My female halfling paladin, Gracey Goldbreeze's backstory:
Gracey has no memory of her family, as she was sold as a small toddler in Amn to a halfling travelling circus owner named Cornielius Goldbreeze. He and his human wife, Anna (the bearded lady) ran the circus. They were unable to have children and were charmed by Gracey's quick smile and positivity. They bought her and then raised her as their own child.
Gracey soon showed great nimbleness and was formerly trained in circus performing. As she grew older, Gracey learned to read and write from the seemingly ancient dwarven cleric, Fergis Bronzebrew. Fergis told stories and acted as teacher to all the circus younglings.
The circus traveled far and wide across Faerun until it was attacked and destroyed by a group of radicalized farmers and peasants. The only known survivors were Fergis and Gracey. The protagonist was a bored Githyanki that was stirring up trouble in the region for "fun."
Fergis sought refuge for them in his old temple dedicated to his god, Marthammor Duin. Gracey had a strange dream the first night in the temple. She and Fergis were attending a feast in the dinning hall of the temple. Instead of the priests there were a trio of Dwarves, one female and two male. Upon seeing them Fergis immediately fell to his knees, pulling Gracey down with him.
With his head bowed he pledged his devotion to them and begged them to forgive him for failing his trial. He named the males as Marthammor Duin and Dugmaren Brightmantle respectively and the female as Haela Brightaxe. It was the Gods themselves!
They bade them both to stand and assured Fergis that though his path traveled seemed lost, he was not. He continued by saying his trial had indeed been completed...by bring Gracey to the temple! With tears in his eyes, Fergis saluted them joyfully.
Marthammor Duin stepped forward and bade Gracey to stand as well. He presented each of them with a pair of shortswords that glimmered strangely in the hall. He addressed Fergis and said, "you have proven a valiant and true Volamtar in my service, please accept these gifts and one more trial: You must Train Gracey in our ways for SHE was the weapon that you were tasked to find!"
When they awoke the following morning, beside their beds each had a new pair of shortswords placed neatly atop their gear. They were the same as the ones in the dream, but the glamour of magic seemed to be gone! Thus began Gracey's entry into the Order of Marthammor Duin.
My Male Fierna Tiefling Light Domain Cleric, Myuux Solren.
Note that most of the backstory here is left vague so the DM can attach plot points, or just simply link it to the world.
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. So when he turned 20, he wanted to pay back his church by spreading the faith of his God Helm, and travels the world, while hoping to repent for his sins.
I'm currently on a Moonshae campaign, hit lv 5, with my Duergar Death Cleric. I was going through my backstory again and although it's cool with my DM and party I wanted to see how well it would fit with the larger DnD space as a whole? I'll copy/paste it below, please tell me what you think.
Hadgar Greystone followed the call of Laduguer ever since he came of age. He joined the armed forces of the Duergar where he fought with righteous zeal against his people's enemies, using his martial skill. Whoring, drinking, fighting orcs and getting into barfights was Hadgar's main occupation.
Until in one such barfight he met members of the Order of the Thuldor (Those who Endure). He was inducted on the spot. For a century Hadgar fought alongside the order in Dunspeirrin , using his death magicks next to his hammer to inflict pain and death on the enemy. One day however during a skirmish with Shield Dwarves, both groups fell into a gaping chasm after a massive earthquake. Many days later only he and a shield dwarf named Helga Battlehammer managed to escape the horrors beneath. A strong bound was created between the two during that time as both decided to leave the war.
They settled in Icewind Dale where they married whereupon he took her last name. He lived in the village of Feldûnost, a village near Easthaven in Icewind Dale populated by dwarves and humans, for many years with his wife and family. For decades he served as the town's blacksmith and militia commander. He was a good husband, father and even grandfather to his family until one day Helga died from an illness he could not cure. His youngest son, Bhurin, left shortly thereafter after a argument broke out between the two. For seven years he wallowed in pity and rage, hunting goblins to ease the pain. Were it not for his family, he would've gotten himself slain. One night years later, Hadgar had a vision that Bhurin was in trouble. He slew a nearby band of bandits and dedicated their deaths to Laduguer who whispered the name of a place to him. Moonshae. After having bid goodbye to his family he immediately he set off on one last quest...
He has a broken arrow tattooed on his forehead, a sign of his religion. He worships Laduguer, the Duergar/Dwarven god of smithing, Deep Duarra, the Duergar/dwarven goddess of conquest and Father Winter and dedicates all his kills to these three. He carries with him a Warhammer enchanted with frost magic. A soft clinging of bells is heard as the hammer is raised. Itself is a hammer with a green hilt and a red and white hammerhead enhanced with strange runes. When asked he says the hammer's name is "Yulebringer" and it belonged to a fierce warrior who gave it to him as a present for the many years of friendship. Guessing by the amount of attention and care he gives to the hammer it must've belonged to someone he cared about quite deeply...
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Hadgar Greystone, Lv 10 Duergar Death Cleric. Call of Cantraxis campaign, Moonshae.
DM: Imperia Regnum Ancient Rome Theros Homebrew.
Gri'im the Red, LV 7 Orc Druid Rime of the Frost Maiden Campaign.
First off, dope picture! That's really well done! Secondly, it sounds like your duergar would get along well with my duergar Thulgrim Bloodheart, an Oathbreaker paladin.
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I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
My first homemade character in a while, been playing as a DM for a little bit and before that was given a backstory for the most part.
My Yuan-Ti Pureblood / Scorcher: Runechild
I was born in a small city on the isle of Bisaft. The area is very disconnected from any part of the outside world. Two months before my fourth birthday, I was taken from my farm home, on the outskirts of the city of Bisaft Port. I have little memory of my parents and my past, except for the day of the fight. The leaders of The Iron Authority decided they needed a fresh batch of slaves, and saw Bisaft as an easy target. During the night, while my people were sleeping and off guard, they came and captured some of my people. They then returned to Tz’Armm, us in hand, and used us our entire lives. From then onward, I was enslaved to the people of Tz’Armm, being bought and sold my whole life, as a prized object. I was looked at as a more worthy buy due to my race and rarity. The scales on my shoulders was the main piece pointed out, which made hiding my runes easier as they were distracted, and I was bought for the desire to look at, like a master painting. I was removed from any sort of society and was only used as labor when they needed work done. I lived this life until I was thirteen, when I reached adulthood, at least in my tribe. At that point, I was strong enough to go work on things like extraction missions where I would help the members of the slave workforce gather food and materials not native to the Beynsfal Plateaus. The only real option we had was the Rifenmist Jungle, located just north of Tz’Armm. That was where I was sent to do the majority of my labor, as I was more intelligent than the human slaves and could survive for longer if needed. I was also more observant than human slaves. While living in Tz’Armm and being such a marketable item, I traveled a lot and met a lot of people. During my forced travels around the area, I heard stories and whispers of Tz’Armm. Apparently, the area is a battleground of a hard battle from long ago. A battle between two deities, the Strife Emperor, and the Wildmother. The Strife Emperor is the deity worshiped by the civilization of Tz’Armm and the opposers, worshiper of the Wildmother, are enslaved. During this battle, the Strife Emperor turned into a giant titan with armor made of iron. Eventually, the Wildmother was the victor and the Strife Emperor left his armor on the battlefield. I say this because another one of my slave duties was working with iron. I shaved it off the armor, collected it, and threw it into the fire. When not on recourse missions, this was my main duty, the main duty of the entire slave system. The only piece untouched by the slaves is the helmet used in battle. This is the home of Emperor Tz’Jarr. He lives in the helmet and does not let the slaves touch it. My daily life was very routine and even more regulated. If it ever diverged form normalcy, that was due to someone controlling it, there was no freedom. That was, until one day, while on a resupply mission, my group was found by a group of warriors from Emon. They were on a scouting trip from the north and wanted to explore the jungle when they met up with our group, and in true hobgoblin fashion, were fought to the death. At the start of this fight I saw my escape and using the power of my runes, and the help of a warrior named Tanjiro Yamada, managed to protect myself and him enough to escape. We ran towards the Mornset Countryside and from there found the closest village which was the city of Byroden. With a town of about 850 people, but more importantly no slaves, I was excited. I got to see a city of what I see as normalcy and peace. The area appealed to me. That being said, I now long for power. After seeing the possibilities of a disgrace like Tz’Armm and the horrific lifestyles the slaves endure, I cannot allow that in life. I hope to one day be able to work on removing slavery from the civilized world. That was my intention when we moved to Syngorn. I hoped to be able to work on moving my way up the social ladder to be able to help eradicate slavery in the area, whether that is through force or diplomacy. But when I arrived at Sygorn, I was treated very poorly, as was Tanjiro. We both appear to be humans and when we arrived I realized their hatred for humans. They would not grant us any sort of citizenship and just wouldn’t accept us into their society, so we left again. This time looking for someplace more accepting; so we went further north.
First off, dope picture! That's really well done! Secondly, it sounds like your duergar would get along well with my duergar Thulgrim Bloodheart, an Oathbreaker paladin.
Oh what's your character's story? I'm well curious about other Duergar players! I play Hadgar as Darth Vader or Mike from Breaking Bad/Better call Saul. Does not suffer fools lightly and is a bit of a killjoy but he is focused and does actually help his allies when needed.
And thanks, I had this commissioned.
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Hadgar Greystone, Lv 10 Duergar Death Cleric. Call of Cantraxis campaign, Moonshae.
DM: Imperia Regnum Ancient Rome Theros Homebrew.
Gri'im the Red, LV 7 Orc Druid Rime of the Frost Maiden Campaign.
Beware using rolled tables in XGtE, PHB, DMG, and tables in MM. They all relate to each other, and one can spiral down a rabbit hole that will generate an entire family tree, complete with a history of drama for every individual - and even statblocks for every character if one is neurotic like I am. I've forced myself to stop at the siblings' spouses after many hours of cross-referencing across sources, but the tables can be used to iterate through them forever until the whole world's occupants are accounted.
I was sorely tempted to keep going into the in-laws families and parents' parents, but that would lead to eventual madness, I'm certain.
I'm still going to automate it, but that's going to create nightmarish webworks of family and their histories... and it's just the framework. The backstory still has to be fleshed out from the results.
EDIT: I realized I missed the brother's adventurer enemy. I'll have to roll that one eventually.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Here's my Duergar Oathbreaker, Thulgrim Bloodheart.
THULGRIM BLOODHEART
Thulgrim Bloodheart is unlike any dwarven warrior. Armed with his battlehammer and shield, Thulgrim is deadly in all the right ways. Thulgrim always carries hate in his heart, especially towards dark elves. The drow have a special place in the dark dwarf's heart. Earlier in Thulgrim's life, he was part of a mining company of duergar. They would go out and mine precious metal from the stone walls, bringing it back to be used by dwarven Forgemasters. One day, Thulgrim and his company found the treasure worth a thousand kings. The miners called it Mithril Cove, for its thick and deep veins of mithril and adamantine. The duergar toiled all the day long, mining as much as they could from the walls and filling their chests and carts to the point of overflowing.
As the dwarves headed back to their city, Irontusk Citadel, disaster struck in the form of drow. The dark elves had been spying on the dwarves, and had found what the miners had found. Instead of chasing Thulgrim and his company out, the elves decided to let the dwarves do the work for them and take the spoils. Thulgrim's company was all but slaughtered by the merciless drow, caught completely unprepared. Instead of killing Thulgrim, the drow captain decided to let him live. Thulgrim would have rather died. The drow twisted him with dark magic, cutting out his heart and replacing it with a lump of mithril. After that, the raiding party left Thulgrim to die. Dwarves are hardy folk, and Thulgrim managed to limp his way back to Irontusk Citadel. Dwarven clerics healed Thulgrim as best they could, but the work of the drow was irreversible. So, Thulgrim took his pleas to King Ashroc Stonejaw. The grey king gifted Thulgrim with a hammer and shield, instructing Thulgrim not to return until he had avenged his mining company and slaughtered the dark elves as they had done to him and his companions.
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I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
The backstory for my character: If anyone has any ideas on how to improve it, that would be very much appreciated
She does not know of her parents, and her search for knowledge is fuelled by an overwhelming desire to find out who they are/were. She is convinced that they must have been important people, as She can be vain. She was instead brought up by a small school called the College of Requiem, in the depths of a dusty library by a woman known only as Caeli.
Seems to me like you already have a good stepping stone to start their journey and their story really begins now, but that's just like my opinion.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Athens Feldan. His beginning isn’t well known. His parents are a complete mystery. Some speculate he was the son of wretched humans, and some thought he may have been a product of an affair. Regardless of his origins, to the east of Athens’ hometown of Daggerford, lays the small town of Secomber. This town was under constant threat of raids from the Urshani, a hobgoblin clan residing in the High Moor. Unable to properly defend itself, the town struck a deal with the hobgoblins that they would regularly sacrifice someone to be able to live in peace. Rumors speculate that one year when a baby was asked to be sent for sacrifice by the tribe, two humans retreated from the settlement and sent their child down the river to save him from being eaten. Within the basket along with the infant was a handful of silver and a note to care for it.
The child floated down the river for several miles until he was spotted by an Orc shaman gathering moss on rocks sticking out of the water. Opening the basket he was alarmed to find a human child and was about to cast him back out into the current, but noticed the handful of silver and out of superstition believed this child was meant to bring his tribe good fortune, and took him in as an outsider of his tribe inside the abandoned mine in the hills east of Daggerford. The shaman inspected the small note, as the only member of his tribe able to read human language, and took pity on the child by granting him the name “Fil’dan” in a mispronounced reference to how this boy’s life seemed to have “fell down.”
Over time the majority of the tribe saw the human child as a bringer of prosperity, and many more superstitions regarding him followed. The shaman had witnessed one night that a wild, poisonous snake had slipped into his hut and had nested in the infant’s basket as he was still asleep in it. Seeing this phenomenon, the shaman predicted that death and misfortune would follow him, but also great wealth and glory.
As the child grew he was instructed in basic combat as the other orcs began to trust him more, however, he was subjected to bullying as again he “fell down” at combat instruction due to him being thinner and less bulky than the orcs. Unable to use large swords and axes, Fil’dan resorted to lighter weapons, mainly rapiers and knives. But rather than training only on combat, the boy focused on speed and intelligence, the two things he had that the orcs did not. Running for miles, Fil’dan trained himself to have incredible endurance and be quick on his feet, and his climbing skills also developed from the steep terrain of the abandoned hills. Hunting with the rest of the tribal hunters, he developed keen accuracy with a bow and could easily chase down more nimble prey.
Being human also gave him another benefit, the perk of being trusted in all surrounding settlements. When Athens was 12, he was granted the status of a fully tribal member and had his name tattooed on his chest in orcish. This also meant he was sent away from the tribe to live in a human settlement with the goal of stealing what he could for them. Making his way to Daggerford dressed in clothes he had stolen from a village close to his tribal mine, he lived on the streets and in the sewers while stealing what he could, using his speed and climbing to escape guards easily. But the more valuable goods were sealed off, and Fil’dan was caught trying to steal from a sun elf named Filarion Filvendorson. Local rumors said that he had trained as a thief and was a master of the local thieves guild, but this was never confirmed.
Instead of having the orcish-speaking child sent to prison for the spate of other petty crimes he had committed, he admired his drive and decided to teach him to be a “true thief.” This is where his first name came from. When the slim child stated his name was “Fil’dan,” Filarion was recorded to have replied: “Fil’dan? You’re a thin Fil’dan.” This later became his first name, “Athens.”
For the next ten years, Athens trained and studied the ways of criminal underworlds. Trained with rapiers and daggers in combat, thieves’ tools and how to pick locks, and how to set traps and ambushes. With Filarion’s guiding hand, Athens created a system of criminals and spies in Daggerford and the nearby towns in a smuggling ring known as the Daggerford Knives with their motto: “Nihil habere splendide.” For a few gold, the criminals in the network would give a portion of their spoils to Athens who would send it along to his home in the abandoned mines. This was a good life, but soon it was hit with tragedy once more as death and misfortune returned.
In 1483 DR, when Athens was 22, Filarion passed away from natural causes. And not soon after, Athens’ smuggling ring was discovered, and Athens was arrested after one of his criminals snitched on his operation when threatened with death. Learning that it was several tribes of orcs in the hills causing caravans to be looted, the leaders of Waterdeep and Daggerford assembled an army and sent it to the Sword Hills. With Athens in prison, he overheard the guards cheering that all orcs had been slaughtered. His family, his tribe, his teacher, and his smuggling ring were all gone. As he was prepared for execution for his crimes, Athens managed to escape his cell and vanished from the city.
Now at 22, he never returned to the mountains, as he had no reason to not believe his tribe was gone and they would obviously look there for him. Now he wandered. Stealing what he could and even taking honest work on occasion. Nobody knew where he had disappeared to. One thing is known, that while death and misfortune had come for him, glory and wealth were still to come.
Here's my Duergar Oathbreaker, Thulgrim Bloodheart.
THULGRIM BLOODHEART
Thulgrim Bloodheart is unlike any dwarven warrior. Armed with his battlehammer and shield, Thulgrim is deadly in all the right ways. Thulgrim always carries hate in his heart, especially towards dark elves. The drow have a special place in the dark dwarf's heart. Earlier in Thulgrim's life, he was part of a mining company of duergar. They would go out and mine precious metal from the stone walls, bringing it back to be used by dwarven Forgemasters. One day, Thulgrim and his company found the treasure worth a thousand kings. The miners called it Mithril Cove, for its thick and deep veins of mithril and adamantine. The duergar toiled all the day long, mining as much as they could from the walls and filling their chests and carts to the point of overflowing.
As the dwarves headed back to their city, Irontusk Citadel, disaster struck in the form of drow. The dark elves had been spying on the dwarves, and had found what the miners had found. Instead of chasing Thulgrim and his company out, the elves decided to let the dwarves do the work for them and take the spoils. Thulgrim's company was all but slaughtered by the merciless drow, caught completely unprepared. Instead of killing Thulgrim, the drow captain decided to let him live. Thulgrim would have rather died. The drow twisted him with dark magic, cutting out his heart and replacing it with a lump of mithril. After that, the raiding party left Thulgrim to die. Dwarves are hardy folk, and Thulgrim managed to limp his way back to Irontusk Citadel. Dwarven clerics healed Thulgrim as best they could, but the work of the drow was irreversible. So, Thulgrim took his pleas to King Ashroc Stonejaw. The grey king gifted Thulgrim with a hammer and shield, instructing Thulgrim not to return until he had avenged his mining company and slaughtered the dark elves as they had done to him and his companions.
Ooooh that's a good backstory for sure! I like the Mithril heart thing, you could get a lot of character development out of it. How does the Oathbreaker paladin thing come in though? Did he forsake Laduguer or Deep Duarra?
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Hadgar Greystone, Lv 10 Duergar Death Cleric. Call of Cantraxis campaign, Moonshae.
DM: Imperia Regnum Ancient Rome Theros Homebrew.
Gri'im the Red, LV 7 Orc Druid Rime of the Frost Maiden Campaign.
I get it. I was just messing with you. Let's have a "duel" where two people give us a character idea, and we write a backstory for them. We'll let the people on this forum see what we're capable of.
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I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
Geez. Those are some @$$hole parents. I'd be looking for revenge if they just up and left me in a bunch of Devil's Snare.
I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
Devil snare? Have you read Harry Potter too? Also, yes those do sort of sound like very, very bad parents.
"If you ever ask a wizard to list the books they've read recently, prepare to be there for a solid week. " - Original.
Grammar Cult
Bow down to Cats! (Cult of Cats)
I was hoping someone would get that reference. I do read Harry Potter.
I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
My female halfling paladin, Gracey Goldbreeze's backstory:
Gracey has no memory of her family, as she was sold as a small toddler in Amn to a halfling travelling circus owner named Cornielius Goldbreeze. He and his human wife, Anna (the bearded lady) ran the circus. They were unable to have children and were charmed by Gracey's quick smile and positivity. They bought her and then raised her as their own child.
Gracey soon showed great nimbleness and was formerly trained in circus performing. As she grew older, Gracey learned to read and write from the seemingly ancient dwarven cleric, Fergis Bronzebrew. Fergis told stories and acted as teacher to all the circus younglings.
The circus traveled far and wide across Faerun until it was attacked and destroyed by a group of radicalized farmers and peasants. The only known survivors were Fergis and Gracey. The protagonist was a bored Githyanki that was stirring up trouble in the region for "fun."
Fergis sought refuge for them in his old temple dedicated to his god, Marthammor Duin. Gracey had a strange dream the first night in the temple. She and Fergis were attending a feast in the dinning hall of the temple. Instead of the priests there were a trio of Dwarves, one female and two male. Upon seeing them Fergis immediately fell to his knees, pulling Gracey down with him.
With his head bowed he pledged his devotion to them and begged them to forgive him for failing his trial. He named the males as Marthammor Duin and Dugmaren Brightmantle respectively and the female as Haela Brightaxe. It was the Gods themselves!
They bade them both to stand and assured Fergis that though his path traveled seemed lost, he was not. He continued by saying his trial had indeed been completed...by bring Gracey to the temple! With tears in his eyes, Fergis saluted them joyfully.
Marthammor Duin stepped forward and bade Gracey to stand as well. He presented each of them with a pair of shortswords that glimmered strangely in the hall. He addressed Fergis and said, "you have proven a valiant and true Volamtar in my service, please accept these gifts and one more trial: You must Train Gracey in our ways for SHE was the weapon that you were tasked to find!"
When they awoke the following morning, beside their beds each had a new pair of shortswords placed neatly atop their gear. They were the same as the ones in the dream, but the glamour of magic seemed to be gone! Thus began Gracey's entry into the Order of Marthammor Duin.
Harry Potter Is a really good book. I've read them all 30 times, so I would recognize a Harry Potter reference anywhere.
"If you ever ask a wizard to list the books they've read recently, prepare to be there for a solid week. " - Original.
Grammar Cult
Bow down to Cats! (Cult of Cats)
My Male Fierna Tiefling Light Domain Cleric, Myuux Solren.
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. So when he turned 20, he wanted to pay back his church by spreading the faith of his God Helm, and travels the world, while hoping to repent for his sins.
Damion Wild, Mark Of Storm Half-Elf, Druid (Circle Of Wildfire) 5, Monk 3
I'm currently on a Moonshae campaign, hit lv 5, with my Duergar Death Cleric.
I was going through my backstory again and although it's cool with my DM and party I wanted to see how well it would fit with the larger DnD space as a whole?
I'll copy/paste it below, please tell me what you think.
Hadgar Greystone followed the call of Laduguer ever since he came of age. He joined the armed forces of the Duergar where he fought with righteous zeal against his people's enemies, using his martial skill. Whoring, drinking, fighting orcs and getting into barfights was Hadgar's main occupation.
Until in one such barfight he met members of the Order of the Thuldor (Those who Endure). He was inducted on the spot.
For a century Hadgar fought alongside the order in Dunspeirrin , using his death magicks next to his hammer to inflict pain and death on the enemy.
One day however during a skirmish with Shield Dwarves, both groups fell into a gaping chasm after a massive earthquake. Many days later only he and a shield dwarf named Helga Battlehammer managed to escape the horrors beneath. A strong bound was created between the two during that time as both decided to leave the war.
They settled in Icewind Dale where they married whereupon he took her last name. He lived in the village of Feldûnost, a village near Easthaven in Icewind Dale populated by dwarves and humans, for many years with his wife and family. For decades he served as the town's blacksmith and militia commander.
He was a good husband, father and even grandfather to his family until one day Helga died from an illness he could not cure. His youngest son, Bhurin, left shortly thereafter after a argument broke out between the two. For seven years he wallowed in pity and rage, hunting goblins to ease the pain. Were it not for his family, he would've gotten himself slain.
One night years later, Hadgar had a vision that Bhurin was in trouble. He slew a nearby band of bandits and dedicated their deaths to Laduguer who whispered the name of a place to him. Moonshae. After having bid goodbye to his family he immediately he set off on one last quest...
He worships Laduguer, the Duergar/Dwarven god of smithing, Deep Duarra, the Duergar/dwarven goddess of conquest and Father Winter and dedicates all his kills to these three. He carries with him a Warhammer enchanted with frost magic. A soft clinging of bells is heard as the hammer is raised. Itself is a hammer with a green hilt and a red and white hammerhead enhanced with strange runes. When asked he says the hammer's name is "Yulebringer" and it belonged to a fierce warrior who gave it to him as a present for the many years of friendship. Guessing by the amount of attention and care he gives to the hammer it must've belonged to someone he cared about quite deeply...
Hadgar Greystone, Lv 10 Duergar Death Cleric.
Call of Cantraxis campaign, Moonshae.
DM: Imperia Regnum
Ancient Rome Theros Homebrew.
Gri'im the Red, LV 7 Orc Druid
Rime of the Frost Maiden Campaign.
First off, dope picture! That's really well done! Secondly, it sounds like your duergar would get along well with my duergar Thulgrim Bloodheart, an Oathbreaker paladin.
I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
My first homemade character in a while, been playing as a DM for a little bit and before that was given a backstory for the most part.
My Yuan-Ti Pureblood / Scorcher: Runechild
I was born in a small city on the isle of Bisaft. The area is very disconnected from any part of the outside world. Two months before my fourth birthday, I was taken from my farm home, on the outskirts of the city of Bisaft Port. I have little memory of my parents and my past, except for the day of the fight. The leaders of The Iron Authority decided they needed a fresh batch of slaves, and saw Bisaft as an easy target. During the night, while my people were sleeping and off guard, they came and captured some of my people. They then returned to Tz’Armm, us in hand, and used us our entire lives. From then onward, I was enslaved to the people of Tz’Armm, being bought and sold my whole life, as a prized object. I was looked at as a more worthy buy due to my race and rarity. The scales on my shoulders was the main piece pointed out, which made hiding my runes easier as they were distracted, and I was bought for the desire to look at, like a master painting. I was removed from any sort of society and was only used as labor when they needed work done. I lived this life until I was thirteen, when I reached adulthood, at least in my tribe. At that point, I was strong enough to go work on things like extraction missions where I would help the members of the slave workforce gather food and materials not native to the Beynsfal Plateaus. The only real option we had was the Rifenmist Jungle, located just north of Tz’Armm. That was where I was sent to do the majority of my labor, as I was more intelligent than the human slaves and could survive for longer if needed. I was also more observant than human slaves. While living in Tz’Armm and being such a marketable item, I traveled a lot and met a lot of people. During my forced travels around the area, I heard stories and whispers of Tz’Armm. Apparently, the area is a battleground of a hard battle from long ago. A battle between two deities, the Strife Emperor, and the Wildmother. The Strife Emperor is the deity worshiped by the civilization of Tz’Armm and the opposers, worshiper of the Wildmother, are enslaved. During this battle, the Strife Emperor turned into a giant titan with armor made of iron. Eventually, the Wildmother was the victor and the Strife Emperor left his armor on the battlefield. I say this because another one of my slave duties was working with iron. I shaved it off the armor, collected it, and threw it into the fire. When not on recourse missions, this was my main duty, the main duty of the entire slave system. The only piece untouched by the slaves is the helmet used in battle. This is the home of Emperor Tz’Jarr. He lives in the helmet and does not let the slaves touch it. My daily life was very routine and even more regulated. If it ever diverged form normalcy, that was due to someone controlling it, there was no freedom. That was, until one day, while on a resupply mission, my group was found by a group of warriors from Emon. They were on a scouting trip from the north and wanted to explore the jungle when they met up with our group, and in true hobgoblin fashion, were fought to the death. At the start of this fight I saw my escape and using the power of my runes, and the help of a warrior named Tanjiro Yamada, managed to protect myself and him enough to escape. We ran towards the Mornset Countryside and from there found the closest village which was the city of Byroden. With a town of about 850 people, but more importantly no slaves, I was excited. I got to see a city of what I see as normalcy and peace. The area appealed to me. That being said, I now long for power. After seeing the possibilities of a disgrace like Tz’Armm and the horrific lifestyles the slaves endure, I cannot allow that in life. I hope to one day be able to work on removing slavery from the civilized world. That was my intention when we moved to Syngorn. I hoped to be able to work on moving my way up the social ladder to be able to help eradicate slavery in the area, whether that is through force or diplomacy. But when I arrived at Sygorn, I was treated very poorly, as was Tanjiro. We both appear to be humans and when we arrived I realized their hatred for humans. They would not grant us any sort of citizenship and just wouldn’t accept us into their society, so we left again. This time looking for someplace more accepting; so we went further north.
Oh what's your character's story? I'm well curious about other Duergar players! I play Hadgar as Darth Vader or Mike from Breaking Bad/Better call Saul. Does not suffer fools lightly and is a bit of a killjoy but he is focused and does actually help his allies when needed.
And thanks, I had this commissioned.
Hadgar Greystone, Lv 10 Duergar Death Cleric.
Call of Cantraxis campaign, Moonshae.
DM: Imperia Regnum
Ancient Rome Theros Homebrew.
Gri'im the Red, LV 7 Orc Druid
Rime of the Frost Maiden Campaign.
Beware using rolled tables in XGtE, PHB, DMG, and tables in MM. They all relate to each other, and one can spiral down a rabbit hole that will generate an entire family tree, complete with a history of drama for every individual - and even statblocks for every character if one is neurotic like I am. I've forced myself to stop at the siblings' spouses after many hours of cross-referencing across sources, but the tables can be used to iterate through them forever until the whole world's occupants are accounted.
I was sorely tempted to keep going into the in-laws families and parents' parents, but that would lead to eventual madness, I'm certain.
I'm still going to automate it, but that's going to create nightmarish webworks of family and their histories... and it's just the framework. The backstory still has to be fleshed out from the results.
EDIT: I realized I missed the brother's adventurer enemy. I'll have to roll that one eventually.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Here's my Duergar Oathbreaker, Thulgrim Bloodheart.
THULGRIM BLOODHEART
Thulgrim Bloodheart is unlike any dwarven warrior. Armed with his battlehammer and shield, Thulgrim is deadly in all the right ways. Thulgrim always carries hate in his heart, especially towards dark elves. The drow have a special place in the dark dwarf's heart. Earlier in Thulgrim's life, he was part of a mining company of duergar. They would go out and mine precious metal from the stone walls, bringing it back to be used by dwarven Forgemasters. One day, Thulgrim and his company found the treasure worth a thousand kings. The miners called it Mithril Cove, for its thick and deep veins of mithril and adamantine. The duergar toiled all the day long, mining as much as they could from the walls and filling their chests and carts to the point of overflowing.
As the dwarves headed back to their city, Irontusk Citadel, disaster struck in the form of drow. The dark elves had been spying on the dwarves, and had found what the miners had found. Instead of chasing Thulgrim and his company out, the elves decided to let the dwarves do the work for them and take the spoils. Thulgrim's company was all but slaughtered by the merciless drow, caught completely unprepared. Instead of killing Thulgrim, the drow captain decided to let him live. Thulgrim would have rather died. The drow twisted him with dark magic, cutting out his heart and replacing it with a lump of mithril. After that, the raiding party left Thulgrim to die. Dwarves are hardy folk, and Thulgrim managed to limp his way back to Irontusk Citadel. Dwarven clerics healed Thulgrim as best they could, but the work of the drow was irreversible. So, Thulgrim took his pleas to King Ashroc Stonejaw. The grey king gifted Thulgrim with a hammer and shield, instructing Thulgrim not to return until he had avenged his mining company and slaughtered the dark elves as they had done to him and his companions.
I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
The backstory for my character: If anyone has any ideas on how to improve it, that would be very much appreciated
She does not know of her parents, and her search for knowledge is fuelled by an overwhelming desire to find out who they are/were. She is convinced that they must have been important people, as She can be vain. She was instead brought up by a small school called the College of Requiem, in the depths of a dusty library by a woman known only as Caeli.
Seems to me like you already have a good stepping stone to start their journey and their story really begins now, but that's just like my opinion.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Athens Feldan. His beginning isn’t well known. His parents are a complete mystery. Some speculate he was the son of wretched humans, and some thought he may have been a product of an affair. Regardless of his origins, to the east of Athens’ hometown of Daggerford, lays the small town of Secomber. This town was under constant threat of raids from the Urshani, a hobgoblin clan residing in the High Moor. Unable to properly defend itself, the town struck a deal with the hobgoblins that they would regularly sacrifice someone to be able to live in peace. Rumors speculate that one year when a baby was asked to be sent for sacrifice by the tribe, two humans retreated from the settlement and sent their child down the river to save him from being eaten. Within the basket along with the infant was a handful of silver and a note to care for it.
The child floated down the river for several miles until he was spotted by an Orc shaman gathering moss on rocks sticking out of the water. Opening the basket he was alarmed to find a human child and was about to cast him back out into the current, but noticed the handful of silver and out of superstition believed this child was meant to bring his tribe good fortune, and took him in as an outsider of his tribe inside the abandoned mine in the hills east of Daggerford. The shaman inspected the small note, as the only member of his tribe able to read human language, and took pity on the child by granting him the name “Fil’dan” in a mispronounced reference to how this boy’s life seemed to have “fell down.”
Over time the majority of the tribe saw the human child as a bringer of prosperity, and many more superstitions regarding him followed. The shaman had witnessed one night that a wild, poisonous snake had slipped into his hut and had nested in the infant’s basket as he was still asleep in it. Seeing this phenomenon, the shaman predicted that death and misfortune would follow him, but also great wealth and glory.
As the child grew he was instructed in basic combat as the other orcs began to trust him more, however, he was subjected to bullying as again he “fell down” at combat instruction due to him being thinner and less bulky than the orcs. Unable to use large swords and axes, Fil’dan resorted to lighter weapons, mainly rapiers and knives. But rather than training only on combat, the boy focused on speed and intelligence, the two things he had that the orcs did not. Running for miles, Fil’dan trained himself to have incredible endurance and be quick on his feet, and his climbing skills also developed from the steep terrain of the abandoned hills. Hunting with the rest of the tribal hunters, he developed keen accuracy with a bow and could easily chase down more nimble prey.
Being human also gave him another benefit, the perk of being trusted in all surrounding settlements. When Athens was 12, he was granted the status of a fully tribal member and had his name tattooed on his chest in orcish. This also meant he was sent away from the tribe to live in a human settlement with the goal of stealing what he could for them. Making his way to Daggerford dressed in clothes he had stolen from a village close to his tribal mine, he lived on the streets and in the sewers while stealing what he could, using his speed and climbing to escape guards easily. But the more valuable goods were sealed off, and Fil’dan was caught trying to steal from a sun elf named Filarion Filvendorson. Local rumors said that he had trained as a thief and was a master of the local thieves guild, but this was never confirmed.
Instead of having the orcish-speaking child sent to prison for the spate of other petty crimes he had committed, he admired his drive and decided to teach him to be a “true thief.” This is where his first name came from. When the slim child stated his name was “Fil’dan,” Filarion was recorded to have replied: “Fil’dan? You’re a thin Fil’dan.” This later became his first name, “Athens.”
For the next ten years, Athens trained and studied the ways of criminal underworlds. Trained with rapiers and daggers in combat, thieves’ tools and how to pick locks, and how to set traps and ambushes. With Filarion’s guiding hand, Athens created a system of criminals and spies in Daggerford and the nearby towns in a smuggling ring known as the Daggerford Knives with their motto: “Nihil habere splendide.” For a few gold, the criminals in the network would give a portion of their spoils to Athens who would send it along to his home in the abandoned mines. This was a good life, but soon it was hit with tragedy once more as death and misfortune returned.
In 1483 DR, when Athens was 22, Filarion passed away from natural causes. And not soon after, Athens’ smuggling ring was discovered, and Athens was arrested after one of his criminals snitched on his operation when threatened with death. Learning that it was several tribes of orcs in the hills causing caravans to be looted, the leaders of Waterdeep and Daggerford assembled an army and sent it to the Sword Hills. With Athens in prison, he overheard the guards cheering that all orcs had been slaughtered. His family, his tribe, his teacher, and his smuggling ring were all gone. As he was prepared for execution for his crimes, Athens managed to escape his cell and vanished from the city.
Now at 22, he never returned to the mountains, as he had no reason to not believe his tribe was gone and they would obviously look there for him. Now he wandered. Stealing what he could and even taking honest work on occasion. Nobody knew where he had disappeared to. One thing is known, that while death and misfortune had come for him, glory and wealth were still to come.
Ooooh that's a good backstory for sure! I like the Mithril heart thing, you could get a lot of character development out of it.
How does the Oathbreaker paladin thing come in though? Did he forsake Laduguer or Deep Duarra?
Hadgar Greystone, Lv 10 Duergar Death Cleric.
Call of Cantraxis campaign, Moonshae.
DM: Imperia Regnum
Ancient Rome Theros Homebrew.
Gri'im the Red, LV 7 Orc Druid
Rime of the Frost Maiden Campaign.
if anyone wants help with a backstory, tell me class, name, race and some factors. Bye!!
"If you ever ask a wizard to list the books they've read recently, prepare to be there for a solid week. " - Original.
Grammar Cult
Bow down to Cats! (Cult of Cats)
Sorry! I just love writing story's. I've seen yours though. They're amazing!!
"If you ever ask a wizard to list the books they've read recently, prepare to be there for a solid week. " - Original.
Grammar Cult
Bow down to Cats! (Cult of Cats)
I get it. I was just messing with you. Let's have a "duel" where two people give us a character idea, and we write a backstory for them. We'll let the people on this forum see what we're capable of.
I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.
I guess he's more an Oath of Vengeance, but eviler. It still has plenty of kinks in it.
I'm not begging for attention, but if you like World Anvil, go give me a look.