetrical, the animal has to be hurt. Levari follows the tracks, from behind the bushes around the corner. “There” Levari whispered. He pushes aside some of the leaves and sees a small cave large enough for a kid to stand in, from the dark one yellow eye focuses on Levari. The piteous sound now turned into soft growling. The beast clearly couldn’t growl like it used to, stuttering from time to time. Levari approached, now crawling on his knees to get to the same height as the beast. Slowly approaching it, the growling stopped. For a moment the two looked at each other, suddenly the beast stands up and darts out of this cave. It tries to make a run for it, around 10 feet out of the cave the beast tramples and falls to the ground. Levari can now clearly see this is a wolf, three arrows sticking from his upper body. Two right behind his neck and one in his back. The piteous sound makes a return and the wolf is desperately trying to stand up, the sound becomes more and more awful to withstand. Levari can clearly hear the beast is in absolute pain, but his instinct to survive keeps him alive. Levari just stands there almost tearing up as it sees the wolf trying to get away from him. Never has he felt this mad and depressed before. “IS THIS WHAT HUNTERS DO? KILL INNOCENT ANIMALS?”, he looks at his bow and at the arrows he retrieved. Angrily he throws them away in the cave that once was the home of the mighty wolf. He makes a run for the beast, that now has given up on standing and lies there on his side. Levari without a doubt tries to pick up the beast, that now has stopped making the piteous noise. It had given up, sparing it last strength to stay alive. Levari takes out his bag, he knows much about animals because he wants to be a hunter when he’s grown up. His bag containing all kind of ointments and bandages. Using the techniques he studied he tries to patch up the wolf, first he yanks out the arrows one by one from the beast. It just lies there, lifeless. Using the ointment he got from his mother on the wound the arrows had inflicted. Almost magically the wounds patch up, he couldn’t believe his eyes. The wolf lifted its head and stood up as if it were that nothing had even happened. The wolf gave Levari a lick. Levari smiled and said: “Are you okay now?”. The wolf started wagging his tail slowly and sticking his tongue out of his mouth as if it were warm. “You seem happy, can I give you a name? You are as white as snow, how about Snowy?”. The wolf started wagging his tail faster this time and gave Levari another lick. Levari stood up and looked at the wolf. Suddenly it stopped wagging its tale and closed its mouth. Then it fell to the ground. Letting out a final “aarfff”. Levari’s heart skipped a beat, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He ran to one of the arrows the wolf had been shot with and smelled the tip. “Poison” he said to himself, “poison”, “POISON”. “I should have known, I should have known”. Levari falls to the ground, tears shredding from his eyes. “How am I supposed to become a hunter if I can’t even save a simple animal”. Levari quite literally cries himself to sleep that night in the cave that once was the home of Snowy.
The next morning Levari wakes up and to his surprise the body of Snowy was gone. He was nowhere to be found. Levari looked for tracks, nothing, as if the body disappeared. He stood up and grabbed his bag, he looked one last time a the little cave like hole Snowy had dug out for himself. It was clearly just set up and had been here for around five days. A young white wolf looking for a place to settle, only to be chased down to his demise the next morning. Levari sheds a final tear and goes home, on the ground where Snowy was lying was some white fur. Levari picked it up and looked at it for a minute. The shine the hair had was astonishing white, it had no smell and looked almost fake. He put it in his bag and headed home. Once home he silently opened the door so his father or mother couldn’t hear him if they were at home. Luckily they were not there, again. Starting to feel sick he decided not to go to school the next day and stayed at home. In the afternoon his friends came over to ask what happened in the woods. Levari told them nothing much and they asked if they could now shoot his bow. “I lost it in the woods” muttered Levari. “How does a hunter lose his bow?” said one of the kids mockingly. Levari looked him straight in the eye “I am no hunter, now leave I don’t feel well and need some sleep”. His friends didn’t argue and let him be.
Fast forward a few years and Levari now 24 works as a crewmember on one of the boats of his father. “Ha! Finally, me and my son on the wide open sea like it was supposed to be”. “Thanks dad” Levari replied. “Isn’t it nice the open sea?”. “Yes dad” Levari replied somewhat irritated. “Listen here son, I can see you are not being yourself, in fact you have lost your way since you have become older. Where is the happy hunter I had when you was younger, I hoped to have him serve up dinner someday for me when I was older” Hendrick said proudly. “I hate to break it to you dad, but that hunter died a few years ago. I’m a new man now” Levari said sadly.
Hendrick looks up to the sky and let’s a deep breath. “Why does the youth always give up on dreams so fast when there just happens to be some small obstacle in the way?” “Follow me” he says to Levari. They both walk inside the captains cabinet, and inside Hendrick searches between the many chests that are stored inside the cabinet. He gets out a small chest that is quite long but not that wide. “Open it”. Levari does not argue and opens the fine made box. Light meets his eye as there is the bow that he had thrown away in the woods. However it is the same bow, it now gives of a faint white light, nothing to noticeable. “One of my men was walking through the woods in search for mushrooms as he stumbled across this small cave, hoping to find mushrooms he found a bow and some arrows. When he brought them home his son recognized the bow and told him it was yours the next day they gave it to me and here it is”. Levari looks stunned at what just happens and after a brief moment of silence he looks at his dad with tears in his eyes. Hendrick smiles and Levari walks up to him and hugs him very tight. “There, there son”. Now go do what you like and get off this ship, you’re a hunter and I always knew that. I’m sure Snowy would be proud of you. “Thanks dad, you always know what to do in this kind of situation” Levari said. Hendrick gives him a wink and takes him outside to watch the night sky. “Tomorrow my son, we will moor at Waterdeep, you are free to go explore the world and be the hunter you always wanted to be. That said, I’ll be waiting for that freshly shot boar, haha” said Hendrick mockingly. Levari laughed “Of course dad, I don’t know when, but you’ll get that boar one day”. Hendrick puts an arm around Levari and together they sail off into the night.
Levari is at ease, but there was something bothering him. How did his dad know about Snowy, he was pretty sure he was alone in the woods that day. Or was he?
I will be playing a half-elf bard, so I think that he would not normally share his back story. So here is what is actually in noted in the char sheet:
"To tell you of my life is to bore you. I will not do that.
My father begrudged my human heritage and my mother lamented my elven heritage. But to tell you a sob story of a child unloved by his parents is to bore you.
I will not do that. I will tell you a story of a young child, no more than 10 years old. It is also a tale of a halfling bard who one day came to the child's town. For five days she would spend many hours out on the town square singing the epic epics of heroes long dead and mournful ballads of love lost and never found. And each minute of each day she sang and played on her wondrous shamisen the child would be there, on the first row taking in each word with eyes, ears and heart wide open. At night the child would sneak food out to bring to the bard. On the 5th night when the boy went to bring food to his new friend she was no longer there, all that was left under tree she slept was her shamisen with a neat little bow on it. To this day the child searches the wide world for his mother to the bardic calling."
Silvanus (Latin name meaning "from the forest") is a Tabaxi Ranger (Horizon Walker)(multiclassed with lvl. 1 Rogue). Here is his story...
Silvanus lived in a Tabaxi clan located in the mountains. The rough and difficult terrain felt natural for the feline race. He grew up hunting and stalking prey animals to help feed the clan. He knew very little of life outside the mountains and even less of those who lived there.
One day, tragedy befell clan. A pack of Orcs were passing through the mountains and happened upon his village. As Orcs do, they raided and pillaged his clans-folk and left everything in ruin.
Just as it seemed there was nothing worse that could be done, a Fiend Warlock stepped forward from behind the Orcs. He walked into the very center of the village and made fire rain from the sky. Not only so, but as the fire came down everyone in his clan was suddenly tossed, thrown, and hurled through the lower planes and received images of nightmarish landscapes and creatures (that's actually a spell called Hurl through Hell from the Warlock Otherworldly Patron, the Fiend...I just thought that was cool). Once everyone returned, including Silvanus, some were found dead due to the uncomprehendable horrors they had just experienced. Others simply became mute, and some had an empty look in their eyes that never left, but one that reached the bottom of their souls.
Silvanus was mute for 5 years after the event. Those creatures were etched into his memory and dreams. He wished he never knew what threats and horrible evils laid beyond his own world, but now that he knew, he could never forget. He left his clan, learned the ways of the wilderness, and became devoted to hunting and slaying the evil threats from beyond his own plane of existence for the sake of protecting life, and goodness itself.
Bek Faerocast’r / Changeling / Bard - The College of Whispers.
Born into a wandering tribe no bigger than a hamlet. My clan stayed hidden from the populace of the outside world, with fear of persecution.
The lone child of my folk, I spent most of my time with my parents and sparing amounts of it alone. With what little time I had to myself I sought for something to entertain my adolescent mind. In my searches I came across those who would play instruments in harmony, singing fables. I became infatuated with the few bards in my clan and the tales of the outside world they shared through ballads. The stories they illustrated through every note played rejuvenated me. Every time they played I would join into the groups of people surrounding them, few or many, it didn’t matter, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hear such wonderful tales.
The calling to be a bard beckoned to me. I wanted so much to be taught by those who brought me joy. But unfortunately I never had the chance. The short period of time I had with my parents, my tribe, and my home was ripped from my grasp by a ravenous herd of beasts. Who preyed upon us in the night when no one was the wiser (and decimated everything).
I came to consciousness the following morning, waking to my lifeless parents who protected me from death, their bodies laid still over mine. After shedding all the tears I had, I said my goodbyes to them, and as I left my tent I saw all the others painted with the blood of those slaughtered. No one else survived the onslaught of those beasts. Searching through the remnants of the encampment I came across a panduri and took it with what little I gathered and fled.
Taking refuge in the city Everlund, I matured into deception, conning and impersonating anyone who came in contact with me. Hiding in plain sight, a chameleon, I was whoever I needed to be to stay alive. No one could tell me apart from the other occupants of the city. Which was good because no one was able to apprehend me after the countless cons and impersonations I did. I no longer clung to what remained of my home, but I didn’t give up what small amount of my self was left.
I pursued the passion I had as a child, and learned to play the panduri I scavenged. I could render beautiful melodies from it, reminiscent of the songs I heard from the bards when I was younger. On occasion I would perform wherever I was able, to anyone who would hear. Ending every performance with applause, it reminded me of those I would gather before as a child. A brief escape from the loneliness and pain I endure.
I was fortunate to overhear a conversation about the Bardic College of Whispers. Albeit not a pleasant conversation, but it peaked my interest. I never gave up my dream to be a bard, and I was sure that this place of practice was the right fit for what I needed. After masquerading around the city I learned of its location, and soon enough was inducted. I learned to be a wolf among sheep. Many other bards hate the College of Whispers, so I was taught to be like any other bard, sharing news, singing songs, and telling tales to the audiences that gathered around me. In truth I used it as exploit toward people, uncovering secrets and turning them against others through extortion and threats. All of this was a facade though, something to cope with my loses and my past.
Talk of beasts that ravaged the outlands sprung about in conversations. Lycans, werebeasts, vicious creatures that raided the outlands, killing anyone that came in contact with them. I learned as much as I could about those who took everything from me. Those beasts believed that no one survived, but I’m still breathing. I still have life in me, and with what little of it I have left I will use what I’ve acquired over time to avenge my tribe. Thinking they left nothing alive will be their downfall.
5 years ago I awoke amid the wreckage and char of a collapsed building. After an extensive amount of time loosing myself from the debris, I looked aimlessly for any memorabilia that could have lead me to what might have transpired. Following a brief search through the wreckage the only noteworthy thing I found was a gun lying in soot and ash. Upon retrieving the pistol any memories I thought might come to mind, never did. I couldn’t recall anything that happened, nor had I any recollection of my past, who I was or why I was actually there.
Without any indications of my previous life or my former self, I became a drifter. In my time wandering the lands I acquired my name and profession. Without any attachments to tie me down I kept on the move, a lone walker and boon to the Bounty Hunting business. Town to town, tavern to tavern, in search of wanted posters and my next bounty. I thrived on my line of work.
I’m not sure if I want to know who I was, I have no arrangements to seek out my... the life I lived prior to Boone Walker. I’m sure who I was is better left behind, I can’t cash in on lost memories, but I can cash in on bounties. Ha, as long as I have a firearm in my possession I’m better off now than that person who collapsed under the dross of some building.
Eventually I will be known for my skills behind a gun, and have no rival. My climb to the top will solidify my place in this world as Boone Walker, leaving only smoke and ash in my wake.
So I’m still newish to DnD. This is my 3rd character. Working in my backstory for a fallen Aasimar Hexblade Warlock. Any constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Rumor has it, the day Osiris Blackwood was born, the Heavens themselves bestowed great fortune and harvest on the people of Briarhold. This was a huge change for the town who always seemed to be on the defensive from various attacks. The towns folk were a religious group, praying always to the numerous Deities of the Forgotten Realms. The god they prayed to the most was Tyr, the god of justice. The righteous people of Briarhold fought in the name of Tyr, always helping those oppressed by people who wished to enslave the surrounding villages, despite dealing with there own attacks. After several years of this, they took the birth of Osiris as a good omen, that the town had finally received good standing with their god.
Following the birth of Osiris, Briarhold enjoyed decades of peace and prosperity. Osiris, although from noble family, did what he could to help others. At the age of 23 he met a stunning young woman, Isis Nefertari. Isis was nearly perfect in every way. Her only flaw however is that she is, as are most in her village, Atheist.
Her religious leanings (or lack there of) infuriated the gods. One night, Osiris recieved a vision as he was sleeping from his Celestial Guide. In the vision, he was instructed to end the relationship, for they did not think it was good for their followers to see their beloved Aasimar courting with someone who did not even believe in the gods at all. Despite the warning, Osiris thought that the gods would forgive him, and that his show of love would prevale, so he decides to follow his heart, and marry her.
It was during this time that Osiris' backstory and fall from grace really begins. An evil sorcerer, gone mad with power, led his army of undead across the continent. Desolating cities and villages as he marched onward closer to Briarhold. A Briarhold fishing vessel several miles outside of town was contacted by a Triton merchant from the underwater city of Oceana, telling him of the Undead army's advancement towards the region. The fishing vessel delivered the message to Briarwood, and from there the townsfolk along with Osiris stood ready to defend.
Once the battle reached Briarwood, the Sorcerers Undead army ravished the town, killing anyone that stood in their way to add to their ever growing army. Osiris and Isis stood together side by side when suddenly Isis was hit from behind, pierced in the heart by a sword wielding zombie. Osiris, realizing the bleak situation, prayed to Tyr, prayed to the other Deities, asking for help to end this battle; but due to their anger, nobody answered his prayers. Not even his Celestial Guide would answer. As Osiris was lying wounded and on the verge of death himself, he yelled out for help to the only other being he thought would help him, the goddess of death.
The Raven Queen, hearing his call for help, as well as her dislike of undead, decided to aid Osiris, vanquishing the undead hoard. Osiris, grateful, thanked the Raven Queen for her help and for saving what was left of his people. Taking pity on him, the goddess of death imbued Osiris with new powers, asking him only to aid her in destroying undead and escorting souls to their rightful place.
Please let me know what you think And if you want to read any more for my characters I have several on tap.
Jedidiah was grew up in a rundown house in the slums of a large city to common parents that made their living with odd jobs. From a young age he was jaded and uncaring to the world due to his poor upbringing. Things changed the day a traveler named Eli cane to town. Eli was a very charismatic guy that knew magic due to his twisted outlook on life Eli took Jed under his wing and he had earned Eli’s trust when he was shown the book that he got most of his magic spells from. He and Jed would spend hours of time researching and trying out the rituals the book had to offer. Until one day Jed used the book behind Eli’s back for a ritual and he was unable to control the Phoenix that he had summoned and it started to burn every thing Jed managed to escape the inferno with the book and but at the cost of massive burns to his face and body. Eli and the rest of his town were not so lucky they all burned in the fire. Jed watched the inferno decimate his home, friends and family as everything turned to ash before him. While he hadn’t planned for this outcome the fact that Eli died in the fire making him the sole owner of the book as far as Jed was concerned it was an acceptable loss. Taking the burnt book and the blacked whip that belonged to Eli; Jed moved on studying what he could decipher from the book to improve his magic and find greater sources of magic.
Going to be an evocation wizard? I wonder if anyone knows he caused the fire, and if they are looking for him. He might have people from his past try and track him down to pay for his crimes (accidental though they may be). Hope you have fun with it!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Hexblade warlock with an affinity for fire the character itself is one from a debunked project a friend and me were working on and I recently remembered his so I decided to make him a character sheet and stuff
So My characters background I thought was cool but it’s not going to be nearly as long or intracit as some so
Throom is a Loxodon who was born in a small village with a draconic ancestor and when he was young he was bullied and finally snapped releasing a giant shock wave and killing multiple people and was banished so he lived as a hermit and the spite and hate grew inside him and he honed his scorcer skills and fueled his rage by killing random animals and his rage grew until it changed his light grey skin to black and a strange ruin eventually shined on his forehead. once he gained control of his magic he left his small home to become adventurer to gain enough power to wipe his hometown off the face of the earth.
If anyone has any interesting things they think I should add that I am more than open to suggestions
This is my longest standing and favourite character. Probably a couple of years old now and level 9 (sorlock 8/1): Kurtis the Blue
Kurt is a tiefling draconic sorcerer. As part of that I thought about what it means to be an innately magical being. He doesn’t understand magic, for him it’s an act of will or emotion. As such he can't use wands, staffs, or spell scrolls as a means to cast spells. You may as well hand him a stick and say ‘be angry through that’. His sorcerous abilities come from his infernal heritage and his (blue) draconic blood. Therefore he can only do fire or lightning based damage respectively. Being a spy and now a Harper, that means a lot of his other abilities centre around stealth, infiltration and subterfuge. Esoteric spells outside that purview are not available to him because he’d have never thought to try them. Finally he cannot cast anything that has a material component with a gp value as it's never occurred to him that magic can work that way.
Summary:
Kurt is a product of his situation. He and his older sister Serenity (Sera) were raised by an elderly human couple in the lower city of Baldur's Gate, then later on their own in the squaller of The Sprawl. His education is rudimentary because he was taught by his parents and his sister. The siblings grew up in an incredibly hostile environment for tieflings and it hardened them in different ways. His sister is a fighter, he is a ghost. They didn’t become criminals by choice, they did so because their skills suited it and they needed to eat. Kurt and Sera are very insular and untrusting people as a result of their childhood. After their adoptive parents passed away, the only people they cared about were each other.
Sera escaped The Sprawl by joining a monastic order at Candlekeep. He decided to seek fortune in the north and went on a one-night only crime spree to fund his escape. He moved to Waterdeep and ensconced himself in the Dock Ward. Relatively speaking this was a much nicer place for him. As a loner (he did make a friend and business acquaintance in Justim) he took up gambling to pass the time. Hence whilst earning money, he often still had little. It wasn’t winning that mattered, he enjoyed playing the game. He wouldn’t know what to do with a lot of money anyhow. So he tended to play until it was gone. He could always get more if he needed it.
Kurt is very reactionary when it comes to life. He doesn’t plan, he just finds himself in situations and deals with them and moves on to the next. He ended up an adventurer when he ran from Waterdeep after a job went wrong. He found out that outside the city he was massively out of his depth, so joined an adventuring party. He traveled with Jørn as he had nowhere else to be, they got on, and it was mutually beneficial for them to do so.
It’s only the trio of Gaarg, Lavina and Kurt where he started to feel like he belonged. Though he might not admit it, he’s really quite fond of the pair of them and has come to enjoy their company. They’re all out of their element in some way, but together they’re a dysfunctionally cohesive whole.
Background:
Kurtis is a tiefling …mostly. He has a tail, horns and canine like incisors. More often than not tieflings have human-like skin pigmentation or are on the red spectrum, a blue tiefling, though not completely unheard of, is a rare thing. For him it is a symptom of a blood disorder he was born with that has perverted his fiendish form with draconic traits. His skin is covered with fine, mildly iridescent blue scales, his eyes are a golden yellow with a vertical black pupil, and his tail is slightly thicker and more reptilian than his brethren. His older sister Serenity (Sera) doesn't share his condition and is red skinned with black hair and solid black eyes.
Neither of them have any recollection of their natural parents or where they were from originally. Their adoptive parents, an elderly human couple, would quickly change the subject should either of them broach it. He has no formal education being home schooled by his parents and his much brighter sister who would read to him whatever book she was currently digesting.
Baldur's Gate is not a safe place at the best of times, but it can be especially dangerous for young tieflings. In the lower city you learned to survive in whatever way worked for you. For Sera this was with her fists, other kids learned quickly not to pick on the little red devil girl. Kurt was a ghost, he moved about the city in the shadows, always inquisitive, using his wits and his skills to stay out of sight and out of trouble. Which worked for the most part as, unlike his sister and her well earned reputation, for him harsh words would often escalate to violence.
Around his thirteenth year he found himself cornered and on the receiving end of a such a beating that he began to lose consciousness. As the darkness consumed him, he embraced its reprieve and his mind drifted into a memory, ...a memory buried deep in his ancestral blood. It was of the first draconic tiefling sorcerer undergoing the ceremony that created him. He stood before a human priestess who handed him a chalice of blue blood. He drank, then the priestess carved a rune into his chest with a claw-like nail. Kurt awoke in an alley dumped amid a corpse pile. The mark he’d witnessed in the vision freshly carved into his own flesh. He dragged himself home and collapsed there. Sera got him to his bed and tended to his wounds. The mark, acting as a focus, had awakened the draconic blood that had laid dormant within him. Though he does not understand magic, through sheer force of will or emotion, he could now harness and unleash it.
Their parents passed within weeks of one another and when the siblings could no longer make the payments on their home they were evicted, ending up with the destitute of Baldur’s Gate, outside the walls in the Sprawl. There are few options for their kind here, none pleasant. Begging was out, no one would throw coin the way of a tiefling. No one would hire them for work, and petty theft required the ability to blend in with a crowd, which they couldn’t. Thankfully Kurt’s new gifts had allowed him access to areas of the city he was most certainly not welcome. He’d make his way to the upper city at night, passing himself off as patriar or a watchman. Breaking into their homes and businesses as they slept. He’d take small, easily pocketable things, things easily thought lost. Never getting greedy, many of them didn’t even realise they’d been burgled. Sera would fence the goods and hire out her services as muscle. This persisted for a number of years with no real hope of escape.
Sera was trying to secure a book when she encountered an Avowed monk. After a long and intense debate about the book, the monk invited her to travel with him to Candlekeep. Kurt saw an opportunity for her to escape and assured her that he would be fine. He’d become really rather adept at looking after himself and he would use this as motivation for his own departure. He already had a plan as he was waving goodbye to her.
He booked passage with a caravan for the month long journey to Waterdeep, the city of splendours. The caravan master agreed to take him along as long as he kept a low profile and didn’t scare the other travellers, fine by him. It of course came at a price, one he would cover by breaking his own rules and going on a one night burglary spree. The fence offered him a lousy rate, especially after being woken up in his own bed by a tiefling with a sack full of loot. But it covered his journey and expenses. The caravan was already out and away from the city as it rose. It would be some time before they figured out what at happened, and by then he’d be long gone. It mattered little, he had no plans of ever returning to this gods forsaken place.
The journey was long. Keeping himself to himself came naturally and he ignored the usual mumblings. He left the caravan prior to arrival at Waterdeep and made his way covertly into the city. There he settled into the Dock Ward and his old nocturnal routine. He was staying in a squat when he met and befriended a local human named Justim (not Timothy, or Timmy, it's just Tim), an urchin who moved about the city with enviable ease and had a seemingly vast number of contacts. Justim was amazed by Kurt’s ability to access more secure locations around the city seemingly unnoticed. Between them they formed a partnership of sorts.
Justim would act as a middle man for Kurt who would use his skills in infiltration and subterfuge to gather the information, place implicating evidence, manipulate documents, and the like. The arrangement allowed Kurt to operate as an independent contractor working for many of the city’s organisations, from criminal to governmental. Kurt didn’t discriminate or differentiate between them, seeing them all as just variations on a theme. In the underworld you get given a name that marks you as one of the family, whether you like it or not, and it's often not very imaginative. He is known as Kurtis the Blue, ...because he is blue.
Spy work is sporadic but quite lucrative. Often when they completed a job, Justim and Kurt would indulge themselves with the best booze, whores and gambling that the Ward had to offer. But it was the latter that really caught Kurt’s attention. He loved cards. He loved the deception, the patience, the planning, the tactics. There was something about it that just called to him. When he had the coin, he would often be found in games behind closed doors on the Ward. He might find himself sharing the table with a noble, a crime lord, a madam and a priest. He would play until he ran out of coin, often ending up back in squats or tenements. He didn't mind.
Then the Xanathar job ruined everything. Little was known about the crime syndicate, apart from it being quite literally underground and those who belong to it tend to be somewhat fanatical. The job seemed simple enough: infiltrate, gather intelligence regarding the workings of the organisation and get out. Kurt got close enough to discover the nature of The Xanathar himself, and as the beholder gazed upon him, his illusions failed... He ran and he didn’t stop running until he was outside the city walls.
As a young shiftier I became fascinated with those of our kind that embraced the wolven aspect of their natures. As i grew older I saw how dark and crewel the world can be. I also saw that nature respects strength, people respect strength, those who wish to harm those i care about respect strength. I also realized that on my own i would not have enough strength to save and protect others. I decided to become a paladin they are well known as strong protectors. As time went on I realized this wasn't enough I needed more. So i went back to my routs, to my inner nature. I wanted to harness the power of the wolf. But as a shiftier I was limited. But then I found the order of the lycan, who have found a way to fully harness the primal power locked within. But there is a price to be paid to access the power I needed, a price paid in blood my blood. I had to become a blood hunter. Now with the things I am learning and the power that is growing within me I will be able to stop any that may attempt to cause harm.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />As a young firbolg I lead a peaceful life learning from those of our kind that embraced the simpler aspect of nature. As i grew older I saw how dark and crewel the world can be. I also saw that nature respects strength, people respect strength, those who wish to harm those i care about respect strength. I also realized that on my own i would not have enough strength to save and protect others. The peace I thought would last forever was replaced with fear. I decided to become a paladin they are well known as strong protectors. As time went on I realized this wasn't enough I needed more. So i went back to my routs, to my inner nature. I wanted to harness the power of one of natures strongest protectors the wolf. But as a firbolg I was limited. But then I found the order of the lycan, who have found a way to fully harness the primal power locked within. But there is a price to be paid to access the power I needed, a price paid in blood my blood. I had to become a blood hunter. Now with the things I am learning and the power that is growing within me I will be able to stop any that may attempt to cause harm.<br /><br /><br />
Plagued by the memory and at times me think the ghost from an accidental death I caused - I killed a young adventurer while spitting my acid not looking where I was hawking it, and without intending to harm him, really... But he screamed and it unintentionally squirted in his throat and next thing I knew... Dead! Now I am haunted by a wraith that follows me and invades my dreams and occasionally takes on physical form as a revenant and tries to slay me. (F-ing revenants, impossible to get rid of)
I grew up in the nomadic hills & mountains of the spine of the world with my tribe - as dragon born barbarians its easy to live away from civilization and the ways of the world. we run and hunt and live in harmony with the land and its ways. The forests were my home and the mountains my food source. Mother slain by rogue giants father and our tribesmen sought bloody revenge on the murderous stupid stone giants who killed her and we feasted on their stupid flesh and bone. (have a bone carved dagger from a stone giant femur) Some years later our tribe stumbled upon a mountain far to the east that smelled rather different from any others we'd encountered. In this mountain was a cave, and in the back of this cave was a tunnel. So of course we wandered in to explore and seek that which is new. Father was flanking the scout leaders and wandered upon the most intriguing portal of a glowing purple hue unlike any glow we had ever seen before. there were clandestine holes amongst the sides of the wall that also gave out a glow - green/blue in color. We felt a voice in our heads, all of us. This voice told us to eat of the glowing mushroom in the holes and enter through the portal. No one moved, and I of course wasn't planning on doing anything of the sort, truth be told I very much wanted to get out of this strange place before something happened. I wanted to move and leave, but the voice spoke again only this time others started reaching into the holes and partaking of the glowing mushroom. Then I saw father eat and his eyes widened instantaneously. Then I felt the urge to too. With the first bite my body came alive. I felt my insides moving and oozing, my breath had bounce and life to it. I hazily remember all of us walking through the portal into the purple haze. When I came to after this out of the mind experience I was laying on the ground surrounded by only a few of my tribesman. Father was no where to be seen and the portal hung open in this dark and barren place, and in the not to far distance I saw a lone castle atop a spiral peak. I awoke my brothers and we gathered, Eaglesight looked and saw a distant precession, our fathers walking in to the castle. Hastly we set out, only they had what we gathered about a hour head start. When we ran to the castle we ran into the door and from the main room we heard sounds of pain - echoes of gushing coming from the chamber above us. When we reached the top of the stairs we saw humanly figures holding our kin, heads burrowed into their necks and heads, faces drenched in blood and mouths lined with fangs. We yelled and unleashed our acid and frost breath, then raged and ran recklessly into the fray. Axes and swords chopping and hacking, we cut down a few only to watch them rise up again and burst into misty smoke and descend. They ran out of the walls and we cut deep to slay them. After a few minutes none were left and we fell to our knees weeping holding our dead in our arms. Father had his neck bitten out and marks all over his arms and chest. We grew with fury and charged deeper into this castle of death, but as soon as we engaged one, more and more stood above and flew into us. After hours of battle we were only 4 and we decided it best to run and leave this accursed place. We made the way we came and were almost to the main door we entered when one of them appeared before us. Life-breath chopped in and buried his great sword into the fiends anterior, but instead of running through our brother froze and was unable to move or do anything - we called and pulled him along, it was as he were paralyzed and then the monster grabbed the sword and wretched it from his chest. He ordered our own to turn on us and he listened, Jumped onto IceDeath and began clawing his eyes out, blinded his own cousin, his kin. Eagle and I ran - we ran faster than we ever had before and didn't stop to look back for when we listened we heard the fiends flying in pursuit. Just as we came to the Portal hole with its Indigo glowing aura filling the ground below it, that monster who should have been ended with sword in the front appeared again. He grabbed Eagle tight by his neck and al the while with eyes on me he sank his fangs into his throat and sucked. I saw horridly as his scales lost their color and turned a pale dead color and within a few seconds my kin was one of them, alive yet not. Utter fear swept over me and into my mind and I jumped into the Portal and fell back into the Wilds. Alone and scared I ran and ran until I fled the cursed mountains and haven't gone back since. I vow one day to return to that cursed land and free my kin and slay the monsters who Took them...
I need help in posting my character picture here - I tried to insert it but it doesn't seem to allow me to copy it in .... if you know how let me know how I can add it please
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Took me a while to think up mine but I'm glad to have made it. Tried some non stereo type elements and also created my own picture for my character.
Renitar Hellwit is the son of an Orcish mom and a human father who fell in love during the high summer festival in [enter city name]. They make a decent living and share a loving home together.
His father (Ludvert Hellwit) works as a blacksmith which Renitar took an interest in from an early age. This interest swiftly grew into his profession. He bought his own shop after making enough coin at his fathers forge.
His mother (Gashna Mugol Hellwit) works as a biologist that mainly focuses on studying giants. Not only does she make more coin compared to Renitars father due to the importance of her work as a biologist, she also build quite the name for herself in the scientific circle in the city of [enter city name]. Due to her Orcish heritage she takes a lot of pride in her work which leads to arguments and rivalry between her and Ludvert but nothing they haven't been able to resolve.
Gashna was, according to Orcish traditions, on her 15th birthday, supposed to be an adult which also meant she had to fight in the wars her clan was involved in. She refused to fight out of pure disgust for combat. This led to her being outcast-ed. Which forced her to run and build a life in [enter city name] Eventhough Renitar did not take after his mother regarding her smarts, she made sure to teach Renitar to speak fluid giants tongue since this might prove useful one day.
Renitar isn't very in touch with his orcish side since he grew up in a human society but he can not deny his orcish roots. His emotions get easily triggered by small events. Besides his rages issues he is a good natured person that does not mean any harm to the innocents. Renitar once broke a man's skull at "The Golden Drink", the local pub, after being wrongly accused of stealing and being verbally abused by three men. He has always regretted this and needs to prove to himself and the world that he is not a monster. However this leaves him confused about his identity. Additionally the accidental murder led him into a dispute with the law enforcement of [enter city name]. This dispute was resolved with coin and time in jail but the damage had already been done. Everywhere Renitar went he was looked at not as a civilian, but rather a half-orcish freak.
After losing interest in the blacksmith profession, a growing interest in adventuring, being fed up by his reputation within city walls and wanting answers about his identity, he bid his farewells to his mother and father after promising he'd come back one day to with more knowledge and to clear his name.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Hi all!
Enjoy :)
If you've got feedback, please tell me.
Life isn’t all that good in the old barren town of Gandell. There isn’t much room for schools and the schools that exist are full for the next few years. Only kids with wealthy parents get a chance to get into school at their younger age. Most kids will leave the town after attending schools when they are old enough to travel alone or with the monthly caravan that leaves the town to trade with Waterdeep and other cities. Gandell’s main income however isn’t from this monthly caravan but from the rather big harbor that only was built two years ago. Most of the trading is via this harbor and that has given the town a chance to develop. Since the harbor has come, a lot has changed. More schools started opening, more houses were being built because there were a lot of new people coming from all over the lands to make a living here. Although more people also brings more shady figures to town to shake things up pretty bad for the citizens. Corruption is spreading since the old mayor Gandell died a week ago. From here on we follow the story of Levari a young Tiefling with a rather good reputation among others.
Levari just about seven years of age is getting ready for school, packing his bag for school. His parents aren’t at home again. His mother working day and night for the largest company in Gandell a large smithing company being one of the supervisors. His dad recently got caught up in the development of the harbor and is now setting up his own company called “Imperial”. As a captain of a large fleet of six boats existing of four merchant ships and two fully fletched warships all of them fitted with crew and captains of their own. With all this crew he could easily stay at home and do nothing but earn money, but his lust for sailing the seas has never faded and even to this day he still likes it. The diamond was the crown jewel of his fleet. A gigantic merchant ship, outfitted with the most sturdy and expensive materials this is a hard rock to crack. The name however comes from one of his most famous battles that occurred a few months ago when his fleet left the harbor for Waterdeep to trade.
A couple hours into the trip above the horizon a fleet of around eight pirate ships started appearing. Coming from the warm and smooth light of the sun three giant ships heading straight for The Diamond and its fleet. Not soon after from the shadows appeared the other five pirate ships not quite that large but definitely faster and more agile. This cult of pirates was known as “the eight”. A rather simple name one would think, eight ships so that would make sense. However a man who has crossed the seas more than he crossed the roads knows the eight consist of eight of the most deadly pirates on the seas of Garon. Each with their own ship and specialty. Hendrick, Levari’s father, saw the ships approaching and only needed to say one word: “Positions” Hendrick said in the most ominous way. His crew at the moment panicking, praying for mercy. All six ships were in panic mode and the eight were approaching fast. Hendrick stared into the abyss as he saw his crew turning into a bunch of kids who just got yelled at by their mothers. It reminded him of his son, he swallowed and smiled. Another word left his mouth: “Raise”. The crew of the Diamond turned to Hendrick in disbelief. More words: “Did I ******* stutter?!” “Raise!!” this time louder and more urgent. The panic stopped for a second and the crew looked at Hendrick standing at the rudder still staring into the abyss. Suddenly the sound of panic turned into the sound of boots hitting the deck, crew started making their way to their appointed positions. More than half of the crew disappeared into the ship it’s belly. Only around twenty members stayed on top. Two climbing in the masts, two with Hendrick, six in the shrouds and the remaining crew where unchaining four huge pillars as thick as the foremast. After around two minutes they were done unchaining the masts, soon after the masts would be finding themselves at the outside of the ship. Four massive pillars now sticking from each side of the Diamond. Sails started appearing. “Extra sails?!” yelled a new member from the crew named Rasi. “How smart, we can definitely get away now!”. Hendrick let out a small smile. “FORWARD!” he said with the lowest voice a man possibly could make. The diamond, now almost twice as fast leaving the center of the fleet heading straight for the middle ship of the eight. Rasi with fear in his eyes looked at the contraption that was now driving the ship to its utmost limits, even bending the ship upwards starting from the front. “A diamond” he said. “That’s why they call this ship the diamond!”. Rasi once again turned to Hendrick now with a brighter grin on his face than ever before. Hendrick bursts out laughter, almost hysterical. Rasi now scared to death runs to the front of the ship to take a better look at what’s happening. “COWARD!” Hendrick yelled at Rasi. Rasi now almost crying running back to his post, “my apologies captain, we are going to ram them aren’t we?” he said. Hendrick stared at the middle pirate ship. “I’ll show you why they call her The Diamond”. Now going faster than ever before the eight were taking shape. Three massive ships clearly the leaders of the cult. Black sails, a flag with the shape of a burning turned eight on it. Wood rotten, sails shattered in some places and cannons sticking out from the side. They came closer and closer and so did The Diamond. Now leaving the five other ships far behind them the eight couldn’t believe their eyes. “One ship? Coming for all of us? This is a joke” Kergan said. “She is approaching fast captain what do we do?”, said one of Kergans deckhands. “Positions!” Kergan yelled. Three ships left started making a wide turn to the left and were clearly initiating a flank. So did the other two ships on the right. “And we Kergan?”, “We are gonna give him what he wants”, “Forward!”. And so The Diamond and the three pirate ships heading straight for each other on the seas Garon. “Brace yourself” Yelled Hendrick. Kergan now couldn’t believe his eyes. “He’s really gonna do it” he whispered. With merely a minute before the Diamond would clash with the eight. Kergan thought for a minute. “I thought he was bluffing, LOWER THE ANCHOR”. And so the anchor was lowered. Kergans ship making a turn almost smashing into his own fleet. Kergans ship now finds itself in a sideways position opposite from the front of The Diamond. “FIRE!”, simultaneously in a symphony of explosions around 30 cannons fired at The Diamond. Kergan laughed and laughed and laughed. The eight already cheering, when the cloud of smoke started to fade. They looked in disbelief as there was no dent, no scratch, but only a hole or two in the sails of The Diamond. Kergan saw what just happened and couldn’t move. He let out a last order which he couldn’t finish. The Diamond with incredible speed now has rammed the ship of Kergan. Quite literally splitting it in two, “FIRE” you could hear from in between the cracking of rotten wood. Wood hatches opening, after mere seconds from either side of The Diamond you could hear the sound of 120 cannons combined firing from The Diamond. Penetrating the opposite ships completely, a moment of silence and again multiple explosions. This time not from the diamond, the two other ships managed to get of some shots themselves. Once again the Diamond withstanding the shots as if they were shooting leather balls. A moment of silence and a deafening wave of explosions. Grown men screaming, the smell of burning flesh, wood hitting the water, ships sinking. The cannonballs from The Diamond were filled with gunpowder, exploding seconds after they penetrated the hull of the opposing ships. Out of the ash and smoke, The Diamond sails. Behind three of the eight completely destroyed, cut in half, now sinking while burning. Rasi’s mouth falls straight through the floor. He can’t believe his eyes on what just happened. He turns to Hendrick only to see him smile, scratches from flying wooden pieces covering his face, his fine clothes destroyed, it fits the rest of the crew. The sails full of holes and huge tears two of the four pillars that held up the extra sails destroyed. However the hull of the ship, only has a few scratches this time. Rasi’s mind can’t stop but thinking about how he survived this. From the belly of the ship you hear cheering and men come storming outside. The crew from the crow nest signals the other ships have been destroyed as well by the rest of the fleet. Short after the fleet regroups and once again sets sail to Waterdeep for repairs and to deliver goods and trade. Hendrick lets loose of the rudder and a deckhand quickly gets hold of it. “Listen men, your performance was outstanding and I’m so proud to have you all as my crew. With only a few casualties left we can say we almost entirely defeated the eight, however two ships got away after seeing what happened to their leaders. I have one thing left to say and then we’ll go on our way to Waterdeep. I DRINK TONIGHT”. Crew: “WE DRINK”, Hendrick: “YOU DRINK WITH ME”, Crew: “WE DRINK WITH YOU”. Hendrick: “WE. SHALL. DRINK”. And so Rasi finally understood why they actually called this ship The Diamond, not because of the extra sails, but because of the impenetrable hull and the impeccable durability it has.
Levari is headed to school he dashes through the small woods as usual. On his way he sees a few hunters inspecting claw marks on the trees and tracking some footprints on the ground. Interesting as it looks he needs to hurry to be on time. “What could they have been looking for?”, he takes a last sprint and arrives on time. In class he can’t stop thinking about the hunters he saw earlier, he never saw them before and really looked like trouble. However it was his turn to present his project he was been working on. He made a longbow with help of his mother, it was said it was made from the same wood as The Diamond was made of. Levari made the string himself and helped carve the wood in the smithing company his mother was working in. This particular wood was really dense but very flexible, this awesome combination made it one of the most expensive sorts of wood. Gandell is one of the two towns that has access to this type of wood and handles it with utmost care, they regularly have guards check the forests for any troublemakers. Levari shows the bow to everyone and tells the necessary information. He ends his presentation with a promise that once he is grown up he will be the best hunter men had ever seen. The class claps and they all inspect the bow a second time.
Levari finishes his day on school and walks home with some friend of him, they tell Levari they wanted to try the bow. “That might not be a good idea, we aren’t hunters after all” said Levari. “Oh c’mon! Just once!”. “Okay okay” says Levari. “I don’t have arrows so if you guys want to use it, you need to find one”. “Ah bummer, I hadn’t thought about that”. They approached the woods that Levari crossed to get to school. “I got an idea, I saw some hunters on their into the woods, maybe they are still around here somewhere, they should have an arrow and maybe can teach us to shoot one from the bow!”. His friends cheered and they rushed into the woods, Levari was right the hunters were definitely still around. However as they saw the four kids approach them, they made a run for it. In around five seconds they were gone from sight. “That’s weird” said one of the kids. Levari can’t but think these were the same hunters from before. How could they have been still searching after all this time, these woods aren’t that big at all and there has been no sign of wild life in the last three months. “We have to look out for something, they were doing something here, something wrong” said Levari whispering. They made their way to where the hunters were standing. “I don’t know Levari this looks very dangerous, we should head back home”. “No this is important, I need to know what they did here, I saw them on the way to school and I’m sure they are up to no good, go if you are too scared”.
And so his friends did go home and there Levari was, standing alone in the woods at the tree with the scratch marks the hunter was inspecting earlier. He searched around for footsteps, but nothing. He came at an intersection between paths in the middle of the woods, an arrow in the tree in front of him. Clearly a missed shot, as it was barely in the middle, further up, another tree another arrow. He sets food in the deeper part of the woods, more trees, less vision. It’s getting darker outside and Levari should really start heading home, not that it matters, there is no one waiting for him. However if they see him outside at this time of day, the family’s reputation will surely drop. Something they managed to build in all these years around this town. As Levari turns around and heads back home, he hears a faint sound. He turns around immediately only to hear it one more time. He heads into the direction the sound came from, paw marks now on the ground. Not symmetrical, the animal has to be hurt. Levari follows the tracks, from behind the bushes around the corner. “There” Levari whispered. He pushes aside some of the leaves and sees a small cave large enough for a kid to stand in, from the dark one yellow eye focuses on Levari. The piteous sound now turned into soft growling. The beast clearly couldn’t growl like it used to, stuttering from time to time. Levari approached, now crawling on his knees to get to the same height as the beast. Slowly approaching it, the growling stopped. For a moment the two looked at each other, suddenly the beast stands up and darts out of this cave. It tries to make a run for it, around 10 feet out of the cave the beast tramples and falls to the ground. Levari can now clearly see this is a wolf, three arrows sticking from his upper body. Two right behind his neck and one in his back. The piteous sound makes a return and the wolf is desperately trying to stand up, the sound becomes more and more awful to withstand. Levari can clearly hear the beast is in absolute pain, but his instinct to survive keeps him alive. Levari just stands there almost tearing up as it sees the wolf trying to get away from him. Never has he felt this mad and depressed before. “IS THIS WHAT HUNTERS DO? KILL INNOCENT ANIMALS?”, he looks at his bow and at the arrows he retrieved. Angrily he throws them away in the cave that once was the home of the mighty wolf. He makes a run for the beast, that now has given up on standing and lies there on his side. Levari without a doubt tries to pick up the beast, that now has stopped making the piteous noise. It had given up, sparing it last strength to stay alive. Levari takes out his bag, he knows much about animals because he wants to be a hunter when he’s grown up. His bag containing all kind of ointments and bandages. Using the techniques he studied he tries to patch up the wolf, first he yanks out the arrows one by one from the beast. It just lies there, lifeless. Using the ointment he got from his mother on the wound the arrows had inflicted. Almost magically the wounds patch up, he couldn’t believe his eyes. The wolf lifted its head and stood up as if it were that nothing had even happened. The wolf gave Levari a lick. Levari smiled and said: “Are you okay now?”. The wolf started wagging his tail slowly and sticking his tongue out of his mouth as if it were warm. “You seem happy, can I give you a name? You are as white as snow, how about Snowy?”. The wolf started wagging his tail faster this time and gave Levari another lick. Levari stood up and looked at the wolf. Suddenly it stopped wagging its tale and closed its mouth. Then it fell to the ground. Letting out a final “aarfff”. Levari’s heart skipped a beat, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He ran to one of the arrows the wolf had been shot with and smelled the tip. “Poison” he said to himself, “poison”, “POISON”. “I should have known, I should have known”. Levari falls to the ground, tears shredding from his eyes. “How am I supposed to become a hunter if I can’t even save a simple animal”. Levari quite literally cries himself to sleep that night in the cave that once was the home of Snowy.
The next morning Levari wakes up and to his surprise the body of Snowy was gone. He was nowhere to be found. Levari looked for tracks, nothing, as if the body disappeared. He stood up and grabbed his bag, he looked one last time a the little cave like hole Snowy had dug out for himself. It was clearly just set up and had been here for around five days. A young white wolf looking for a place to settle, only to be chased down to his demise the next morning. Levari sheds a final tear and goes home, on the ground where Snowy was lying was some white fur. Levari picked it up and looked at it for a minute. The shine the hair had was astonishing white, it had no smell and looked almost fake. He put it in his bag and headed home. Once home he silently opened the door so his father or mother couldn’t hear him if they were at home. Luckily they were not there, again. Starting to feel sick he decided not to go to school the next day and stayed at home. In the afternoon his friends came over to ask what happened in the woods. Levari told them nothing much and they asked if they could now shoot his bow. “I lost it in the woods” muttered Levari. “How does a hunter lose his bow?” said one of the kids mockingly. Levari looked him straight in the eye “I am no hunter, now leave I don’t feel well and need some sleep”. His friends didn’t argue and let him be.
Fast forward a few years and Levari now 24 works as a crewmember on one of the boats of his father. “Ha! Finally, me and my son on the wide open sea like it was supposed to be”. “Thanks dad” Levari replied. “Isn’t it nice the open sea?”. “Yes dad” Levari replied somewhat irritated. “Listen here son, I can see you are not being yourself, in fact you have lost your way since you have become older. Where is the happy hunter I had when you was younger, I hoped to have him serve up dinner someday for me when I was older” Hendrick said proudly. “I hate to break it to you dad, but that hunter died a few years ago. I’m a new man now” Levari said sadly.
Hendrick looks up to the sky and let’s a deep breath. “Why does the youth always give up on dreams so fast when there just happens to be some small obstacle in the way?” “Follow me” he says to Levari. They both walk inside the captains cabinet, and inside Hendrick searches between the many chests that are stored inside the cabinet. He gets out a small chest that is quite long but not that wide. “Open it”. Levari does not argue and opens the fine made box. Light meets his eye as there is the bow that he had thrown away in the woods. However it is the same bow, it now gives of a faint white light, nothing to noticeable. “One of my men was walking through the woods in search for mushrooms as he stumbled across this small cave, hoping to find mushrooms he found a bow and some arrows. When he brought them home his son recognized the bow and told him it was yours the next day they gave it to me and here it is”. Levari looks stunned at what just happens and after a brief moment of silence he looks at his dad with tears in his eyes. Hendrick smiles and Levari walks up to him and hugs him very tight. “There, there son”. Now go do what you like and get off this ship, you’re a hunter and I always knew that. I’m sure Snowy would be proud of you. “Thanks dad, you always know what to do in this kind of situation” Levari said. Hendrick gives him a wink and takes him outside to watch the night sky. “Tomorrow my son, we will moor at Waterdeep, you are free to go explore the world and be the hunter you always wanted to be. That said, I’ll be waiting for that freshly shot boar, haha” said Hendrick mockingly. Levari laughed “Of course dad, I don’t know when, but you’ll get that boar one day”. Hendrick puts an arm around Levari and together they sail off into the night.
Levari is at ease, but there was something bothering him. How did his dad know about Snowy, he was pretty sure he was alone in the woods that day. Or was he?
I will be playing a half-elf bard, so I think that he would not normally share his back story. So here is what is actually in noted in the char sheet:
"To tell you of my life is to bore you. I will not do that.
My father begrudged my human heritage and my mother lamented my elven heritage. But to tell you a sob story of a child unloved by his parents is to bore you.
I will not do that. I will tell you a story of a young child, no more than 10 years old. It is also a tale of a halfling bard who one day came to the child's town. For five days she would spend many hours out on the town square singing the epic epics of heroes long dead and mournful ballads of love lost and never found. And each minute of each day she sang and played on her wondrous shamisen the child would be there, on the first row taking in each word with eyes, ears and heart wide open. At night the child would sneak food out to bring to the bard. On the 5th night when the boy went to bring food to his new friend she was no longer there, all that was left under tree she slept was her shamisen with a neat little bow on it. To this day the child searches the wide world for his mother to the bardic calling."
Silvanus (Latin name meaning "from the forest") is a Tabaxi Ranger (Horizon Walker)(multiclassed with lvl. 1 Rogue). Here is his story...
Silvanus lived in a Tabaxi clan located in the mountains. The rough and difficult terrain felt natural for the feline race. He grew up hunting and stalking prey animals to help feed the clan. He knew very little of life outside the mountains and even less of those who lived there.
One day, tragedy befell clan. A pack of Orcs were passing through the mountains and happened upon his village. As Orcs do, they raided and pillaged his clans-folk and left everything in ruin.
Just as it seemed there was nothing worse that could be done, a Fiend Warlock stepped forward from behind the Orcs. He walked into the very center of the village and made fire rain from the sky. Not only so, but as the fire came down everyone in his clan was suddenly tossed, thrown, and hurled through the lower planes and received images of nightmarish landscapes and creatures (that's actually a spell called Hurl through Hell from the Warlock Otherworldly Patron, the Fiend...I just thought that was cool). Once everyone returned, including Silvanus, some were found dead due to the uncomprehendable horrors they had just experienced. Others simply became mute, and some had an empty look in their eyes that never left, but one that reached the bottom of their souls.
Silvanus was mute for 5 years after the event. Those creatures were etched into his memory and dreams. He wished he never knew what threats and horrible evils laid beyond his own world, but now that he knew, he could never forget. He left his clan, learned the ways of the wilderness, and became devoted to hunting and slaying the evil threats from beyond his own plane of existence for the sake of protecting life, and goodness itself.
Bek Faerocast’r / Changeling / Bard - The College of Whispers.
Born into a wandering tribe no bigger than a hamlet. My clan stayed hidden from the populace of the outside world, with fear of persecution.
The lone child of my folk, I spent most of my time with my parents and sparing amounts of it alone. With what little time I had to myself I sought for something to entertain my adolescent mind. In my searches I came across those who would play instruments in harmony, singing fables. I became infatuated with the few bards in my clan and the tales of the outside world they shared through ballads. The stories they illustrated through every note played rejuvenated me. Every time they played I would join into the groups of people surrounding them, few or many, it didn’t matter, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hear such wonderful tales.
The calling to be a bard beckoned to me. I wanted so much to be taught by those who brought me joy. But unfortunately I never had the chance. The short period of time I had with my parents, my tribe, and my home was ripped from my grasp by a ravenous herd of beasts. Who preyed upon us in the night when no one was the wiser (and decimated everything).
I came to consciousness the following morning, waking to my lifeless parents who protected me from death, their bodies laid still over mine. After shedding all the tears I had, I said my goodbyes to them, and as I left my tent I saw all the others painted with the blood of those slaughtered. No one else survived the onslaught of those beasts. Searching through the remnants of the encampment I came across a panduri and took it with what little I gathered and fled.
Taking refuge in the city Everlund, I matured into deception, conning and impersonating anyone who came in contact with me. Hiding in plain sight, a chameleon, I was whoever I needed to be to stay alive. No one could tell me apart from the other occupants of the city. Which was good because no one was able to apprehend me after the countless cons and impersonations I did. I no longer clung to what remained of my home, but I didn’t give up what small amount of my self was left.
I pursued the passion I had as a child, and learned to play the panduri I scavenged. I could render beautiful melodies from it, reminiscent of the songs I heard from the bards when I was younger. On occasion I would perform wherever I was able, to anyone who would hear. Ending every performance with applause, it reminded me of those I would gather before as a child. A brief escape from the loneliness and pain I endure.
I was fortunate to overhear a conversation about the Bardic College of Whispers. Albeit not a pleasant conversation, but it peaked my interest. I never gave up my dream to be a bard, and I was sure that this place of practice was the right fit for what I needed. After masquerading around the city I learned of its location, and soon enough was inducted. I learned to be a wolf among sheep. Many other bards hate the College of Whispers, so I was taught to be like any other bard, sharing news, singing songs, and telling tales to the audiences that gathered around me. In truth I used it as exploit toward people, uncovering secrets and turning them against others through extortion and threats. All of this was a facade though, something to cope with my loses and my past.
Talk of beasts that ravaged the outlands sprung about in conversations. Lycans, werebeasts, vicious creatures that raided the outlands, killing anyone that came in contact with them. I learned as much as I could about those who took everything from me. Those beasts believed that no one survived, but I’m still breathing. I still have life in me, and with what little of it I have left I will use what I’ve acquired over time to avenge my tribe. Thinking they left nothing alive will be their downfall.
Boone Walker / Human / Fighter - Gunslinger.
5 years ago I awoke amid the wreckage and char of a collapsed building. After an extensive amount of time loosing myself from the debris, I looked aimlessly for any memorabilia that could have lead me to what might have transpired. Following a brief search through the wreckage the only noteworthy thing I found was a gun lying in soot and ash. Upon retrieving the pistol any memories I thought might come to mind, never did. I couldn’t recall anything that happened, nor had I any recollection of my past, who I was or why I was actually there.
Without any indications of my previous life or my former self, I became a drifter. In my time wandering the lands I acquired my name and profession. Without any attachments to tie me down I kept on the move, a lone walker and boon to the Bounty Hunting business. Town to town, tavern to tavern, in search of wanted posters and my next bounty. I thrived on my line of work.
I’m not sure if I want to know who I was, I have no arrangements to seek out my... the life I lived prior to Boone Walker. I’m sure who I was is better left behind, I can’t cash in on lost memories, but I can cash in on bounties. Ha, as long as I have a firearm in my possession I’m better off now than that person who collapsed under the dross of some building.
Eventually I will be known for my skills behind a gun, and have no rival. My climb to the top will solidify my place in this world as Boone Walker, leaving only smoke and ash in my wake.
So I’m still newish to DnD. This is my 3rd character. Working in my backstory for a fallen Aasimar Hexblade Warlock. Any constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Please let me know what you think And if you want to read any more for my characters I have several on tap.
Jedidiah was grew up in a rundown house in the slums of a large city to common parents that made their living with odd jobs. From a young age he was jaded and uncaring to the world due to his poor upbringing. Things changed the day a traveler named Eli cane to town. Eli was a very charismatic guy that knew magic due to his twisted outlook on life Eli took Jed under his wing and he had earned Eli’s trust when he was shown the book that he got most of his magic spells from. He and Jed would spend hours of time researching and trying out the rituals the book had to offer. Until one day Jed used the book behind Eli’s back for a ritual and he was unable to control the Phoenix that he had summoned and it started to burn every thing Jed managed to escape the inferno with the book and but at the cost of massive burns to his face and body. Eli and the rest of his town were not so lucky they all burned in the fire. Jed watched the inferno decimate his home, friends and family as everything turned to ash before him. While he hadn’t planned for this outcome the fact that Eli died in the fire making him the sole owner of the book as far as Jed was concerned it was an acceptable loss. Taking the burnt book and the blacked whip that belonged to Eli; Jed moved on studying what he could decipher from the book to improve his magic and find greater sources of magic.
Going to be an evocation wizard? I wonder if anyone knows he caused the fire, and if they are looking for him. He might have people from his past try and track him down to pay for his crimes (accidental though they may be). Hope you have fun with it!
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Hexblade warlock with an affinity for fire the character itself is one from a debunked project a friend and me were working on and I recently remembered his so I decided to make him a character sheet and stuff
So My characters background I thought was cool but it’s not going to be nearly as long or intracit as some so
Throom is a Loxodon who was born in a small village with a draconic ancestor and when he was young he was bullied and finally snapped releasing a giant shock wave and killing multiple people and was banished so he lived as a hermit and the spite and hate grew inside him and he honed his scorcer skills and fueled his rage by killing random animals and his rage grew until it changed his light grey skin to black and a strange ruin eventually shined on his forehead. once he gained control of his magic he left his small home to become adventurer to gain enough power to wipe his hometown off the face of the earth.
If anyone has any interesting things they think I should add that I am more than open to suggestions
This is my longest standing and favourite character. Probably a couple of years old now and level 9 (sorlock 8/1): Kurtis the Blue
Kurt is a tiefling draconic sorcerer. As part of that I thought about what it means to be an innately magical being. He doesn’t understand magic, for him it’s an act of will or emotion. As such he can't use wands, staffs, or spell scrolls as a means to cast spells. You may as well hand him a stick and say ‘be angry through that’. His sorcerous abilities come from his infernal heritage and his (blue) draconic blood. Therefore he can only do fire or lightning based damage respectively. Being a spy and now a Harper, that means a lot of his other abilities centre around stealth, infiltration and subterfuge. Esoteric spells outside that purview are not available to him because he’d have never thought to try them. Finally he cannot cast anything that has a material component with a gp value as it's never occurred to him that magic can work that way.
Summary:
Kurt is a product of his situation. He and his older sister Serenity (Sera) were raised by an elderly human couple in the lower city of Baldur's Gate, then later on their own in the squaller of The Sprawl. His education is rudimentary because he was taught by his parents and his sister. The siblings grew up in an incredibly hostile environment for tieflings and it hardened them in different ways. His sister is a fighter, he is a ghost. They didn’t become criminals by choice, they did so because their skills suited it and they needed to eat. Kurt and Sera are very insular and untrusting people as a result of their childhood. After their adoptive parents passed away, the only people they cared about were each other.
Sera escaped The Sprawl by joining a monastic order at Candlekeep. He decided to seek fortune in the north and went on a one-night only crime spree to fund his escape. He moved to Waterdeep and ensconced himself in the Dock Ward. Relatively speaking this was a much nicer place for him. As a loner (he did make a friend and business acquaintance in Justim) he took up gambling to pass the time. Hence whilst earning money, he often still had little. It wasn’t winning that mattered, he enjoyed playing the game. He wouldn’t know what to do with a lot of money anyhow. So he tended to play until it was gone. He could always get more if he needed it.
Kurt is very reactionary when it comes to life. He doesn’t plan, he just finds himself in situations and deals with them and moves on to the next. He ended up an adventurer when he ran from Waterdeep after a job went wrong. He found out that outside the city he was massively out of his depth, so joined an adventuring party. He traveled with Jørn as he had nowhere else to be, they got on, and it was mutually beneficial for them to do so.
It’s only the trio of Gaarg, Lavina and Kurt where he started to feel like he belonged. Though he might not admit it, he’s really quite fond of the pair of them and has come to enjoy their company. They’re all out of their element in some way, but together they’re a dysfunctionally cohesive whole.
Background:
Neither of them have any recollection of their natural parents or where they were from originally. Their adoptive parents, an elderly human couple, would quickly change the subject should either of them broach it. He has no formal education being home schooled by his parents and his much brighter sister who would read to him whatever book she was currently digesting.
Baldur's Gate is not a safe place at the best of times, but it can be especially dangerous for young tieflings. In the lower city you learned to survive in whatever way worked for you. For Sera this was with her fists, other kids learned quickly not to pick on the little red devil girl. Kurt was a ghost, he moved about the city in the shadows, always inquisitive, using his wits and his skills to stay out of sight and out of trouble. Which worked for the most part as, unlike his sister and her well earned reputation, for him harsh words would often escalate to violence.
Around his thirteenth year he found himself cornered and on the receiving end of a such a beating that he began to lose consciousness. As the darkness consumed him, he embraced its reprieve and his mind drifted into a memory, ...a memory buried deep in his ancestral blood. It was of the first draconic tiefling sorcerer undergoing the ceremony that created him. He stood before a human priestess who handed him a chalice of blue blood. He drank, then the priestess carved a rune into his chest with a claw-like nail. Kurt awoke in an alley dumped amid a corpse pile. The mark he’d witnessed in the vision freshly carved into his own flesh. He dragged himself home and collapsed there. Sera got him to his bed and tended to his wounds. The mark, acting as a focus, had awakened the draconic blood that had laid dormant within him. Though he does not understand magic, through sheer force of will or emotion, he could now harness and unleash it.
Their parents passed within weeks of one another and when the siblings could no longer make the payments on their home they were evicted, ending up with the destitute of Baldur’s Gate, outside the walls in the Sprawl. There are few options for their kind here, none pleasant. Begging was out, no one would throw coin the way of a tiefling. No one would hire them for work, and petty theft required the ability to blend in with a crowd, which they couldn’t. Thankfully Kurt’s new gifts had allowed him access to areas of the city he was most certainly not welcome. He’d make his way to the upper city at night, passing himself off as patriar or a watchman. Breaking into their homes and businesses as they slept. He’d take small, easily pocketable things, things easily thought lost. Never getting greedy, many of them didn’t even realise they’d been burgled. Sera would fence the goods and hire out her services as muscle. This persisted for a number of years with no real hope of escape.
Sera was trying to secure a book when she encountered an Avowed monk. After a long and intense debate about the book, the monk invited her to travel with him to Candlekeep. Kurt saw an opportunity for her to escape and assured her that he would be fine. He’d become really rather adept at looking after himself and he would use this as motivation for his own departure. He already had a plan as he was waving goodbye to her.
He booked passage with a caravan for the month long journey to Waterdeep, the city of splendours. The caravan master agreed to take him along as long as he kept a low profile and didn’t scare the other travellers, fine by him. It of course came at a price, one he would cover by breaking his own rules and going on a one night burglary spree. The fence offered him a lousy rate, especially after being woken up in his own bed by a tiefling with a sack full of loot. But it covered his journey and expenses. The caravan was already out and away from the city as it rose. It would be some time before they figured out what at happened, and by then he’d be long gone. It mattered little, he had no plans of ever returning to this gods forsaken place.
The journey was long. Keeping himself to himself came naturally and he ignored the usual mumblings. He left the caravan prior to arrival at Waterdeep and made his way covertly into the city. There he settled into the Dock Ward and his old nocturnal routine. He was staying in a squat when he met and befriended a local human named Justim (not Timothy, or Timmy, it's just Tim), an urchin who moved about the city with enviable ease and had a seemingly vast number of contacts. Justim was amazed by Kurt’s ability to access more secure locations around the city seemingly unnoticed. Between them they formed a partnership of sorts.
Justim would act as a middle man for Kurt who would use his skills in infiltration and subterfuge to gather the information, place implicating evidence, manipulate documents, and the like. The arrangement allowed Kurt to operate as an independent contractor working for many of the city’s organisations, from criminal to governmental. Kurt didn’t discriminate or differentiate between them, seeing them all as just variations on a theme. In the underworld you get given a name that marks you as one of the family, whether you like it or not, and it's often not very imaginative. He is known as Kurtis the Blue, ...because he is blue.
Spy work is sporadic but quite lucrative. Often when they completed a job, Justim and Kurt would indulge themselves with the best booze, whores and gambling that the Ward had to offer. But it was the latter that really caught Kurt’s attention. He loved cards. He loved the deception, the patience, the planning, the tactics. There was something about it that just called to him. When he had the coin, he would often be found in games behind closed doors on the Ward. He might find himself sharing the table with a noble, a crime lord, a madam and a priest. He would play until he ran out of coin, often ending up back in squats or tenements. He didn't mind.
Then the Xanathar job ruined everything. Little was known about the crime syndicate, apart from it being quite literally underground and those who belong to it tend to be somewhat fanatical. The job seemed simple enough: infiltrate, gather intelligence regarding the workings of the organisation and get out. Kurt got close enough to discover the nature of The Xanathar himself, and as the beholder gazed upon him, his illusions failed... He ran and he didn’t stop running until he was outside the city walls.
Dude this is awesome and the drawing is great too!!! Are you the artist? or do you have his FB page link?
its not a drawing it is a picture of vincent from beauty and the beast
.
Where the artistic rendering of him???
I am Chance~
Plagued by the memory and at times me think the ghost from an accidental death I caused - I killed a young adventurer while spitting my acid not looking where I was hawking it, and without intending to harm him, really... But he screamed and it unintentionally squirted in his throat and next thing I knew... Dead! Now I am haunted by a wraith that follows me and invades my dreams and occasionally takes on physical form as a revenant and tries to slay me. (F-ing revenants, impossible to get rid of)
I grew up in the nomadic hills & mountains of the spine of the world with my tribe - as dragon born barbarians its easy to live away from civilization and the ways of the world. we run and hunt and live in harmony with the land and its ways. The forests were my home and the mountains my food source. Mother slain by rogue giants father and our tribesmen sought bloody revenge on the murderous stupid stone giants who killed her and we feasted on their stupid flesh and bone. (have a bone carved dagger from a stone giant femur) Some years later our tribe stumbled upon a mountain far to the east that smelled rather different from any others we'd encountered. In this mountain was a cave, and in the back of this cave was a tunnel. So of course we wandered in to explore and seek that which is new. Father was flanking the scout leaders and wandered upon the most intriguing portal of a glowing purple hue unlike any glow we had ever seen before. there were clandestine holes amongst the sides of the wall that also gave out a glow - green/blue in color. We felt a voice in our heads, all of us. This voice told us to eat of the glowing mushroom in the holes and enter through the portal. No one moved, and I of course wasn't planning on doing anything of the sort, truth be told I very much wanted to get out of this strange place before something happened. I wanted to move and leave, but the voice spoke again only this time others started reaching into the holes and partaking of the glowing mushroom. Then I saw father eat and his eyes widened instantaneously. Then I felt the urge to too. With the first bite my body came alive. I felt my insides moving and oozing, my breath had bounce and life to it. I hazily remember all of us walking through the portal into the purple haze. When I came to after this out of the mind experience I was laying on the ground surrounded by only a few of my tribesman. Father was no where to be seen and the portal hung open in this dark and barren place, and in the not to far distance I saw a lone castle atop a spiral peak. I awoke my brothers and we gathered, Eaglesight looked and saw a distant precession, our fathers walking in to the castle. Hastly we set out, only they had what we gathered about a hour head start. When we ran to the castle we ran into the door and from the main room we heard sounds of pain - echoes of gushing coming from the chamber above us. When we reached the top of the stairs we saw humanly figures holding our kin, heads burrowed into their necks and heads, faces drenched in blood and mouths lined with fangs. We yelled and unleashed our acid and frost breath, then raged and ran recklessly into the fray. Axes and swords chopping and hacking, we cut down a few only to watch them rise up again and burst into misty smoke and descend. They ran out of the walls and we cut deep to slay them. After a few minutes none were left and we fell to our knees weeping holding our dead in our arms. Father had his neck bitten out and marks all over his arms and chest. We grew with fury and charged deeper into this castle of death, but as soon as we engaged one, more and more stood above and flew into us. After hours of battle we were only 4 and we decided it best to run and leave this accursed place. We made the way we came and were almost to the main door we entered when one of them appeared before us. Life-breath chopped in and buried his great sword into the fiends anterior, but instead of running through our brother froze and was unable to move or do anything - we called and pulled him along, it was as he were paralyzed and then the monster grabbed the sword and wretched it from his chest. He ordered our own to turn on us and he listened, Jumped onto IceDeath and began clawing his eyes out, blinded his own cousin, his kin. Eagle and I ran - we ran faster than we ever had before and didn't stop to look back for when we listened we heard the fiends flying in pursuit. Just as we came to the Portal hole with its Indigo glowing aura filling the ground below it, that monster who should have been ended with sword in the front appeared again. He grabbed Eagle tight by his neck and al the while with eyes on me he sank his fangs into his throat and sucked. I saw horridly as his scales lost their color and turned a pale dead color and within a few seconds my kin was one of them, alive yet not. Utter fear swept over me and into my mind and I jumped into the Portal and fell back into the Wilds. Alone and scared I ran and ran until I fled the cursed mountains and haven't gone back since. I vow one day to return to that cursed land and free my kin and slay the monsters who Took them...
I need help in posting my character picture here - I tried to insert it but it doesn't seem to allow me to copy it in .... if you know how let me know how I can add it please
I love Chance, and his Comic Sans
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Took me a while to think up mine but I'm glad to have made it.
Tried some non stereo type elements and also created my own picture for my character.
Renitar Hellwit is the son of an Orcish mom and a human father who fell in love during the high summer festival in [enter city name]. They make a decent living and share a loving home together.
His father (Ludvert Hellwit) works as a blacksmith which Renitar took an interest in from an early age. This interest swiftly grew into his profession. He bought his own shop after making enough coin at his fathers forge.
His mother (Gashna Mugol Hellwit) works as a biologist that mainly focuses on studying giants.
Not only does she make more coin compared to Renitars father due to the importance of her work as a biologist, she also build quite the name for herself in the scientific circle in the city of [enter city name].
Due to her Orcish heritage she takes a lot of pride in her work which leads to arguments and rivalry between her and Ludvert but nothing they haven't been able to resolve.
Gashna was, according to Orcish traditions, on her 15th birthday, supposed to be an adult which also meant she had to fight in the wars her clan was involved in.
She refused to fight out of pure disgust for combat. This led to her being outcast-ed. Which forced her to run and build a life in [enter city name]
Eventhough Renitar did not take after his mother regarding her smarts, she made sure to teach Renitar to speak fluid giants tongue since this might prove useful one day.
Renitar isn't very in touch with his orcish side since he grew up in a human society but he can not deny his orcish roots.
His emotions get easily triggered by small events.
Besides his rages issues he is a good natured person that does not mean any harm to the innocents.
Renitar once broke a man's skull at "The Golden Drink", the local pub, after being wrongly accused of stealing and being verbally abused by three men.
He has always regretted this and needs to prove to himself and the world that he is not a monster.
However this leaves him confused about his identity.
Additionally the accidental murder led him into a dispute with the law enforcement of [enter city name].
This dispute was resolved with coin and time in jail but the damage had already been done.
Everywhere Renitar went he was looked at not as a civilian, but rather
a half-orcish freak.
After losing interest in the blacksmith profession, a growing interest in adventuring, being fed up by his reputation within city walls and wanting answers about his identity, he bid his farewells to his mother and father after promising he'd come back one day to with more knowledge and to clear his name.