Does anyone know how to "copyright" or protect an original idea that you have? I have one race idea that I've been working on for a while, but since there's no guarantee that it won't be stolen by someone, I'm hesitant to post it.
I watch. I wait. I listen. I like roleplaying games. Avid fan of messed up homebrew and horror rpgs. Lancer>dnd5e, go read Kill Six Billion Demons. I will shoot you with my transgenderification beam pew pew
Sorry if anyone was curious as to what I had in mind. I like originality, so I don't need some scumbag stealing my ideas. If you want to know what I came up with, feel free to message me, but I doubt anyone's curious.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
Captain Vorpah is a peculiar elf. Her skin is covered in piercings and swirling dark tattoos, and she shows no emotion through her coal-black eyes. The Shadar-Kai lives for the sea and everything in it. One of the most coveted captains in all of Gloomwater Loch, this shadowy elf is unmatched in her sailing, able to maneuver through even the most dangerous of situations. Vorpah grew up in Port Gloomwater, a part of the sprawling arcane ocean that is the remains of the sea god Akmeniemn. She quickly learned the trade of sailors and captains, taking teachings from all of them. Soon, Vorpah built a ship to call her own; The Wavecutter, a ship with a streamlined body meant to cut through the water like a knife.
Using a form of psychic magic to bond herself telepathically to her ship, Vorpah began sailing all the routes all along Akmeniemn's Demise, committing them all to memory. A large crew for Captain Vorpah wasn't needed, so she hired only the best. Soon, people began taking notice of Vorpah's sailing skills and began paying for safe passage along dangerous routes to other destinations. While her passengers survived unscathed, the same could not be said for Vorpah's crew. Over twenty people perished under her command, casualties of underestimating her. Her current crew consists of a fire genasi, Kiln, and a goliath named Bor'gur.
Captain Vorpah is cold and calm, never letting emotion cloud her sense of judgment. She is a harsh teacher and captain but cares deeply for her crew. An expensive shipmaster, Vorpah's skills put all other captains to shame. When competition on Port Gloom arises for captains to prove their mettle and earn the title of "Master Captain", Vorpah dominates time and again.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
Here is the backstory for my wizard character. I haven't played with him yet, but that's mostly because I DM all the time.
In his earlier years of life, Taonos was infatuated by the idea of becoming a powerful wizard. His life in the city was fairly easy-going, although not luxurious. His father, Albin Greywind, ran a moderately successful carpentry business in the city. Taonos and his younger brother Corthas always got along, running around the city with their other friends, enjoying life. At the age of 16, Taonos was accepted into the college of magic in the city where he lived. The Arch-Mage of the college, Grenendale, took a personal interest in him, believing him to be able to become his successor one day.
After about half a decade of learning the basics of wizardry and magic, Grenendale invited Taonos along on an expedition into an ancient temple that had recently been uncovered. The architecture of the temple was unique and who made it was unknown, but Grenendale had been doing research on an ancient civilization that he suspected once ruled in this region. The expedition revealed little about the ancient civilization, aside from an ancient tome bearing a mark that resembles a bone-like claw with three talons. Grenendale was secretive about the book, revealing almost no information about it to Taonos. For many more years, Taonos continued to learn under his master, becoming more and more proficient in the ways of magic. But, as the years passed, Grenendale became erratic and started to descend into madness.
One day, Taonos entered his master's office to check in on him, but found him hunched over the book with a crazed look on his face. Taonos tried to help his master, but Grenendale attacked him. After a short fight, Taonos had no choice but to vitally injure his master. As Grenendale was nearing death, he had a moment of clarity, grabbing Taonos and speaking only two words, "stop him". He then handed Taonos the tome and died. Taonos ran from the city, afraid that he was to be blamed for his master's murder. Taonos now travels the land, searching for answers about what happened to his master.
The book that Taonos bears calls to him in his mind, urging him to open it. Taonos has resisted thus far, but curiosity is starting to get the better of him.
Hey, I was just wondering, but would you mind if I tried a character with a backstory like this? Because I find this character really interesting, and wanna try giving it a go!
This is the backstory I came up with for my character in Out of the Abyss. There's some kinks yet, but it mostly fits together.
Efferil grew up in the High Forest. He often felt alone and lost when among people, even among his family. So he would wander into the woods for days at a time to "find himself." He had an independent streak, and even for a wood elf, he was a loner. His older brother Eiravel was close to him in age, but often so enthralled in his studies that he never noticed Efferil was gone. Still, there was no animosity or even rivalry among the brothers, and there was warmth on the occasions when they interacted, rare though they were. Efferil's discomfort around others often kept him isolated though, so he had no close friends growing up. This isolation led him to become self-sufficient, and to believe that all people - particularly the Syl'Tel'Quessir, or wood elf people - should be self-sufficient also.
Efferil and the rest of the family suffered a tragedy during their upbringing. Lamlis, their father, was a successful merchant, who had some contacts among the settlements allied under the guidance of Morgwais, the Red Lady. Their mother Birel shared a similar philosophy of self-sufficiency as Efferil and would rather the family have not been involved. Still, the Red Lady was known to be honorable, so she was not unsupportive of her husband's alliance. Birel was a ranger and often escorted her husband when his caravan travelled through the High Forest. This was often an educational experience, so it appealed to both Eiravel for the chance to gather more lore, and Efferil, to learn the ways of survival in the forest from their mother. Thus, it was a great shock when the caravan was surrounded by a pack of wolves. Birel was well trained to be alert to danger, so the wolves catching the group unawares was no mean feat. Still, Birel had a way with animals, and perhaps believed she could sway them to hunt for food elsewhere. When she approached, the wolves attacked and Lamlis, without thinking of the danger, rushed to aid his wife. The two were torn to pieces before the rest of the group could react as the two older brothers looked on in horror. The younger siblings were with relatives as they were too young to travel, and were spared the ordeal, but not from its fallout.
Efferil and Eiravel traveled with their parents, but they were not old enough to look after the family after they died. So the two eldest brothers were taken in by Rolan Amakiir, who was a friend of their father's. Rolan also looked after their younger brother and the triplet sisters, who were the youngest of the six. It was hard on the young elf, who did not have Lamlis's resources. Suffice it to say that the family moved around a lot. This suited Efferil, as it gave him occasion to explore more of the High Forest and test his skills in the woods. In one such foray, Efferil came upon the site of the Grandfather Tree. An arakhor of legendary power in ages past, the tree was sacred to the Uthgardt, and a druid circle tended the site. When he came upon it, Efferil felt the presence of the divine and nature at once, and his calling became clear - he took it as a holy charge to become a protector of these woods, and sought training from a ranger. He felt the sting of his mother's loss anew after this calling, so it was a bittersweet spiritual experience for Efferil. Nevertheless, his resolve was steeled for the challenge ahead.
Not long after, Efferil met his ranger mentor Gallindan Galanodel, and learned his craft in earnest. Efferil trained hard, and learned to shoot, fight, identify plants and animals and to pacify animals. He took to patrolling the forest for orcs and gnolls which were known to make incursions into the High Forest. At first, he made his patrols with his mentor, but within a few years - a very short time for an elf - he was patrolling alone. He patrolled the southern and eastern reaches of the forest with great diligence, and would watch outsiders when he spotted them to make sure they didn't defile the woods, which he held to be sacred after his encounter with the Grandfather Tree. One day, he happened upon a party of humans adventuring in the woods. The humans were encroaching on a clearing which contained a menhir sacred to the druid circle who tended it, so Efferil made his presence known to confront the party.
The humans were led by a paladin named Aramis, who was impressed by Efferil's entreaty to respect the sacredness of the land. Aramis promptly apologized, but was clearly anguished. When Efferil asked what was wrong, Aramis informed him that his party had joined him on a holy crusade, which had led them into the wood and to this very site. Sensing the paladin's earnestness, Efferil offered to help them keep vigil, provided that they respected the sacredness of the land on which they stood. That night, the druid circle came to the clearing. They were surprised to find the humans there, but astonished to find Efferil keeping watch for them. Efferil explained the situation and how Aramis gave his word to observe the proper rites while in the clearing. The druids were unconvinced that the humans had observed the proper rites, and informed Efferil that he had to make them leave. Not wanting to anger the circle, Efferil complied. He woke the human party and they grudgingly started packing their gear. All of them except for one. Aramis's right hand man, the warrior Gildor, said that since Efferil gave them leave to stay, they should stay. Efferil attempted to explain that he had overstepped his authority, but Gildor would not listen. He insisted that Efferil had slighted the group's honor, and demanded satisfaction. Not eager to fight over a silly notion like human honor, Efferil refused, and demanded that they leave. Aramis recognized the difficult situation Efferil was in, and ordered Gildor to pack and move out with the group. This was the final straw for Gildor, and he swore to everyone present that he would get back at Efferil. Aramis insisted that Efferil had acted in good faith, and warned Gildor to stay away.
Months passed without incident, and Efferil happened upon an envoy from the Red Lady. Slight and swift-footed, Dara Xiloscient was on an important mission and would not be deterred. Efferil offered to escort her through the forest so that she could deliver her important message. The truth was, he was not ready to depart her company. She accepted his offer, and they made their way to Teuveamanthaar, known to some as the city of Tall Trees. During the journey, they told each other of their histories and grew close. Even after they parted company, Efferil made his way to Teuveamanthaar whenever he could to be with Dara. That is, until he disappeared in the forest surrounding the Star Mounts.
Nice! Almost all of the backstories people are sharing are paragraphs long, and I can't even make people in my group write a couple sentences for theirs.
I know I already talked about Myuux in this Forum before, but I might like to show you something different. I believed that there were two paths that my Tiefling could walk, which would determine his Alignment, Faith, and even Race. The Myuux I talked about before was the path of good, where he regretted what he did, and wants to fix that. The Myuux I want to talk about now however, is the "evil" path, where, you'll read soon enough:
Myuux Solren
Race: Baalzebul Tiefling
Background: Acolyte
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Class: Cleric (Order Domain)
Myuux was just like any other child, except for the fact that he was a Tiefling, born from human parents. He lived a pretty calm life, the occasional glare here and there, but overall pretty average. However, Myuux was eventually orphaned at a young age, he and his family were attacked by murderers. His assailants wanted to get rid of him and his parents for giving birth to him, but he was saved by a passing Cleric. Myuux wanted to pay the Cleric back, so Myuux joined the Cleric's faith. However, he seemed a little hostile when it came to his faith. He would destroy and burn the villages of Sinners, hoping ti please his God. He was confronted by his church, and told that he was not better then the people he killed. This didn't go well with Myuux, he believed that he was right in destroying the "heretics." So, the church disowned him, even Myuux's savior denied him. Lost and defeated, Myuux traveled the world for 2 years, until he was discovered by the God Anubis, and wanted Myuux to help him being Order, Myuux accepted. Upon meeting Anubus, something awoken inside of him, the blood of Baalzebul awoken inside of him, granting him new, yet dark powers which would help his cause. Now an Order Domain Cleric, Myuux travels the world, bringing harsh justice to the sinners, and criminals that stand in his way.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Damion Wild, Mark Of Storm Half-Elf, Druid (Circle Of Wildfire) 5, Monk 3
Kiirith Hobgoblin Gunslinger Neutral Good Background: City Watch/Law Enforcement Faith: Ilmater
Time travel story with a North American inspired post civil war western setting (Goblins, Orcs and Ogres were enslaved and won their independence in the civil war)
A slave born of a a line of slaves, he was sold away from his parents and siblings while still young to a hard labor camp. He was frequently singled out among slaves for beatings because of his size and ferocious appearance despite his kind and protective nature. One day, with the help of a network of former slaves and those who opposed slavery, he was able to escape his bondage and traveled North; finding work in a police station. He was one of the first to enlist when the war broke out as he wished to do everything possible to liberate his people from bondage. Throughout the war he proved to be a crack shot and often served as a lookout or sniper for his company. After the war, he moved West, away from the horrors he had seen in his time in the army from both the North, where he was somewhat better treated than in the South. Before he went west, he tracked down his cruel former owner and beat him severely in revenge for all the beatings he's had to endure.
Having sworn a blood oath to protect the oppressed from the oppressor and to fight the evils of the world, he desired to become a lawman and continue his work protecting those who couldn't protect themselves. He shortly became an officer of the law in a mid-sized western town and, despite early distrust, he earned the respect of his community. One day a portal opened in the middle of the town. Not knowing what it was, he approached to investigate and was sucked in. He arrived by surprise in a future in which things have changed greatly for his kind, but there is still racism that he must face and, as always, there are people who are oppressed who need somebody who can fight back. He left behind the remains of his found family, those he protected and liberated during the war as well as the community he'd sworn to protect and had grown to care for and he wants nothing more to return to his time.
Some people need a little coaxing to be creative. You can allow or even encourage your players to use the supplemental tables in XGE or the Heroic Chronicle system in Explorer's Guide to Wildemount to give them some prompts for writing a backstory. I'm a somewhat experienced writer and I still find things like that helpful. Ultimately, it depends on whether the player wants to do it or not. Some don't and that's okay. Some of those that don't will occasionally define their characters through acting out their interactions, which can be just as interesting, and for the player, just as rewarding. That's one of the great things about this game. There isn't one way to do things, there's a universe of ways.
Does anyone know how to "copyright" or protect an original idea that you have? I have one race idea that I've been working on for a while, but since there's no guarantee that it won't be stolen by someone, I'm hesitant to post it.
I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
Ask the Mods.
Hello! I am just a relatively new D&D player, who also likes SimplePlanes and War Thunder.
My characters are:
Of the website or this forum?
I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
The website, probably.
Hello! I am just a relatively new D&D player, who also likes SimplePlanes and War Thunder.
My characters are:
Yeah I’d say the website as well
she/it pronouns
I watch. I wait. I listen. I like roleplaying games. Avid fan of messed up homebrew and horror rpgs. Lancer>dnd5e, go read Kill Six Billion Demons. I will shoot you with my transgenderification beam pew pew
Well, I just asked a moderator, and his advice was "Don't post it on a private forum."
I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
idk
Hello! I am just a relatively new D&D player, who also likes SimplePlanes and War Thunder.
My characters are:
I mean, they're not wrong. Better safe than sorry. I'll just publish it as a Homebrew race instead.
I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
Oh ok
I'll try to check it out.
Hello! I am just a relatively new D&D player, who also likes SimplePlanes and War Thunder.
My characters are:
Sorry if anyone was curious as to what I had in mind. I like originality, so I don't need some scumbag stealing my ideas. If you want to know what I came up with, feel free to message me, but I doubt anyone's curious.
I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
CAPTAIN VORPAH
Race: Shadar-Kai
Class: Swashbuckler
Captain Vorpah is a peculiar elf. Her skin is covered in piercings and swirling dark tattoos, and she shows no emotion through her coal-black eyes. The Shadar-Kai lives for the sea and everything in it. One of the most coveted captains in all of Gloomwater Loch, this shadowy elf is unmatched in her sailing, able to maneuver through even the most dangerous of situations. Vorpah grew up in Port Gloomwater, a part of the sprawling arcane ocean that is the remains of the sea god Akmeniemn. She quickly learned the trade of sailors and captains, taking teachings from all of them. Soon, Vorpah built a ship to call her own; The Wavecutter, a ship with a streamlined body meant to cut through the water like a knife.
Using a form of psychic magic to bond herself telepathically to her ship, Vorpah began sailing all the routes all along Akmeniemn's Demise, committing them all to memory. A large crew for Captain Vorpah wasn't needed, so she hired only the best. Soon, people began taking notice of Vorpah's sailing skills and began paying for safe passage along dangerous routes to other destinations. While her passengers survived unscathed, the same could not be said for Vorpah's crew. Over twenty people perished under her command, casualties of underestimating her. Her current crew consists of a fire genasi, Kiln, and a goliath named Bor'gur.
Captain Vorpah is cold and calm, never letting emotion cloud her sense of judgment. She is a harsh teacher and captain but cares deeply for her crew. An expensive shipmaster, Vorpah's skills put all other captains to shame. When competition on Port Gloom arises for captains to prove their mettle and earn the title of "Master Captain", Vorpah dominates time and again.
I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
Hey, I was just wondering, but would you mind if I tried a character with a backstory like this? Because I find this character really interesting, and wanna try giving it a go!
This is the backstory I came up with for my character in Out of the Abyss. There's some kinks yet, but it mostly fits together.
Efferil grew up in the High Forest. He often felt alone and lost when among people, even among his family. So he would wander into the woods for days at a time to "find himself." He had an independent streak, and even for a wood elf, he was a loner. His older brother Eiravel was close to him in age, but often so enthralled in his studies that he never noticed Efferil was gone. Still, there was no animosity or even rivalry among the brothers, and there was warmth on the occasions when they interacted, rare though they were. Efferil's discomfort around others often kept him isolated though, so he had no close friends growing up. This isolation led him to become self-sufficient, and to believe that all people - particularly the Syl'Tel'Quessir, or wood elf people - should be self-sufficient also.
Efferil and the rest of the family suffered a tragedy during their upbringing. Lamlis, their father, was a successful merchant, who had some contacts among the settlements allied under the guidance of Morgwais, the Red Lady. Their mother Birel shared a similar philosophy of self-sufficiency as Efferil and would rather the family have not been involved. Still, the Red Lady was known to be honorable, so she was not unsupportive of her husband's alliance. Birel was a ranger and often escorted her husband when his caravan travelled through the High Forest. This was often an educational experience, so it appealed to both Eiravel for the chance to gather more lore, and Efferil, to learn the ways of survival in the forest from their mother. Thus, it was a great shock when the caravan was surrounded by a pack of wolves. Birel was well trained to be alert to danger, so the wolves catching the group unawares was no mean feat. Still, Birel had a way with animals, and perhaps believed she could sway them to hunt for food elsewhere. When she approached, the wolves attacked and Lamlis, without thinking of the danger, rushed to aid his wife. The two were torn to pieces before the rest of the group could react as the two older brothers looked on in horror. The younger siblings were with relatives as they were too young to travel, and were spared the ordeal, but not from its fallout.
Efferil and Eiravel traveled with their parents, but they were not old enough to look after the family after they died. So the two eldest brothers were taken in by Rolan Amakiir, who was a friend of their father's. Rolan also looked after their younger brother and the triplet sisters, who were the youngest of the six. It was hard on the young elf, who did not have Lamlis's resources. Suffice it to say that the family moved around a lot. This suited Efferil, as it gave him occasion to explore more of the High Forest and test his skills in the woods. In one such foray, Efferil came upon the site of the Grandfather Tree. An arakhor of legendary power in ages past, the tree was sacred to the Uthgardt, and a druid circle tended the site. When he came upon it, Efferil felt the presence of the divine and nature at once, and his calling became clear - he took it as a holy charge to become a protector of these woods, and sought training from a ranger. He felt the sting of his mother's loss anew after this calling, so it was a bittersweet spiritual experience for Efferil. Nevertheless, his resolve was steeled for the challenge ahead.
Not long after, Efferil met his ranger mentor Gallindan Galanodel, and learned his craft in earnest. Efferil trained hard, and learned to shoot, fight, identify plants and animals and to pacify animals. He took to patrolling the forest for orcs and gnolls which were known to make incursions into the High Forest. At first, he made his patrols with his mentor, but within a few years - a very short time for an elf - he was patrolling alone. He patrolled the southern and eastern reaches of the forest with great diligence, and would watch outsiders when he spotted them to make sure they didn't defile the woods, which he held to be sacred after his encounter with the Grandfather Tree. One day, he happened upon a party of humans adventuring in the woods. The humans were encroaching on a clearing which contained a menhir sacred to the druid circle who tended it, so Efferil made his presence known to confront the party.
The humans were led by a paladin named Aramis, who was impressed by Efferil's entreaty to respect the sacredness of the land. Aramis promptly apologized, but was clearly anguished. When Efferil asked what was wrong, Aramis informed him that his party had joined him on a holy crusade, which had led them into the wood and to this very site. Sensing the paladin's earnestness, Efferil offered to help them keep vigil, provided that they respected the sacredness of the land on which they stood. That night, the druid circle came to the clearing. They were surprised to find the humans there, but astonished to find Efferil keeping watch for them. Efferil explained the situation and how Aramis gave his word to observe the proper rites while in the clearing. The druids were unconvinced that the humans had observed the proper rites, and informed Efferil that he had to make them leave. Not wanting to anger the circle, Efferil complied. He woke the human party and they grudgingly started packing their gear. All of them except for one. Aramis's right hand man, the warrior Gildor, said that since Efferil gave them leave to stay, they should stay. Efferil attempted to explain that he had overstepped his authority, but Gildor would not listen. He insisted that Efferil had slighted the group's honor, and demanded satisfaction. Not eager to fight over a silly notion like human honor, Efferil refused, and demanded that they leave. Aramis recognized the difficult situation Efferil was in, and ordered Gildor to pack and move out with the group. This was the final straw for Gildor, and he swore to everyone present that he would get back at Efferil. Aramis insisted that Efferil had acted in good faith, and warned Gildor to stay away.
Months passed without incident, and Efferil happened upon an envoy from the Red Lady. Slight and swift-footed, Dara Xiloscient was on an important mission and would not be deterred. Efferil offered to escort her through the forest so that she could deliver her important message. The truth was, he was not ready to depart her company. She accepted his offer, and they made their way to Teuveamanthaar, known to some as the city of Tall Trees. During the journey, they told each other of their histories and grew close. Even after they parted company, Efferil made his way to Teuveamanthaar whenever he could to be with Dara. That is, until he disappeared in the forest surrounding the Star Mounts.
Once more, an awesome backstory! I love how you make up your own names for destinations and also set up a possible villain later in the campaign!
I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
Nice! Almost all of the backstories people are sharing are paragraphs long, and I can't even make people in my group write a couple sentences for theirs.
Hello! I am just a relatively new D&D player, who also likes SimplePlanes and War Thunder.
My characters are:
I know I already talked about Myuux in this Forum before, but I might like to show you something different. I believed that there were two paths that my Tiefling could walk, which would determine his Alignment, Faith, and even Race. The Myuux I talked about before was the path of good, where he regretted what he did, and wants to fix that. The Myuux I want to talk about now however, is the "evil" path, where, you'll read soon enough:
Myuux Solren
Race: Baalzebul Tiefling
Background: Acolyte
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Class: Cleric (Order Domain)
Myuux was just like any other child, except for the fact that he was a Tiefling, born from human parents. He lived a pretty calm life, the occasional glare here and there, but overall pretty average. However, Myuux was eventually orphaned at a young age, he and his family were attacked by murderers. His assailants wanted to get rid of him and his parents for giving birth to him, but he was saved by a passing Cleric. Myuux wanted to pay the Cleric back, so Myuux joined the Cleric's faith. However, he seemed a little hostile when it came to his faith. He would destroy and burn the villages of Sinners, hoping ti please his God. He was confronted by his church, and told that he was not better then the people he killed. This didn't go well with Myuux, he believed that he was right in destroying the "heretics." So, the church disowned him, even Myuux's savior denied him. Lost and defeated, Myuux traveled the world for 2 years, until he was discovered by the God Anubis, and wanted Myuux to help him being Order, Myuux accepted. Upon meeting Anubus, something awoken inside of him, the blood of Baalzebul awoken inside of him, granting him new, yet dark powers which would help his cause. Now an Order Domain Cleric, Myuux travels the world, bringing harsh justice to the sinners, and criminals that stand in his way.
Damion Wild, Mark Of Storm Half-Elf, Druid (Circle Of Wildfire) 5, Monk 3
New Campaign, new character
Kiirith
Hobgoblin
Gunslinger
Neutral Good
Background: City Watch/Law Enforcement
Faith: Ilmater
Time travel story with a North American inspired post civil war western setting (Goblins, Orcs and Ogres were enslaved and won their independence in the civil war)
A slave born of a a line of slaves, he was sold away from his parents and siblings while still young to a hard labor camp. He was frequently singled out among slaves for beatings because of his size and ferocious appearance despite his kind and protective nature. One day, with the help of a network of former slaves and those who opposed slavery, he was able to escape his bondage and traveled North; finding work in a police station. He was one of the first to enlist when the war broke out as he wished to do everything possible to liberate his people from bondage. Throughout the war he proved to be a crack shot and often served as a lookout or sniper for his company. After the war, he moved West, away from the horrors he had seen in his time in the army from both the North, where he was somewhat better treated than in the South. Before he went west, he tracked down his cruel former owner and beat him severely in revenge for all the beatings he's had to endure.
Having sworn a blood oath to protect the oppressed from the oppressor and to fight the evils of the world, he desired to become a lawman and continue his work protecting those who couldn't protect themselves. He shortly became an officer of the law in a mid-sized western town and, despite early distrust, he earned the respect of his community. One day a portal opened in the middle of the town. Not knowing what it was, he approached to investigate and was sucked in. He arrived by surprise in a future in which things have changed greatly for his kind, but there is still racism that he must face and, as always, there are people who are oppressed who need somebody who can fight back. He left behind the remains of his found family, those he protected and liberated during the war as well as the community he'd sworn to protect and had grown to care for and he wants nothing more to return to his time.
Some people need a little coaxing to be creative. You can allow or even encourage your players to use the supplemental tables in XGE or the Heroic Chronicle system in Explorer's Guide to Wildemount to give them some prompts for writing a backstory. I'm a somewhat experienced writer and I still find things like that helpful. Ultimately, it depends on whether the player wants to do it or not. Some don't and that's okay. Some of those that don't will occasionally define their characters through acting out their interactions, which can be just as interesting, and for the player, just as rewarding. That's one of the great things about this game. There isn't one way to do things, there's a universe of ways.
Most of the players are new, and don't know if they want to spend the money.
Hello! I am just a relatively new D&D player, who also likes SimplePlanes and War Thunder.
My characters are: