Pakk Holargyros, Half-Orc Fighter. This was written specifically to give hooks for Curse of Strahd:
You are a member of a family of famous silversmiths that has lived alongside and been accepted by humans for generations, although like any half-orc you are used to hearing the taunts and prejudices of other races. However, they are quick to acknowledge your skill in working with silver and, of course, in combat. You were never the cleverest growing up, but you could more than take care of yourself in sword fighting and often proved your skill in archery. One day, a famous vampire hunter, Rudolph van Richten, visited your village. He commissioned your father to make him a special set of silver armour and weaponry for a dangerous mission into a vampiric realm. This visit changed the course of your life. The Half-elf vampire hunter stayed with your family for some time, telling you tales of his quests and the evil done by vampires. He also honed your skill in swordfighting and archery. After the vampire hunter left, you never saw or heard from him again. However, one day a chance remark overheard the local tavern led you to a colourfully dressed Vestani man who claimed to be the only survivor of a fated expedition, but had no memory of how he had returned alive. He claimed he had watched van Richten taken by Vampire spawn, under the control of the one they called "the Devil Strahd" You drank with the man, and he offered to take you to the last place he could remember, a tavern near a remote mountain valley town called Barovia. Soon after in a junk shop nearby you found the silver bow and an arm ring, all that remained of the armour your father made. You decided then that you would track down van Richten and discover his fate, and swore to do all you could to eliminate the evil of vampires that he had told you about.
It's my second character backstory. The first was perfect. This..not so much. Something lacking and I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe someone can figure it out?
Rafferty Dewdrop Hill dwarf, Tempest Cleric
Her clan once lived in a magnificent underground fortress. But not everyone liked the harsh rules of the clan. Once, taking advantage of an earthquake, some folks decided to flee. When they got to the surface, they were greeted by warm, heavy rain. They considered it a sign - it was as if it had given them rebirth, purification, and washed away all their old life. At the first settlement nearby, the dwarves found the temple of Istishia. It was fate, nothing less. Some of them accepted the temple service as a great honor. Rafferty remembered all of this very vaguely - at that time she was a little child. The priests of Istishia believe that staying attached to a particular temple or region for too long results in stagnation so they change temples about every five years. Therefore, after a few years, this community of dwarves decided to change their place of settlement. So they moved several times to different cities. Some of them though did not want changes and stayed, some other folks, on the contrary, joined them.
When Rafferty was about 50 years old she began helping in the temple as a disciple, hoping to become a priest. She honored and respected the calmness, strength, and serenity of water. She was ready for change and thought she understood herself completely. After some time, it was her turn to visit the new temple. She was confused - these changes, which she was waiting for, suddenly began to scare her. But she could not disobey.
The path to a new settlement lay across the sea. This frightened her too because she heard terrible stories from sailors about terrible storms, bloodthirsty pirates. Her fears were justified - on the way, their ship was pursued by some creature. The captain decided to escape by going to a very dangerous area, which even experienced sailors tried to avoid - not a single ship returned from there. Their ship also suffered a terrible fate. Fortunately, they managed to escape on several boats on time so some part of the crew escaped. After a time, in the distance, they noticed a rocky coast with dense forest and headed towards it. Struggle with the sea battered them a lot, they got to land almost exhausted. Rafferty didn’t remember how they got to the beach. She woke up after a while in a small hut in the forest. She couldn't remember how much time had passed. She could hardly remember anything at all. An Elf Woman named Ula lived in this shack. She lived here as a hermit for many decades and helped the victims of the shipwrecks. She healed them, helped them to get back on their feet, buried the dead. If she managed to find someone's letters or diaries, Ula always sent news to their family and some money to help. There was not much money around, something was washed ashore, something was sent to her by the grateful sailors. Ula also made boats and sent them for sale. Despite all the tragedies, Ula admired the sea and the storms, even though she prayed to Valkur every morning, asking him to be lenient towards sea travelers.
Rafferty stayed to help her. There was nowhere to go anyway. But, in contrast to Ula, the open sea, storms, winds scared her a bit.
It's hard to say how many years have passed. The memory sometimes returned to Rafferty, but in fragments that were difficult to grasp. It seemed to her more and more that she was still out of place. After a few years (maybe decades), the memories began to worry her more and more, she managed to grasp some threads along which she could further search for her past. Said goodbye to her mentor, she set out on a journey with several surviving sailors.
She was a navigator on a merchant ship when water cultists attacked her ship, killing everyone and leaving her to die. She woke up on the beach, believing that Deep Sashelas saved her. She became his cleric and went searching for a new “crew” to help her root out the cultists and take her revenge. Nephelle Stormweaver Portrait
Backstory: Zindureth wasn't born a Dragonborn, but rather a mighty Blue Dragon itself! Leaving the nest at a young and brash age, he stalked a lair of a Bulette and by using his cunning, lured a group of weak adventurers into battle with the mighty beast. The adventurers, no match for the monster were quickly slain, but not before weakening the Bulette to a point in which Zindureth could hunt it. After an epic struggle, the Bulette laid slain and Zindureth taking the adventurer's spoils set up his lair at the base of the mountains adjacent to the great desert. He kept the skeleton of the Bulette as a warning to those who approached his cave. By the nature of his being, the very air began to crackle with electricity and soon the Plains of Eternal Storm became a location marked on many maps.
That did not dissuade adventurers however. Wave after wave, they came storming his home, and week after week his hoard grew. So when a single Blue Dragonborn arrived alone, his puny frame suggesting a scholar of sorts, Zindureth in his arrogance, let down his guard. The Dragonborn spoke of studying the great blue dragon wyrmling, to regale tales of his ferocity. Zindureth absorbed every word, and greedily accepted the approaching Dragonborn. Zindueth was taught of the usefulness of magic practitioners and was excited to accept his first follower. In but a brief moment, the Dragonborn flashed a crystallize jar made of Dragonshard, and Zindureth felt a tugging sensation before fading to black.
When he awoke, he was lying in the middle of the Fields, thunder booming overhead. He attempted to spread his wings any fly to his den, and felt nothing. He checked his claws and discovered fragile nails where once was talons. With panic settling it he rushed back wobbly on two legs back to his cave, to discover it empty. A single glint of a gem covered in layers of dust caught his eye. Hurriedly he rushed towards it and peering at the reflective surface, he spied the very face of the cowardly Dragonborn peering back at him. Zindureth's eyes burned with a hate hotter than any lightning, he vowed in an ancient tongue that he will get his body back no matter what it took and that weakling who had the audacity to steal his form from him will pay. Breaking off part of the jawbone from the Bulette corpse, he took off towards the nearest settlement to find the trail of the coward and begin the hunt again.
Flavor: When Zindureth Rages it appears as though his draconic spirit is straining against the body he inhibits which causes the electrical bursts for this Storm Aura.
Mechanical:
His stats are 17 (Str), 10 (Dex), 14 (Con), 12 (Int), 10 (Wis), 14 (Cha) Point buy at level 5. This makes him have the same stats as a Blue Dragon Wyrmling. The idea being that Zindureth retained the mental stats of the Wyrmling, but now in the fragile wizard body, will have to train it back up to the strength he needs to fight and win his old body back.
The Draconblood Dragonborn better fits the idea of Wizard that the thief was, as well as to keep the Forceful Presence of his old self, and make it so that his level 6 lightning resist doesn't go to waste.
His old body that now belongs to the Wizard which would lead to a great late game boss. The spell casting ability of the wizard, while retaining the strength of the beast. The idea that the Wizard when in Dragonborn body would live to maybe 90 years, and now with the dragon body could live for centuries is a good motivation for taking the risk.
Born into a Military Family, Thalor was always looking to impress his constantly soldiering parents. He never got through to them, but his siblings did. This caused an extreme distaste for his three other siblings. As He aged, he left behind his family for mercenary work. This did not work for Thalor, resulting in his leaving this line of work. He then joined a Ranger Group. He then was sent by his commanding officers to war against a Kingdom of Wood Elves. He was well versed in Guerilla Tactics. Ambushing supply convoys. He was given a promotion to Lieutenant during this time. On the Evening after his promotion, He Joined his comrades at a tavern, where he celebrated well into the evening. Later, As he left, he was approached by a group of hooded men and women. They asked him to come with them upon hearing this. A Drunken Thalor Took up his blade. Being disoriented, he was easily knocked unconscious by a club. He awoke in some sanctum, surrounded by more of these Hooded Figures. They Proceeded to set and subdue him onto an altar of sorts. Where they took up a Sacrificial blade. A Chant began, and his throat was slit. He was surrounded by darkness as he bled on the altar. A silence fell over the room, even though they still chanted. He finally succumbed.
He then opened his eyes, and a wind rushed past him, and he stood on a black plain. He stepped forward into the darkness. Only to find a Stone Pedastal in front of him. On it, a Mask. Made of steel. He took it, Examining it. He reluctantly put it on. A Burning sensation Rippled around his body. He knelt in pain. He looks down at his hands. Noticing he was clad in light armor. A Piercing light then erupted from the darkness around him. He found himself in the dim torchlight of the sanctum, the people standing around him. He sat up, a rage overcoming his awe. He then rushed to one of the hooded people. This was the one who had killed him. He then ripped the dagger from the hands of the hooded man. He then began to eviscerate him brutally. He then turned to the others. Slaying them as well.
He now roams this earth, hunting any who pose a threat to him.
Here's a post imperial/warlord era backstory for my elite scout trooper character! It's a bit of a read, but I appreciate those who stick through till the end!
It was years ago, and in a different life that my journey really began. People think I was always this way, yet that is far from the truth. When the Empire was still under centralized control, led by Palpatine and Vader, I was working for the corps. But do not be confused, I was never on the battlefield. In a research laboratory hidden inside a mountain under military jurisdiction I was a geneticist in the field of cloning technology. Although the clone corps was now very scarce, as clones were being replaced by recruited soldiers, already existing cloning operations we're still at full. I can vividly remember the day when everything changed. The lab was bombed. Chaos ensued as the thick metal doors of the lab blew open and sections of the mountain collapsed into the facility. In the turmoil I fled and hid behind a large chunk of the lab's ceiling that had imploded into the room. Covering my ears I braced myself as once again a horrifying blast shook every bone in my body. Then, everything went black.
Some would say I was a coward for hiding, and maybe so, but in times of war, I was taught, every man for himself. This was how I justified my faint-heartedness. Years ago I would say that I was proud of my occupation, yet now… I am ashamed of it.
When I awoke, I found myself alone surrounded by hundreds of dead scientists and clones. A large rock over the front of the lab's exit trapped me in the darkness, rendering me unable to escape that rubble of a place. It was days and weeks that I waited, yet not a single rescue party was sent. This is when I realized I was a dispensable object in the eyes of the Empire, only a commodity exploited for the bettering of those above me.
Weeks turned into months and in that period of time something inside of me changed. I survived off the rodents that entered through the small cracks in the large rock that blocked me from freedom, and drank from the broken water basins that used to supply the laboratory. It was in those days, alone in the rubble with the stench of rotting carcasses ingrained in my nasal cavities, that I became who I am today. My whole life had been dedicated to science, yet what could science offer me now? I conformed to an altered train of thought absent of all things scientific, and thus became skilled in stealth, and adapted quickly to the rough terrain in which I was forced to live. Only when one is pushed to the limits does true skill emerge, and I think my life is a standing proof of this. Little did I know that those months trapped inside the underground laboratory were only preparing me for the events to come.
One night a violent storm granted me liberty. The thunder and lightning shook the earth causing the large stone in front of the lab to shift. This created a hole just large enough for me to wriggle my way out. Now under the open skies, rain pelting my torn and tattered garments, I was captive no more. The world had drastically changed since I had last seen it. Traveling for miles I saw once prominent bases reduced to ashes. When I heard the news of Palpatine and Vader's death I cannot say grief encompassed me. I didn't know what to think. The Empire had fallen and the central government was no longer standing. The stormtrooper corps was now fragmented into smaller factions under the control of various warlords who squabbled over leadership of the Empire. Everything was in chaos and I felt trapped in between it all. Sometimes I wished I had never set foot outside that lab. I wanted to hide myself once again, away from the confusion and chaos, yet I pushed myself to carry on. During that time I scavenged through the many abandoned and destroyed camps, taking whatever I deemed valuable in order make a living. Upon finding a perished heavily armed shock trooper, buried in a pile of debris, I took up the appearance of an elite stormtrooper.
Some say that the way you look and act defines who you are, I think it's a bit of a shallow statement, but in my case I guess it was true. I joined a group of five other elite troopers in an attempt to build a strong faction of imperials and conquer the existing warlords. For months I had lived in isolation, and my purpose in this universe was void of definition, but now I know my place in the galaxy, and soon, others will too.
Grainger, grew up in a small town in the forest. Like many young boys and men in the town he became highly skilled in the lore of the forest, skills necessary to survive and the creatures that lived there both fair and foul. When he was 15, his village was destroyed in an attack by strange, marauding creatures that emerged from a portal during a mid-summer festival. The survivors moved to another nearby settlement and never went back leaving the forest to reclaim the ruins.
Grainger, a refugee and an orphan enhanced his skills over the following 25 years and took to escorting caravans and later small parties of adventurers into the forest wilderness. It was a good life. Difficult at times, but good. He became sought after for his exceptional knowledge and guidance and this resulted in the acquisition of a significant amount of coin that allowed him to purchase a few magic items to enhance his abilities. He developed a reputation for daring exploits and was given the moniker "Danger Grainger", spoken with a combination of mirth and respect by the rough sorts that called the forest towns their home.
But that all came to an end when Grainger came across a small woodland village that had been destroyed by what appeared to be the same type of creatures that destroyed his village. Finding the village's school teacher and a small handful of young children cowering in the woods, he successfully led them to a larger town, managing to use every trick he knew to avoid the demons that were hunting them. It was during this desperate flight that Grainger came face-to-face with the demon Buzzekan, the Balezau. Desperate, Grainger fought the Balezau and due to a stroke of luck was able to escape the monster and flee with all of his charges. The hideous, goat-headed demon with the barbed tail and diseased body was infuriated that Grainger had managed to escape him and declared him his mortal enemy.
Consumed with anger and not to be outdone, Grainger returned the favor by labeling Buzzekan his mortal enemy and he began hunting any fiend who managed to find its way to the natural plane and who threatened the land, determined to find Buzzekan and destroy him. He sought out experts in planar travel, portals and denizens of the abyss, developing a friendship with the wizard Iwyss the Far-Sighted. She would provide him with invaluable information that helped him destroy some of the portals the demons would use to enter the world. On occasion, she would accompany him and together they would fight the demons, destroy their portals and save villages under assault. Too many times, however, they would arrive late only to find the devastated remains of these villages.
It is these images of burned out houses and twisted bodies that haunt Grainger to this day and why, on occasion, he binges on strong drink, sometimes for days at a time so that he may forget the horrors he has seen. He now is rarely seen in the towns and villages that dot the great forest. Instead, he can be found in the darkest depths of the wood, monitoring known portals, pursuing his quarry to other planes and hunting for Buzzekan knowing that someday, one of them will find the other.
Saeris had never fit in with the other elves when she was a kid. She had always been a loner- the freak who could predict the future. It didn't seem like that to her. The cards told just her what she wanted to know.
While the other elves felt attracted to nature, to budding blossoms and sprouting saplings, the beauty of life didn't hold much appeal for Saeris. Instead she was drawn to the quieter places, where nothing but her was brave enough to prosper.
One day, Saeris decided to leave her town. There was nothing there for her. Even her parents shunned her and her strange admiration for death. But they didn't see what she saw, a world beyond life where only the foolish dared to tread. Well, only the foolish and Saeris. So she set out for the village of Airgard- an ambitious journey, but it would give her some time alone with her favorite companion- silence.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
So were gonna start a home brew campaign. I figured out of respect for the time and effort required for a home brew campaign that i would step up to the plate with a decent back story.
What do you think?
Torglia Lvl 3
Firbolg Cleric Proficiency Bonus +2 HP 18 AC 13Initiative +0 Walking Speed 30ft
STR 16(+3) DEX 10(+0) CON 11(+0) INT 10(+0) WIS 17(+3) CHA 10(+0)
Saving Throws
STR +2 DEX+2 CON +0 INT +2 WIS +5 CHA +0
Passive Senses
Perception 15 Investigation 10 Insight 15
Characteristics
Alignment: Lawful Good Gender: Male Eyes: Size: medium Height: 8’ – 4”
Never count on your riches to bring you happiness, instead hug a tree or help a bee.
Bravery, Effort, and Honor over birth. The Blood of a runt is the Blood of a King.
Give a thousand for nothing. Truth is the honor of the tribe.
Alignment
So good he's evil.
Save the cat or not:
Not : Bind the Cat’s spirit to the tree, making it a vengeful guardian of the tree that imprisoned it.
Holidays
The Blood Feast
This day celebrates the innocence of nature with a sacrifice, but you need your whole party to do it right and if you do not celebrate it you will be cursed with bad luck. It is a cultural and civic duty that keeps nature and beast balanced.
Sight, Sound, Smell
Tend to roll the consonants when speaking.
Clothes are well mended and clean.
An earthy pumas smell with a hint of Christmas Pine.
Traditional politics
The cast. This involves summoning all the Firbolg’s in a tribe who then would cast there vote on an issue by using a rune engraved stone.
Why I left
I was banished, it was a way for my society to punish me for what it did not understand or accept. He believed in the “code”, he pontificated that without the individual how could you have a society. He stated we are all a team with individual talents, and that these talents should be explored and exposed and with that, individuals should be rewarded. Let their individual talents flourish and its strengths help build us stronger and better. He believed in this so much he chose to wear this ancient relic, to show the support of his family and kin and there beginning. This log is thousands of years old; it is said to have come from the first Firbolg to ever exist on Toril. All though no one really knows for sure why, but they are smaller than the giant kin of their ancestors. The log itself was not worn or shown to anyone in the clan for the fear of the individualism that it might create. The focus of the clan to be the direct lineage to the first of their kind, put emphasis on the direct ancestry which set them apart from the other clans and brought about jealousy. The following of the “code” rewards the individual which in turn strengthens the community, however the clan did not understand that. The clan is about the community over the individual. Therefore he was banished and his entire clan was assassinated with exception to the very eldest who could no longer procreate. The Firbolg clan thought it might be bad karma to kill everyone therefore Torglia was banished due to having such idealistic and selfish beliefs.
Abilities
Strength – large 1-1/2” linked silver chain with a rather large, petrified log 2ft long and 10 inches in diameter and hangs around his neck, the ends of the log of a leather strap attached to it that wraps around his back, this is to hold it in place. It is somewhat hollowed out with a knot that creates a convenient thumb hole. The petrified bark has deep furrows with a consistent scaled pattern that appears to twist around the log. Each scale of the bark has a clan name inscribed in it. The names are the family lineage. It’s possible that the often-famous quote used today “The Family Tree” was started because of this what now would be a relic. The log and chain together weigh 45lbs. This is a piece of his home which he brought with him as a memento.
Dexterity – What originally started out as a mere prank that would confuse the recipients of this act has now become a favorite past time game. Firbolg’s cannot tolerate greed. In fact, it repulses them and often drives them to prank greedy people by removing their precious horde and distributing to those who are in need. They do this in Cognito and often the victim and the recipient have no idea who done it or why. Further, the Firbolg does this as a generous gift of love and moral high ground somehow righting the victim and the beneficiary setting the balance of lawful good.
Constitution – He has developed a strong liking to mushroom and wild berry wine. Yeah, it smells like earth, tastes like soured dirt, and for most normal sized people would put you six feet under. Which incidentally would be fine for him, since he thinks that most people are destroying the true innocence of nature and could give back by giving yourself as an ultimate sacrifice. Anything for the greater good of nature.
Intelligence – Well versed in knots. He knows 101 ways to tie a knot and loves to challenge people to break free from his restraints. Often having people restrain him but is never fooled and always solves the knot. If you look closely at the log and chain around his neck you can see they are bound together with a rare seldom known knot.
Wisdom – wisdom often comes at a terrible price. Wisdom rarely comes without great cost and sacrifice. He was appointed the position to be a mediator between two clans in a great dispute that went terribly wrong. One clan completely assassinated the other. It was because of this he was banished from his own tribe. Disgraced his tribe, his family, his own race.
Charisma – He does not really care what others think of him, especially those outside his own tribe. He would rather be alone in the woods than persuade or impress someone. It seems so trivial to him.
Lost Your Way
In the pursuit of righting wrongs, the line between good and evil has become blurred and am not sure if the line has been crossed. The banishment has caused the good things in his life to be regiment with no room for error or wrongness. He has become death, intolerant to evil, or bad people. He believes good so much that he has become evil.
Where I’m From
Village of Forestyn – 400 hundred Firbolg’s lived in my village. I knew most of the Firbolg’s in my community, some more than others and some less than others. Very few I had never met but knew them none the less. We lived at the confluence of three great rivers, Stolsum, Arogonor, and the Galingale. Our local hangout was between three rather large redwoods where our four fathers added a large platform 50ft between the Stolsum and the Galingale. A hearth was built with confluence in the background, the hearth was 20ft long and 10ft deep, a warm place to hold out during the long winter cold nights. We celebrated life and death of nature around us. We were always spiritually satisfied and full, never needed or wanted anything but each other and nature.
Politics
The power and control was the divine right of us all guided by deep thought and conversations among us all. No one person was in charge. We decided everything by casting. Slow to anger, often slow to speak, but casting was final. I was respected, my main duty was to protect serve peace among the community. I painfully failed my brothers and sisters, I disgraced my family, my clan, my village. I was banished nearly unanimously, and those that supported me were pushed out of the village only able to come in to cast and trade.
Risk vs Reward
How much are you willing to risk finding out the truth. He is willing to risk his life to find the truth, however, he is smart enough to not let situation dictate life or death. In a high-risk environment if he came across a dead body, he would spend time to find out weather the person was lawful or evil. Lawful people would get respected treatment, evil people not so much.
Define your look
The log across his chest, has been handed down from generation to generation. Though the bark is deeply furrowed it has a polished feel to it. Due to the years of it being rubbed by the clothing of the wearer. This charm, if you will, was made in honor of my lineage and I wear it proudly but sadly….
Mission
To eventually go back home. To find others of my race who believe it takes all kinds to make a village, that its good to acknowledge individual achievements. Embrace the elders and ancestors. That the code is not evil.
An elven noble with his little sister and big brother, along with a couple of chosen friends descend into the Undermountain. They are all talented & skilled, however, weeks pass and they are not heard from again. They are presumed dead but then, suddenly, after six weeks underground, they appear; well, only the three siblings. The others were lost and the oldest of the three elves is horribly burned and disfigured. Nobody even recognizes him. The younger brother is badly wounded as well but he still carries his big brother out. The sister has a mangled arm and exhausted all of her magic to help keep her big brother and heir to their House alive.
Rumors abound to this day what happened, but nobody knows for sure. The prevailing theory is that the oldest brother perished and the younger brother became the heir. However, he has left Waterdeep has not returned for over three decades.
The truth is that the group was very successful in navigating the halls of the Undermountain. They managed to descend to the second level where they came upon a cursed scepter, which when activated scorched, burned, and cursed the oldest brother. He remains burned and disfigured to this day, cursed by the scepter. No effort or cost was spared to try lift the curse, but so far nobody has been successful. Pained, the family's elders decided that they could not have such a horribly cursed and disfigured heir, so the oldest brother was whisked away to a manor, away from prying eyes.
The younger brother was named heir, however, the family, especially their mother has yet to forgive him, for it was he who in hubris activated the scepter.
After a while, the younger brother swore to find a cure for the curse and left the city. He has done three decades of penance since then.
Cara Esmeralda, has the appearance of a dirty emaciated urchin whose preference for the wilderness has kept her away from the townfolk who keep mistaking her for some infernal witch.
In truth she and her parents were driven out of their home, when the new village pastor blamed them as the source of recent crop failure.
Stumbling through a portal into the Feywild their pursuers thought they were swallowed up by the swamp and eventually left.
Cara a new born child at the time was warped by the Feywild into a Changeling so stricken her parents abandoned her and fled in horror their fate remains unrevealed but its unlikely they survived long within the Feywild.
Cara was found by a wandering druid who chose to raise her helping her adapt to her situation her form becoming the dirty emaciated appearance that is her natural form instead of the usual appearance of a changeling.
Cara eventually found her way back into the world she was born within and found her way back to her original home now the dwelling of another couple who threw stones at her until she moved on unable to understand their fear and loathing.
She eventually befriended some locals who didn't find her appearance as repelling as the couple did and she is gradually learning how to react and relate to these humans and other folk some of whom drove her family out all those years ago.
She hopes to one day understand these people enough to settle and raise a family of her own, but lacks the maturity and understanding her mentor explained to her that she needs to accomplish this.
It doesn't help she can assume any form she wants having assumed the form of humanoid shaped animals in addition to the forms of others whenever she wants. Unfortunately that hasn't improved how others react to her as even those closest to her know what her true form is.
Name: Naia Moonstone Race: High Elf (Moon) Alignment: Neutral Age: 313 Years Old
First-Person Narrative, Also I made up the War of the Clerics thing
"The tribe of elves I was born into, the Moonstone Tribe, were nomads and roamed wherever the wind took them. I don't have many memories of my time with them as the summer I turned 13, we were caught in the middle of a religious war between humans, now known as the War of the Clerics. We had been taking shelter in the woods when a Cleric of War summoned fire from the heavens, sparking a wildfire that ran out of control quicker than one can imagine. We were trapped with nowhere to go. I can still remember the screams of my tribe as they burned alive, their coughs and gasps for air as they suffocated. The spirits must've taken pity on me because I woke up within a hollowed out tree-stump, alive and relatively unharmed a week later with no recollection of how I had gotten there or what happened in the week I was unconscious. When I woke up I didn't know where I was, I probably would've starved to death if it hadn't been for the forest and river spirits that took care of me. I stayed with them until I turned 113, a century after they saved me. They gifted me with knowledge that had been forgotten for eons, along with a tome that contains great, but terrible secrets, the day I left their care. The tome's contents must remain secret at all costs. After that, I started to wander the mortal realm in an unrelenting search for more knowledge, whether that be forgotten skills used by long-extinct races, or coveted secrets kept by world-renowned universities, my search never ends."
Shade Outman was born not far from the Forgotten Realm in a land called The Vales of Serenity. He was born to a Human father named Lord Kalon Outman and a High Elf mother named Keylee Shadowstar. Lord Kalon is the younger brother to the ruling King in The Southern Vale and although raised with all the comforts of the ruling family, Shade longed for something other than politics. Shade longed for adventure and knowledge.
As a young man, he journeyed with his mother to her childhood home in Northvale. Home to the High Elves, Northvale is located to the far north at the base of Mount Shale. It is there Shade first set eyes on the beautiful elven Princess, Elenya D’Thallen. Although many years his elder, Shade would become immediately enamored by her grace, beauty and a hint of mystery that surrounded her.
One day he spied Elenya sneaking away. As stealthily as he could, he followed Elenya up the mountain path that leads to the peak of Mount Shale. Being overly confident in his stealth skills, at one point he loses sight of Elenya. He rushes forward but she is nowhere in sight. After a while of looking he decides to turn back. As he does and large hawk perched in the tree above caws and dives straight for him. He cowers in its path and shields his eyes from the inevitable incoming attack. He clenches his teeth with anticipation, but nothing happens. Frozen in his defensive pose he watches as two female sandaled feet step into view. "You're not leaving so soon are you? You've come so far?" It was then he learned Elenya was a druid. Information that would not be well received should her family find out. She made him promise not to tell anyone. “Your secret is safe with me. My word as my bond”, Shade exclaims.
Every day during his visit, she would show him many wonders of the mountain forest and introduce him to wildlife he had never seen before. On the last day of his stay, she took him to the peak of the mountain where he was greeted by an Ancient Gold Dragon. "What have you brought me today, Elenya? He's a little scrawny for a meal!" Gulldrage remarked. Shade went wide-eyed as Gulldrage and Elenya cracked smiles. Gulldrage breaks into boisterous laughter. "I can't keep a straight face", he admits. Late into the evening, Shade sat by the Dragon's side as Gulldrage told stories of his heroic deeds in battle. He told one story of how he fought next to Shade’s grandfather to rid the Southern Vale of a horde of Orc that had terrorized it. He explained how he battled the ferocious Ancient Red Dragon, Rodrage, and drove him from this very mountain to the Ashen Dunes in the East.
Shade would return every summer for several years to the Northvale to visit Elenya and the Dragon. When he was old enough, he enrolled in Northvale’s local University to study. Well, that is what he told his parents. The dragon and he would become the closest of friends. Elenya would become his love. A love that grew stronger everyday between them.
Unfortunately, Shade was not the only one who would have feelings for Elenya. Orphaned at birth, Nalraen was a Drow, who was raised by a prominent Elven family. Nalraen grew up with Elenya and as children. They played together and became friends. But as they grew older, he became obsessed with her. So obsessed that Elenya would eventually break ties with him. That is around the time that Shade and Elenya first met. Nalraen would lurk around corners and look upon the two of them with jealousy and a growing hatred for Shade. It wasn’t long before his true Drow nature was fully apparent. Nalraen had been secretly studying sorcery for some time. He traveled to the Ashen Dunes to convene with Rodrage, the Ancient Red Dragon. Together they would hatch a plan to kill Shade, steal Elenya away, defeat Gulldrage and place Rodrage back on top of Mount Shale.
One evening, Shade and Elenya were sitting atop Mount Shale in each other’s arms, staring at the multitude of stars, wondering if they would ever be able to adventure among them. They hear the swish of a dragon's wings above them and stand ready to greet Gulldrage. But to their surprise, it was not Gulldrage. Rodrage lands hard on the ground in front of them. The earth shakes as he does, knocking the two lovers to the ground. Rodrage clutches Elenya within his claws and flies off. Shade picks himself up and darts towards the dragon but is met by Nalraen as he steps out from behind a tree. Nalraen points his staff at Shade and chants something in a language that Shade cannot understand. Shade has been charmed. Moments later, another series of swishes is heard. Nalraen steps back into cover and commands Shade, “Kill Gulldrage!” Gulldrage lands in front of Shade. “Where is Elenya?” he asks. The unsuspecting dragon extends his neck, raising his head high to search the surrounding area. “Did she not come with you today?” Shade clutches his dagger, eyeing a slight opening in the dragon’s layered scales of his stretched-out neck. He raises his dagger but stops short. His face becomes strained as he attempts to resist the compelling charm that was placed on him. Gulldrage peers down at Shade and swiftly flaps his wings to lift him off the ground. He watches Shade struggle as Shade exclaims, “I…won’t…do…it!” Nalraen hadn’t considered Shade’s Fey ancestry when trying to place a charm on him. Angrily, Nalraen steps out from behind the tree and slams the end of his staff on the ground. Suddenly blazing orbs of fire plummet down from the night sky. Gulldrage quickly reacts and shields Shade from the attack. The fiery meteors pummel Gulldrage repeatedly. Each hit causes Gulldrage to scream out in pain. Shade cries out as Gulldrage takes the brunt of the attack, “No!”. With a final effort, Gulldrage glares at Nalraen. He inhales for what might be the last time and directs a stream of fire at Nalraen. An agonizing scream is heard as Nalraen drops to his knees, his body melted, scorched and unrecognizable. All goes quiet, but for the gentle wheezing of the dragon. He allows Shade to crawl out from underneath him before he lowers his head to the ground, takes his last breath and dies. Shade drops to his knees before Gulldrage’s lifeless body and weeps at his side for hours.
In the following months, Shade and all the armies of the Southern and Northern Vales, scour the lands to the East for Elenya and the Red Dragon. But to no avail. It is said that the Red Dragon fled The Vales of Serenity to The Forgotten Realm. Shade now dedicates every waking second to train in combat as a Paladin. Devoting every bit of his efforts to rid evil in the memory of Elenya and to one day defeat the Red Dragon named Rodrage.
Litrix is born into a fishing community in a swamp that borders a mountain range, and is also in a relatively close proximity to a settlement. They have made this their home for many generations. To the North is a place where a group of Ogres have for the past couple of years, started to use part of the fishing ground for stashing variety of goods. For example, weapons, chests full of plunder\loot ect. By doing the, the Ogres either on purpose, or not have started to ruin part of the swamp. As time has gone on, the tribe has tried to deter the Ogres from doing this, but each time the tribe tries, it more often then not, make things even worse. Litrix's tribe has consistent trade and communication with a Half-Elf community in a nearby settlement. This is their one consistent contact to the goings on outside of the swamp that they live in. At the age of 18, and having spent some time with the Half-Elfs, Litrix's curiosity has become unusually large compared to the others of his tribe. During a usual meet up with the Half-Elfs, both parties were ambushed at the edge of the swamp by three Ogres. During the chaos, Litrix realised that a Half-Elf child, that belonged to one of the leaders of the visiting group, had snuck out and followed behind. Realizing that saving the child, could not only help show the other people in the city (those that are not Half-Elfs) that the "swamp dwellers" as they are known by the rest, are not just pretending to be friends and trading information and various goods out of necessity, and any number of other ideas that they had about them. But, sense the elders have no current interest in having potential contact with any other group, other then the Half-Elfs. The elders, agreeing that Litrix would not hesitate to make that line of detection again, decided to banish him. After a few months, and even though Usk was doing just fine on his own in the wild, he decided to go to the Half-Elfs and see if they would allow him to stay with them. Sense they (Half-Elfs) trust the tribe and have not reason to not trust Usk, especially after saving the child. The Half-Elfs, while unable to take him in, know a half-Elf bounty hunter couple that would be able to. Through bounty hunting and other examples, they were able to teach Litrix about society, the good and the bad. Seven years later, with the half-Elf couple Zankas and Saflynn. After the first four years, Litrix felt like he wanted to have a go at bounty hunting on his own. He had a talk with Zankas and Saflynn about it, and they felt that he was ready but encouraged him to at some point find a partner to team up with. During the last week of his first month on his own, he is close to finding his target, when he is stopped by a Tabaxi. He introduces himself as Broken Chain of The Mountain Slopes Clan. He explains that he also has been on the hunt for this target for some time also. Chain offers his help, and that if they should succeed, they split the reward fifty fifty. After the success, they both admit that they worked as a team better than they both thought. They have been partners ever sense. About a year into working together, Broken Chain of The Mountain Slopes Clan and Litrix, found out about a recent joining of two mafia families. A Half-Orc family that go by The Blue Shields, and a Dragonborn family that calls themselves Sivak Axe. After three years of focusing largely on the to families, they find one of the last known residence of a well known Kobold who works for the Sivak Axe family, to Litrix and Broken's surprise, the door is unlocked, and they find the unconscious body of somebody that does not appear to be their target. They come back with the unconscious body, and tells the couple what he found. Saflynn tells them that, this is Kogil Valmok, a well known female Dragonborn Ranger, who helps protect the city. Litrix, decides that he should study and learn as much as he can from Kogil. This might be his chance to redeem himself. This could also be a great way to help protect, and maybe even get the Ogres to leave his tribe alone. During Kogil's recovery, her and Litrix had a conversation. And she agreed to teach him the basics, before he gets any ideas of going out on his own. Litrix and Broken, talked about the idea of leaving, but agreed that, Litrix being the more adventurous of the two of them, would be the best choice. With his new skill set, Litrix now to go on an adventure, while also, testing his skills. And prove, to himself and his tribe that he is worthy of rejoining the tribe. The next day after Litrix left, Broken (Chain of The Mountain Slopes Clan), found out that the Sivak Axe family has put out a sizable price on Litrix's head, and in case that the bounty was not enough to get the job done, messages were sent out, to various contacts, to have him killed, for single-handedly apprehending Xiswyn the daughter of Qelgar Kleampheshtindish who is second in command.
Half Elf Rouge/Bard that I created but have not played yet. Oleander Kalakuta: (Note: This is slightly disturbing. You have been warned.) Her father, Vasuki Kalakuta (the human parent), is the owner of a large and successful shipping business, and the leader of a criminal empire that spans the entire city in which they live. One day, while walking in his gardens, his eyes fell upon the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her name was Jasmine Rose (the elven parent), and she had recently lost her parents to a terrible workplace accident. The moment he saw her, he knew that she was the one for him. He used the loss of her parents to get close to her, and pretended to be sympathetic to her losses to make himself an important figure in her life.
Slowly, he charmed her, and as she had few friends, which she began to grow apart from as he began to demand more and more of her time, she fell hard for him. When they married, he quickly took her away from the world. While she was now rich, her entire world had become limited to the grounds of the manor she lived in, every day became strictly governed, and punishments were dished out for the slightest infractions and often violent. He also made her aware of his criminal dealings, and reminded her that by knowing and not immediately telling, she was complicit in all the crimes he had committed. He used this once more to keep her with him, and eventually, she became pregnant with his daughter Oleander. When Oleander was born, her father rejoiced. He loved his daughter dearly, and showered her with gifts and affection, but her mother was the opposite. Due to the way Vasuki had treated her, she couldn't love her child and pushed her away instead. This led to her becoming far closer with her father than with her mother.
Five years into her daughter's life, Jasmine became pregnant again, and this time she was carrying twins! While this was joyous news to Oleander and her father, this only drove her mother into further despair, and she began to neglect herself, refusing to eat, drink, or sleep unless she was forced to. This made her very, very sick, to the point where this caused majour complications with the pregnancy. On top of that, the babies were not developing as they should, and Vasuki becoming violent with her any time she refused to eat or sleep only caused them further harm. Due to all this, Jasmine miscarried. One of the babies was stillborn, and the other lived for about a day before dying. The tragedy didn't end there. Jasmine's sickness had been eating away at her body, and she couldn't survive the long and difficult birth, dying in the process.
Her father was thrown into grief. Despite the way that he had treated her, he had truly loved her, and now she was gone, and the two children as well. He never even got the chance to give them names. The only thing left to comfort him was his remaining daughter, and he threw himself headfirst into caring for her. He spoiled her, treating her to the finest the world had to offer, and she loved him dearly in return. Some signs started to show, however, that she was not like most other children.
It began with torturing small animals, or laughing when she made other children cry, but the most damning sign came when her father told her the truth of his criminal work. Unlike her mother's disgust, she showed a strange fascination with what her father did. She got very involved with her father's work, and quickly rose through the ranks to become her father's right hand. Her father taught her all the skills that she would need, educating her in combat, manipulation, and even a touch of magic. She also became talented in the use of poisons, and showed an extreme willingness to use whatever means necessary to win. She soon commanded the respect of many, many members of her father's group, but the only one she cared about was her father.
Her father's orders were the only orders she would follow, and her father was the only person she wouldn't dare sacrifice, no matter what. Nothing could taint her father's name in her eyes, not learning of the way he had treated his wife, not his high body count, not anything he would ever do. Her love for her father ran very deep, slowly evolving from platonic to something more, twisted. She has not acted on this however. Vasuki meanwhile, has begun to plan to set her up with another follower of his, who has been working with him for two years longer than she has, and who has shown many similarities in personality to him.
Character Backstories: (Note: these are summarized, there is a bit more detail to a couple of them)
Meira Beacon (LG Protector Aasimar Paladin): Born to a power hungry and corrupt noble, who was secretly a dark sorcerer, seemingly only to increase his reputation, she ran away at a young age and joined an order of Paladins calling themselves the Beacon. They acted as protectors and teachers, traveling around the world and improving the lives of others. While a part of the order, she would meet another young disciple of the order, Harmonia. She fell in love with the other girl, but it was not to be, at least not yet. Harmonia fell in love with a man outside of the order, and had two children with him. Meira's father found out about this relationship, and used false visions of Harmonia's partner dying to manipulate her into betraying the order and helping him and his followers destroy it. Nearly all of the order's member's died that day. Heartbroken, Meira fled with the remainder of the order, most of whom were young students that had managed to escape the attack by hiding in secret corners that only they could really fit into, and Harmonia's two children, whom she raised as her own. She'd eventually become the leader of a new Beacon order, one that was focused in on resisting her father's growing influence, and all they went through together turned them from a small group of survivors united by circumstance, to a close knit family. Luckily, Harmonia found out that she had been manipulated, and turned her back on Meira's father, joining Meira's resistance effort and redeeming herself. Before the final battle against her father, Meira and Harmonia planned out their wedding, but the world would get in their way again. When the battle ended, Meira was victorious, but her father had one last trick up his sleeve. He cast a spell on her that did two things. One, all of her abilities were reset to how they were when she began her training, and two, her memories were wiped of all locations. She still remembered her family, but she didn't know how to get to them. Since the battle had been fought simultaneously in several locations with the hope of wiping out everything that remained of her father's army while Meira confronted her father one on one, Meira was completely separated from her family. The only location that she could still remember by some chance was Candle Keep, a safe house used during the war. While she couldn't remember where it as, she set out to try and find it, so she could see her family again.
Taiga (LG Human Druid/Ranger): Taiga's first memory is bothering her werewolf adoptive father to turn her into a lycanthrope like him, and him reminding her that they'd agreed he wouldn't turn her until she turned twenty. She was found in the forest by a pack of werewolves after an accident that left her orphaned, but these weren't your everyday savage predators. They were good aligned, followed an ancient spring of natural magic that had existed since the beginning of the world, and lived in a forest warped by that ancient spring, full of incredible creatures that seemed to be out of a fairytale. When they found Taiga, they took her in, and raised her alongside their leader's own son. One day, Taiga had a dream in which she met two individuals who looked a lot like her, and they turned out to be her parents. They revealed to her that they had been allies of the werewolf pack in protecting the ancient sanctuary in which they lived, and gave her flower that when under the light of the moon, opened to reveal a compass made out of wood. They told her that the compass would point to other springs of the ancient magic, and when Taiga woke up, the flower was clutched in her hand. When she told her adoptive family of her dream, they explained that when someone who's an ally of the ancient magic dies, their souls become a part of it, and they are able to guide other allies in their work. Taiga decided to set out following the compass, and her family, while they were worried about her, they knew that this would make her happy, so they bid her farewell.
Valentina Zalenski (LN Human Wizard/Fighter): At a young age, Valentina lost both of her parents, and was left to raise herself along with her brother, Valentin. Despite the depressing land of Barovia and the terrible loss they had suffered, the siblings managed to carve out a sliver of happiness for themselves, working as hunters. One thing that they weren't aware of however, and the thing that would prove to be their undoing, was the fact that Strahd had taken notice for Valentin, and sought to make him one of his consorts. One night, Strahd approached them outside of their home, demanding that Valentin return to castle Ravenloft with him. When Valentin said no, preferring to stay with his sister, Strahd grew enraged and attacked them. Valentina tried everything to protect her brother, even setting their home aflame as an attempt to create a distraction, but it all failed, and Valentin was taken to castle Ravenloft against his will. Valentina was devastated and swore to rescue her brother from the vampire's clutches, and bring down Strahd.
Aeldit Alvis (CG Human Artificer): No one was sure if Aeldit was even going to live through the night when he was born. He was so small, and even though he did survive, he was so fragile. In his tribe, infants like him were sent out to sea as a prayer for a stronger next generation. But Aeldit was an exception. He was the chief's son, and his father hid him in his home and raised him in secret. His mother was kinder, but she wouldn't be there for long, as she was eventually taken away by one of the dragons that constantly raided their home (in reality, she had run away with the dragon, as she was tired of all the fighting and the way she was being treated for having a runt son. She wasn't able to take her son with her, as her husband had even hidden his existence from her). Aeldit would often sneak into the forest, and one day, while out there, he met a dragon hatchling. While he expected this to be a fearsome monster, he turned out to be a kind individual who sympathized with Aeldit, as he was also small for his age and the runt of his litter. The two of them became friends and got up to a lot of shenanigans together, without being noticed of course. One day, they snuck back into Aeldit's home and crept into his father's room. While looking through his father's desk, Aeldit found a letter from his mother that she had written for him while she was expecting. The two of them read it, and found out that his mother was wereraven, and that it was likely that Aeldit had inherited this trait. Included with the letter was a strange pendant, which the letter stated could "change the shape of a loved one". As Aeldit finished reading the letter and slipped the pendant into his pocket, his father came into the room, and was furious at finding out that Aeldit had befriended a dragon, and was even more angry that his son was a wereraven, as he believed that all lycanthropes were an evil curse on the world. He decided that it was high time that he sent Aeldit out to sea as he should have done a long time ago. Aeldit packed up his things, but as he about to leave, he was stopped by his friend, who expressed a desire to travel with him. While the two of them were out at sea, however, something unforeseeable happened. Aeldit tried to put the pendant around his friend's neck and it turned his friend into a human, but also melded into his skin and couldn't be taken off.
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I want my funeral to be so funny everyone forgets to cry.
Day ??: “hello? Can anyone hear me? What’s going on? Who...who am I?”
“Jacob is gone. I don’t know where. Who’s Jacob? Why don’t I know this!?”
*shut down*
Day ̵̲̅̈́̋͆͠ ̵̤͉͚͖̔́͛̅ ̴̘͉̂̾ ̷͚̗͚̫̽͆̍͝ ̷̬̒͑̇ ̷̛͈̔̒ ̸̮̠͖͒͊: everything is gone. The town is destroyed. The house is in ruins. A path leads out. I follow
Day π: path stopped. Trees clawed. Growling. I...feel? Couldn’t be. Can’t feel. But...afraid. Growling growing louder. *forced shutdown*
Day A113: I woke up in a cabin. Lying on my stomach. An arrow is sticking out of my back. A man is whittling a stick in an armchair. It is master 01. But he looks...different. Sad. Defeated. He says he repaired me. Says I should leave. For once, I don’t listen to his orders. This isn’t something I knew I could do. It’s, exiting? He doesn’t seem confused by it. I ask about Jacob. He starts crying. Someone knocks on the cabin door. He tells me to leave again. I refuse. He try’s to push me out the window. I say “no”. The door breaks and someone walks in. They begin to talk.Master 01 calls him [redacted]. *forced shutdown*
I recently hopped into a Descent into Avernus campaign a friend had started a while a back, playing a silver draconic origin sorceress. Some Descent into Avernus spoilers below since the character was made for that campaign to join in mid way.
The basic gist of the character is that rather than traditional means, she was the subject of...less than ethical experiments involving dragon blood as the origin of her abilities. After escaping from all of that, she eventually ended up at Candlekeep, living a quiet life as an assistant to a librarian there who took her in, and meeting the rest of the party when they arrive there to have the demonic puzzle box thing opened. Doing her best to keep her abilities secret.
She also happens to be from the city that got dragged into Avernus, giving her little choice but to embrace her abilities and help the party in thwarting Zariel or else her own soul being forfeit to the archdevil when she dies.
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Pakk Holargyros, Half-Orc Fighter. This was written specifically to give hooks for Curse of Strahd:
You are a member of a family of famous silversmiths that has lived alongside and been accepted by humans for generations, although like any half-orc you are used to hearing the taunts and prejudices of other races. However, they are quick to acknowledge your skill in working with silver and, of course, in combat. You were never the cleverest growing up, but you could more than take care of yourself in sword fighting and often proved your skill in archery. One day, a famous vampire hunter, Rudolph van Richten, visited your village. He commissioned your father to make him a special set of silver armour and weaponry for a dangerous mission into a vampiric realm. This visit changed the course of your life. The Half-elf vampire hunter stayed with your family for some time, telling you tales of his quests and the evil done by vampires. He also honed your skill in swordfighting and archery. After the vampire hunter left, you never saw or heard from him again. However, one day a chance remark overheard the local tavern led you to a colourfully dressed Vestani man who claimed to be the only survivor of a fated expedition, but had no memory of how he had returned alive. He claimed he had watched van Richten taken by Vampire spawn, under the control of the one they called "the Devil Strahd" You drank with the man, and he offered to take you to the last place he could remember, a tavern near a remote mountain valley town called Barovia. Soon after in a junk shop nearby you found the silver bow and an arm ring, all that remained of the armour your father made. You decided then that you would track down van Richten and discover his fate, and swore to do all you could to eliminate the evil of vampires that he had told you about.
It's my second character backstory. The first was perfect. This..not so much. Something lacking and I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe someone can figure it out?
Rafferty Dewdrop
Hill dwarf, Tempest Cleric
Her clan once lived in a magnificent underground fortress. But not everyone liked the harsh rules of the clan. Once, taking advantage of an earthquake, some folks decided to flee. When they got to the surface, they were greeted by warm, heavy rain. They considered it a sign - it was as if it had given them rebirth, purification, and washed away all their old life. At the first settlement nearby, the dwarves found the temple of Istishia. It was fate, nothing less. Some of them accepted the temple service as a great honor.
Rafferty remembered all of this very vaguely - at that time she was a little child.
The priests of Istishia believe that staying attached to a particular temple or region for too long results in stagnation so they change temples about every five years. Therefore, after a few years, this community of dwarves decided to change their place of settlement. So they moved several times to different cities. Some of them though did not want changes and stayed, some other folks, on the contrary, joined them.
When Rafferty was about 50 years old she began helping in the temple as a disciple, hoping to become a priest. She honored and respected the calmness, strength, and serenity of water. She was ready for change and thought she understood herself completely.
After some time, it was her turn to visit the new temple. She was confused - these changes, which she was waiting for, suddenly began to scare her. But she could not disobey.
The path to a new settlement lay across the sea. This frightened her too because she heard terrible stories from sailors about terrible storms, bloodthirsty pirates.
Her fears were justified - on the way, their ship was pursued by some creature. The captain decided to escape by going to a very dangerous area, which even experienced sailors tried to avoid - not a single ship returned from there. Their ship also suffered a terrible fate. Fortunately, they managed to escape on several boats on time so some part of the crew escaped. After a time, in the distance, they noticed a rocky coast with dense forest and headed towards it. Struggle with the sea battered them a lot, they got to land almost exhausted.
Rafferty didn’t remember how they got to the beach. She woke up after a while in a small hut in the forest. She couldn't remember how much time had passed. She could hardly remember anything at all.
An Elf Woman named Ula lived in this shack. She lived here as a hermit for many decades and helped the victims of the shipwrecks. She healed them, helped them to get back on their feet, buried the dead. If she managed to find someone's letters or diaries, Ula always sent news to their family and some money to help.
There was not much money around, something was washed ashore, something was sent to her by the grateful sailors. Ula also made boats and sent them for sale.
Despite all the tragedies, Ula admired the sea and the storms, even though she prayed to Valkur every morning, asking him to be lenient towards sea travelers.
Rafferty stayed to help her. There was nowhere to go anyway. But, in contrast to Ula, the open sea, storms, winds scared her a bit.
It's hard to say how many years have passed. The memory sometimes returned to Rafferty, but in fragments that were difficult to grasp. It seemed to her more and more that she was still out of place.
After a few years (maybe decades), the memories began to worry her more and more, she managed to grasp some threads along which she could further search for her past. Said goodbye to her mentor, she set out on a journey with several surviving sailors.
Perhaps she received a vision as a child of some remote hill top or someplace in her dreams she felt was "home"?
Its difficult to say as your post seems to be more about wanderlust and an inability to settle.
Where was your character heading when they first departed their childhood home?
Nephelle Stormreaver, watersoul genasi cleric.
She was a navigator on a merchant ship when water cultists attacked her ship, killing everyone and leaving her to die. She woke up on the beach, believing that Deep Sashelas saved her. She became his cleric and went searching for a new “crew” to help her root out the cultists and take her revenge.![](https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/"Nephelle Stormreaver" by Brandi Kambalov)
Nephelle Stormweaver Portrait
Name: Zindureth, Harbinger of Storms
Race: Dracoblood Dragonborn (Blue)
Class: Path of the Storm Herald Barbarian (Sea)
Background: Outlander
Backstory: Zindureth wasn't born a Dragonborn, but rather a mighty Blue Dragon itself! Leaving the nest at a young and brash age, he stalked a lair of a Bulette and by using his cunning, lured a group of weak adventurers into battle with the mighty beast. The adventurers, no match for the monster were quickly slain, but not before weakening the Bulette to a point in which Zindureth could hunt it. After an epic struggle, the Bulette laid slain and Zindureth taking the adventurer's spoils set up his lair at the base of the mountains adjacent to the great desert. He kept the skeleton of the Bulette as a warning to those who approached his cave. By the nature of his being, the very air began to crackle with electricity and soon the Plains of Eternal Storm became a location marked on many maps.
That did not dissuade adventurers however. Wave after wave, they came storming his home, and week after week his hoard grew. So when a single Blue Dragonborn arrived alone, his puny frame suggesting a scholar of sorts, Zindureth in his arrogance, let down his guard. The Dragonborn spoke of studying the great blue dragon wyrmling, to regale tales of his ferocity. Zindureth absorbed every word, and greedily accepted the approaching Dragonborn. Zindueth was taught of the usefulness of magic practitioners and was excited to accept his first follower. In but a brief moment, the Dragonborn flashed a crystallize jar made of Dragonshard, and Zindureth felt a tugging sensation before fading to black.
When he awoke, he was lying in the middle of the Fields, thunder booming overhead. He attempted to spread his wings any fly to his den, and felt nothing. He checked his claws and discovered fragile nails where once was talons. With panic settling it he rushed back wobbly on two legs back to his cave, to discover it empty. A single glint of a gem covered in layers of dust caught his eye. Hurriedly he rushed towards it and peering at the reflective surface, he spied the very face of the cowardly Dragonborn peering back at him. Zindureth's eyes burned with a hate hotter than any lightning, he vowed in an ancient tongue that he will get his body back no matter what it took and that weakling who had the audacity to steal his form from him will pay. Breaking off part of the jawbone from the Bulette corpse, he took off towards the nearest settlement to find the trail of the coward and begin the hunt again.
Flavor: When Zindureth Rages it appears as though his draconic spirit is straining against the body he inhibits which causes the electrical bursts for this Storm Aura.
Mechanical:
Hero Forge Reference: https://www.heroforge.com/load_config=6787479/
My Homebrew Character: Thalor, My new Ranger
Race: Human/ Wraith (Homebrew Undead)
Class: Ranger
Background: Soldier
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Born into a Military Family, Thalor was always looking to impress his constantly soldiering parents. He never got through to them, but his siblings did. This caused an extreme distaste for his three other siblings. As He aged, he left behind his family for mercenary work. This did not work for Thalor, resulting in his leaving this line of work. He then joined a Ranger Group. He then was sent by his commanding officers to war against a Kingdom of Wood Elves. He was well versed in Guerilla Tactics. Ambushing supply convoys. He was given a promotion to Lieutenant during this time. On the Evening after his promotion, He Joined his comrades at a tavern, where he celebrated well into the evening. Later, As he left, he was approached by a group of hooded men and women. They asked him to come with them upon hearing this. A Drunken Thalor Took up his blade. Being disoriented, he was easily knocked unconscious by a club. He awoke in some sanctum, surrounded by more of these Hooded Figures. They Proceeded to set and subdue him onto an altar of sorts. Where they took up a Sacrificial blade. A Chant began, and his throat was slit. He was surrounded by darkness as he bled on the altar. A silence fell over the room, even though they still chanted. He finally succumbed.
He then opened his eyes, and a wind rushed past him, and he stood on a black plain. He stepped forward into the darkness. Only to find a Stone Pedastal in front of him. On it, a Mask. Made of steel. He took it, Examining it. He reluctantly put it on. A Burning sensation Rippled around his body. He knelt in pain. He looks down at his hands. Noticing he was clad in light armor. A Piercing light then erupted from the darkness around him. He found himself in the dim torchlight of the sanctum, the people standing around him. He sat up, a rage overcoming his awe. He then rushed to one of the hooded people. This was the one who had killed him. He then ripped the dagger from the hands of the hooded man. He then began to eviscerate him brutally. He then turned to the others. Slaying them as well.
He now roams this earth, hunting any who pose a threat to him.
Here's a post imperial/warlord era backstory for my elite scout trooper character! It's a bit of a read, but I appreciate those who stick through till the end!
It was years ago, and in a different life that my journey really began. People think I was always this way, yet that is far from the truth. When the Empire was still under centralized control, led by Palpatine and Vader, I was working for the corps. But do not be confused, I was never on the battlefield. In a research laboratory hidden inside a mountain under military jurisdiction I was a geneticist in the field of cloning technology. Although the clone corps was now very scarce, as clones were being replaced by recruited soldiers, already existing cloning operations we're still at full. I can vividly remember the day when everything changed. The lab was bombed. Chaos ensued as the thick metal doors of the lab blew open and sections of the mountain collapsed into the facility. In the turmoil I fled and hid behind a large chunk of the lab's ceiling that had imploded into the room. Covering my ears I braced myself as once again a horrifying blast shook every bone in my body. Then, everything went black.
Some would say I was a coward for hiding, and maybe so, but in times of war, I was taught, every man for himself. This was how I justified my faint-heartedness. Years ago I would say that I was proud of my occupation, yet now… I am ashamed of it.
When I awoke, I found myself alone surrounded by hundreds of dead scientists and clones. A large rock over the front of the lab's exit trapped me in the darkness, rendering me unable to escape that rubble of a place. It was days and weeks that I waited, yet not a single rescue party was sent. This is when I realized I was a dispensable object in the eyes of the Empire, only a commodity exploited for the bettering of those above me.
Weeks turned into months and in that period of time something inside of me changed. I survived off the rodents that entered through the small cracks in the large rock that blocked me from freedom, and drank from the broken water basins that used to supply the laboratory. It was in those days, alone in the rubble with the stench of rotting carcasses ingrained in my nasal cavities, that I became who I am today. My whole life had been dedicated to science, yet what could science offer me now? I conformed to an altered train of thought absent of all things scientific, and thus became skilled in stealth, and adapted quickly to the rough terrain in which I was forced to live. Only when one is pushed to the limits does true skill emerge, and I think my life is a standing proof of this. Little did I know that those months trapped inside the underground laboratory were only preparing me for the events to come.
One night a violent storm granted me liberty. The thunder and lightning shook the earth causing the large stone in front of the lab to shift. This created a hole just large enough for me to wriggle my way out. Now under the open skies, rain pelting my torn and tattered garments, I was captive no more. The world had drastically changed since I had last seen it. Traveling for miles I saw once prominent bases reduced to ashes. When I heard the news of Palpatine and Vader's death I cannot say grief encompassed me. I didn't know what to think. The Empire had fallen and the central government was no longer standing. The stormtrooper corps was now fragmented into smaller factions under the control of various warlords who squabbled over leadership of the Empire. Everything was in chaos and I felt trapped in between it all. Sometimes I wished I had never set foot outside that lab. I wanted to hide myself once again, away from the confusion and chaos, yet I pushed myself to carry on. During that time I scavenged through the many abandoned and destroyed camps, taking whatever I deemed valuable in order make a living. Upon finding a perished heavily armed shock trooper, buried in a pile of debris, I took up the appearance of an elite stormtrooper.
Some say that the way you look and act defines who you are, I think it's a bit of a shallow statement, but in my case I guess it was true. I joined a group of five other elite troopers in an attempt to build a strong faction of imperials and conquer the existing warlords. For months I had lived in isolation, and my purpose in this universe was void of definition, but now I know my place in the galaxy, and soon, others will too.
Grainger, 3rd level Ranger, Horizon Walker, Fiend favored enemy, Forest terrain:
Grainger, grew up in a small town in the forest. Like many young boys and men in the town he became highly skilled in the lore of the forest, skills necessary to survive and the creatures that lived there both fair and foul. When he was 15, his village was destroyed in an attack by strange, marauding creatures that emerged from a portal during a mid-summer festival. The survivors moved to another nearby settlement and never went back leaving the forest to reclaim the ruins.
Grainger, a refugee and an orphan enhanced his skills over the following 25 years and took to escorting caravans and later small parties of adventurers into the forest wilderness. It was a good life. Difficult at times, but good. He became sought after for his exceptional knowledge and guidance and this resulted in the acquisition of a significant amount of coin that allowed him to purchase a few magic items to enhance his abilities. He developed a reputation for daring exploits and was given the moniker "Danger Grainger", spoken with a combination of mirth and respect by the rough sorts that called the forest towns their home.
But that all came to an end when Grainger came across a small woodland village that had been destroyed by what appeared to be the same type of creatures that destroyed his village. Finding the village's school teacher and a small handful of young children cowering in the woods, he successfully led them to a larger town, managing to use every trick he knew to avoid the demons that were hunting them. It was during this desperate flight that Grainger came face-to-face with the demon Buzzekan, the Balezau. Desperate, Grainger fought the Balezau and due to a stroke of luck was able to escape the monster and flee with all of his charges. The hideous, goat-headed demon with the barbed tail and diseased body was infuriated that Grainger had managed to escape him and declared him his mortal enemy.
Consumed with anger and not to be outdone, Grainger returned the favor by labeling Buzzekan his mortal enemy and he began hunting any fiend who managed to find its way to the natural plane and who threatened the land, determined to find Buzzekan and destroy him. He sought out experts in planar travel, portals and denizens of the abyss, developing a friendship with the wizard Iwyss the Far-Sighted. She would provide him with invaluable information that helped him destroy some of the portals the demons would use to enter the world. On occasion, she would accompany him and together they would fight the demons, destroy their portals and save villages under assault. Too many times, however, they would arrive late only to find the devastated remains of these villages.
It is these images of burned out houses and twisted bodies that haunt Grainger to this day and why, on occasion, he binges on strong drink, sometimes for days at a time so that he may forget the horrors he has seen. He now is rarely seen in the towns and villages that dot the great forest. Instead, he can be found in the darkest depths of the wood, monitoring known portals, pursuing his quarry to other planes and hunting for Buzzekan knowing that someday, one of them will find the other.
Saeris Valorin, 1st level Duskseer Elf Druid:
Saeris had never fit in with the other elves when she was a kid. She had always been a loner- the freak who could predict the future. It didn't seem like that to her. The cards told just her what she wanted to know.
While the other elves felt attracted to nature, to budding blossoms and sprouting saplings, the beauty of life didn't hold much appeal for Saeris. Instead she was drawn to the quieter places, where nothing but her was brave enough to prosper.
One day, Saeris decided to leave her town. There was nothing there for her. Even her parents shunned her and her strange admiration for death. But they didn't see what she saw, a world beyond life where only the foolish dared to tread. Well, only the foolish and Saeris. So she set out for the village of Airgard- an ambitious journey, but it would give her some time alone with her favorite companion- silence.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
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Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
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If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
Backstory Thoughts
So were gonna start a home brew campaign. I figured out of respect for the time and effort required for a home brew campaign that i would step up to the plate with a decent back story.
What do you think?
Torglia Lvl 3
Firbolg Cleric Proficiency Bonus +2 HP 18 AC 13 Initiative +0 Walking Speed 30ft
STR 16(+3) DEX 10(+0) CON 11(+0) INT 10(+0) WIS 17(+3) CHA 10(+0)
Saving Throws
STR +2 DEX+2 CON +0 INT +2 WIS +5 CHA +0
Passive Senses
Perception 15 Investigation 10 Insight 15
Characteristics
Alignment: Lawful Good Gender: Male Eyes: Size: medium Height: 8’ – 4”
Faith: The light Hair: Dark/ redish tint Skin:pink Age: 70 Weight: 365 lbs
Idioms
Never count on your riches to bring you happiness, instead hug a tree or help a bee.
Bravery, Effort, and Honor over birth. The Blood of a runt is the Blood of a King.
Give a thousand for nothing. Truth is the honor of the tribe.
Alignment
So good he's evil.
Save the cat or not:
Not : Bind the Cat’s spirit to the tree, making it a vengeful guardian of the tree that imprisoned it.
Holidays
The Blood Feast
This day celebrates the innocence of nature with a sacrifice, but you need your whole party to do it right and if you do not celebrate it you will be cursed with bad luck. It is a cultural and civic duty that keeps nature and beast balanced.
Sight, Sound, Smell
Tend to roll the consonants when speaking.
Clothes are well mended and clean.
An earthy pumas smell with a hint of Christmas Pine.
Traditional politics
The cast. This involves summoning all the Firbolg’s in a tribe who then would cast there vote on an issue by using a rune engraved stone.
Why I left
I was banished, it was a way for my society to punish me for what it did not understand or accept. He believed in the “code”, he pontificated that without the individual how could you have a society. He stated we are all a team with individual talents, and that these talents should be explored and exposed and with that, individuals should be rewarded. Let their individual talents flourish and its strengths help build us stronger and better. He believed in this so much he chose to wear this ancient relic, to show the support of his family and kin and there beginning. This log is thousands of years old; it is said to have come from the first Firbolg to ever exist on Toril. All though no one really knows for sure why, but they are smaller than the giant kin of their ancestors. The log itself was not worn or shown to anyone in the clan for the fear of the individualism that it might create. The focus of the clan to be the direct lineage to the first of their kind, put emphasis on the direct ancestry which set them apart from the other clans and brought about jealousy. The following of the “code” rewards the individual which in turn strengthens the community, however the clan did not understand that. The clan is about the community over the individual. Therefore he was banished and his entire clan was assassinated with exception to the very eldest who could no longer procreate. The Firbolg clan thought it might be bad karma to kill everyone therefore Torglia was banished due to having such idealistic and selfish beliefs.
Abilities
Strength – large 1-1/2” linked silver chain with a rather large, petrified log 2ft long and 10 inches in diameter and hangs around his neck, the ends of the log of a leather strap attached to it that wraps around his back, this is to hold it in place. It is somewhat hollowed out with a knot that creates a convenient thumb hole. The petrified bark has deep furrows with a consistent scaled pattern that appears to twist around the log. Each scale of the bark has a clan name inscribed in it. The names are the family lineage. It’s possible that the often-famous quote used today “The Family Tree” was started because of this what now would be a relic. The log and chain together weigh 45lbs. This is a piece of his home which he brought with him as a memento.
Dexterity – What originally started out as a mere prank that would confuse the recipients of this act has now become a favorite past time game. Firbolg’s cannot tolerate greed. In fact, it repulses them and often drives them to prank greedy people by removing their precious horde and distributing to those who are in need. They do this in Cognito and often the victim and the recipient have no idea who done it or why. Further, the Firbolg does this as a generous gift of love and moral high ground somehow righting the victim and the beneficiary setting the balance of lawful good.
Constitution – He has developed a strong liking to mushroom and wild berry wine. Yeah, it smells like earth, tastes like soured dirt, and for most normal sized people would put you six feet under. Which incidentally would be fine for him, since he thinks that most people are destroying the true innocence of nature and could give back by giving yourself as an ultimate sacrifice. Anything for the greater good of nature.
Intelligence – Well versed in knots. He knows 101 ways to tie a knot and loves to challenge people to break free from his restraints. Often having people restrain him but is never fooled and always solves the knot. If you look closely at the log and chain around his neck you can see they are bound together with a rare seldom known knot.
Wisdom – wisdom often comes at a terrible price. Wisdom rarely comes without great cost and sacrifice. He was appointed the position to be a mediator between two clans in a great dispute that went terribly wrong. One clan completely assassinated the other. It was because of this he was banished from his own tribe. Disgraced his tribe, his family, his own race.
Charisma – He does not really care what others think of him, especially those outside his own tribe. He would rather be alone in the woods than persuade or impress someone. It seems so trivial to him.
Lost Your Way
In the pursuit of righting wrongs, the line between good and evil has become blurred and am not sure if the line has been crossed. The banishment has caused the good things in his life to be regiment with no room for error or wrongness. He has become death, intolerant to evil, or bad people. He believes good so much that he has become evil.
Where I’m From
Village of Forestyn – 400 hundred Firbolg’s lived in my village. I knew most of the Firbolg’s in my community, some more than others and some less than others. Very few I had never met but knew them none the less. We lived at the confluence of three great rivers, Stolsum, Arogonor, and the Galingale. Our local hangout was between three rather large redwoods where our four fathers added a large platform 50ft between the Stolsum and the Galingale. A hearth was built with confluence in the background, the hearth was 20ft long and 10ft deep, a warm place to hold out during the long winter cold nights. We celebrated life and death of nature around us. We were always spiritually satisfied and full, never needed or wanted anything but each other and nature.
Politics
The power and control was the divine right of us all guided by deep thought and conversations among us all. No one person was in charge. We decided everything by casting. Slow to anger, often slow to speak, but casting was final. I was respected, my main duty was to protect serve peace among the community. I painfully failed my brothers and sisters, I disgraced my family, my clan, my village. I was banished nearly unanimously, and those that supported me were pushed out of the village only able to come in to cast and trade.
Risk vs Reward
How much are you willing to risk finding out the truth. He is willing to risk his life to find the truth, however, he is smart enough to not let situation dictate life or death. In a high-risk environment if he came across a dead body, he would spend time to find out weather the person was lawful or evil. Lawful people would get respected treatment, evil people not so much.
Define your look
The log across his chest, has been handed down from generation to generation. Though the bark is deeply furrowed it has a polished feel to it. Due to the years of it being rubbed by the clothing of the wearer. This charm, if you will, was made in honor of my lineage and I wear it proudly but sadly….
Mission
To eventually go back home. To find others of my race who believe it takes all kinds to make a village, that its good to acknowledge individual achievements. Embrace the elders and ancestors. That the code is not evil.
Spiritualality
Question the origin of our races diety.
An elven noble with his little sister and big brother, along with a couple of chosen friends descend into the Undermountain. They are all talented & skilled, however, weeks pass and they are not heard from again. They are presumed dead but then, suddenly, after six weeks underground, they appear; well, only the three siblings. The others were lost and the oldest of the three elves is horribly burned and disfigured. Nobody even recognizes him. The younger brother is badly wounded as well but he still carries his big brother out. The sister has a mangled arm and exhausted all of her magic to help keep her big brother and heir to their House alive.
Rumors abound to this day what happened, but nobody knows for sure. The prevailing theory is that the oldest brother perished and the younger brother became the heir. However, he has left Waterdeep has not returned for over three decades.
The truth is that the group was very successful in navigating the halls of the Undermountain. They managed to descend to the second level where they came upon a cursed scepter, which when activated scorched, burned, and cursed the oldest brother. He remains burned and disfigured to this day, cursed by the scepter. No effort or cost was spared to try lift the curse, but so far nobody has been successful. Pained, the family's elders decided that they could not have such a horribly cursed and disfigured heir, so the oldest brother was whisked away to a manor, away from prying eyes.
The younger brother was named heir, however, the family, especially their mother has yet to forgive him, for it was he who in hubris activated the scepter.
After a while, the younger brother swore to find a cure for the curse and left the city. He has done three decades of penance since then.
Cara Esmeralda, has the appearance of a dirty emaciated urchin whose preference for the wilderness has kept her away from the townfolk who keep mistaking her for some infernal witch.
In truth she and her parents were driven out of their home, when the new village pastor blamed them as the source of recent crop failure.
Stumbling through a portal into the Feywild their pursuers thought they were swallowed up by the swamp and eventually left.
Cara a new born child at the time was warped by the Feywild into a Changeling so stricken her parents abandoned her and fled in horror their fate remains unrevealed but its unlikely they survived long within the Feywild.
Cara was found by a wandering druid who chose to raise her helping her adapt to her situation her form becoming the dirty emaciated appearance that is her natural form instead of the usual appearance of a changeling.
Cara eventually found her way back into the world she was born within and found her way back to her original home now the dwelling of another couple who threw stones at her until she moved on unable to understand their fear and loathing.
She eventually befriended some locals who didn't find her appearance as repelling as the couple did and she is gradually learning how to react and relate to these humans and other folk some of whom drove her family out all those years ago.
She hopes to one day understand these people enough to settle and raise a family of her own, but lacks the maturity and understanding her mentor explained to her that she needs to accomplish this.
It doesn't help she can assume any form she wants having assumed the form of humanoid shaped animals in addition to the forms of others whenever she wants. Unfortunately that hasn't improved how others react to her as even those closest to her know what her true form is.
Name: Naia Moonstone Race: High Elf (Moon) Alignment: Neutral Age: 313 Years Old
First-Person Narrative, Also I made up the War of the Clerics thing
"The tribe of elves I was born into, the Moonstone Tribe, were nomads and roamed wherever the wind took them. I don't have many memories of my time with them as the summer I turned 13, we were caught in the middle of a religious war between humans, now known as the War of the Clerics. We had been taking shelter in the woods when a Cleric of War summoned fire from the heavens, sparking a wildfire that ran out of control quicker than one can imagine. We were trapped with nowhere to go. I can still remember the screams of my tribe as they burned alive, their coughs and gasps for air as they suffocated. The spirits must've taken pity on me because I woke up within a hollowed out tree-stump, alive and relatively unharmed a week later with no recollection of how I had gotten there or what happened in the week I was unconscious. When I woke up I didn't know where I was, I probably would've starved to death if it hadn't been for the forest and river spirits that took care of me. I stayed with them until I turned 113, a century after they saved me. They gifted me with knowledge that had been forgotten for eons, along with a tome that contains great, but terrible secrets, the day I left their care. The tome's contents must remain secret at all costs. After that, I started to wander the mortal realm in an unrelenting search for more knowledge, whether that be forgotten skills used by long-extinct races, or coveted secrets kept by world-renowned universities, my search never ends."
Wow.
"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)
The backstory of Shade Outman. Enjoy!
Shade Outman was born not far from the Forgotten Realm in a land called The Vales of Serenity. He was born to a Human father named Lord Kalon Outman and a High Elf mother named Keylee Shadowstar. Lord Kalon is the younger brother to the ruling King in The Southern Vale and although raised with all the comforts of the ruling family, Shade longed for something other than politics. Shade longed for adventure and knowledge.
As a young man, he journeyed with his mother to her childhood home in Northvale. Home to the High Elves, Northvale is located to the far north at the base of Mount Shale. It is there Shade first set eyes on the beautiful elven Princess, Elenya D’Thallen. Although many years his elder, Shade would become immediately enamored by her grace, beauty and a hint of mystery that surrounded her.
One day he spied Elenya sneaking away. As stealthily as he could, he followed Elenya up the mountain path that leads to the peak of Mount Shale. Being overly confident in his stealth skills, at one point he loses sight of Elenya. He rushes forward but she is nowhere in sight. After a while of looking he decides to turn back. As he does and large hawk perched in the tree above caws and dives straight for him. He cowers in its path and shields his eyes from the inevitable incoming attack. He clenches his teeth with anticipation, but nothing happens. Frozen in his defensive pose he watches as two female sandaled feet step into view. "You're not leaving so soon are you? You've come so far?" It was then he learned Elenya was a druid. Information that would not be well received should her family find out. She made him promise not to tell anyone. “Your secret is safe with me. My word as my bond”, Shade exclaims.
Every day during his visit, she would show him many wonders of the mountain forest and introduce him to wildlife he had never seen before. On the last day of his stay, she took him to the peak of the mountain where he was greeted by an Ancient Gold Dragon. "What have you brought me today, Elenya? He's a little scrawny for a meal!" Gulldrage remarked. Shade went wide-eyed as Gulldrage and Elenya cracked smiles. Gulldrage breaks into boisterous laughter. "I can't keep a straight face", he admits. Late into the evening, Shade sat by the Dragon's side as Gulldrage told stories of his heroic deeds in battle. He told one story of how he fought next to Shade’s grandfather to rid the Southern Vale of a horde of Orc that had terrorized it. He explained how he battled the ferocious Ancient Red Dragon, Rodrage, and drove him from this very mountain to the Ashen Dunes in the East.
Shade would return every summer for several years to the Northvale to visit Elenya and the Dragon. When he was old enough, he enrolled in Northvale’s local University to study. Well, that is what he told his parents. The dragon and he would become the closest of friends. Elenya would become his love. A love that grew stronger everyday between them.
Unfortunately, Shade was not the only one who would have feelings for Elenya. Orphaned at birth, Nalraen was a Drow, who was raised by a prominent Elven family. Nalraen grew up with Elenya and as children. They played together and became friends. But as they grew older, he became obsessed with her. So obsessed that Elenya would eventually break ties with him. That is around the time that Shade and Elenya first met. Nalraen would lurk around corners and look upon the two of them with jealousy and a growing hatred for Shade. It wasn’t long before his true Drow nature was fully apparent. Nalraen had been secretly studying sorcery for some time. He traveled to the Ashen Dunes to convene with Rodrage, the Ancient Red Dragon. Together they would hatch a plan to kill Shade, steal Elenya away, defeat Gulldrage and place Rodrage back on top of Mount Shale.
One evening, Shade and Elenya were sitting atop Mount Shale in each other’s arms, staring at the multitude of stars, wondering if they would ever be able to adventure among them. They hear the swish of a dragon's wings above them and stand ready to greet Gulldrage. But to their surprise, it was not Gulldrage. Rodrage lands hard on the ground in front of them. The earth shakes as he does, knocking the two lovers to the ground. Rodrage clutches Elenya within his claws and flies off. Shade picks himself up and darts towards the dragon but is met by Nalraen as he steps out from behind a tree. Nalraen points his staff at Shade and chants something in a language that Shade cannot understand. Shade has been charmed. Moments later, another series of swishes is heard. Nalraen steps back into cover and commands Shade, “Kill Gulldrage!” Gulldrage lands in front of Shade. “Where is Elenya?” he asks. The unsuspecting dragon extends his neck, raising his head high to search the surrounding area. “Did she not come with you today?” Shade clutches his dagger, eyeing a slight opening in the dragon’s layered scales of his stretched-out neck. He raises his dagger but stops short. His face becomes strained as he attempts to resist the compelling charm that was placed on him. Gulldrage peers down at Shade and swiftly flaps his wings to lift him off the ground. He watches Shade struggle as Shade exclaims, “I…won’t…do…it!” Nalraen hadn’t considered Shade’s Fey ancestry when trying to place a charm on him. Angrily, Nalraen steps out from behind the tree and slams the end of his staff on the ground. Suddenly blazing orbs of fire plummet down from the night sky. Gulldrage quickly reacts and shields Shade from the attack. The fiery meteors pummel Gulldrage repeatedly. Each hit causes Gulldrage to scream out in pain. Shade cries out as Gulldrage takes the brunt of the attack, “No!”. With a final effort, Gulldrage glares at Nalraen. He inhales for what might be the last time and directs a stream of fire at Nalraen. An agonizing scream is heard as Nalraen drops to his knees, his body melted, scorched and unrecognizable. All goes quiet, but for the gentle wheezing of the dragon. He allows Shade to crawl out from underneath him before he lowers his head to the ground, takes his last breath and dies. Shade drops to his knees before Gulldrage’s lifeless body and weeps at his side for hours.
In the following months, Shade and all the armies of the Southern and Northern Vales, scour the lands to the East for Elenya and the Red Dragon. But to no avail. It is said that the Red Dragon fled The Vales of Serenity to The Forgotten Realm. Shade now dedicates every waking second to train in combat as a Paladin. Devoting every bit of his efforts to rid evil in the memory of Elenya and to one day defeat the Red Dragon named Rodrage.
Litrix the Lizardfolk backstory.
Litrix is born into a fishing community in a swamp that borders a mountain range, and is also in a relatively close proximity to a settlement. They have made this their home for many generations. To the North is a place where a group of Ogres have for the past couple of years, started to use part of the fishing ground for stashing variety of goods. For example, weapons, chests full of plunder\loot ect. By doing the, the Ogres either on purpose, or not have started to ruin part of the swamp. As time has gone on, the tribe has tried to deter the Ogres from doing this, but each time the tribe tries, it more often then not, make things even worse. Litrix's tribe has consistent trade and communication with a Half-Elf community in a nearby settlement. This is their one consistent contact to the goings on outside of the swamp that they live in. At the age of 18, and having spent some time with the Half-Elfs, Litrix's curiosity has become unusually large compared to the others of his tribe. During a usual meet up with the Half-Elfs, both parties were ambushed at the edge of the swamp by three Ogres. During the chaos, Litrix realised that a Half-Elf child, that belonged to one of the leaders of the visiting group, had snuck out and followed behind. Realizing that saving the child, could not only help show the other people in the city (those that are not Half-Elfs) that the "swamp dwellers" as they are known by the rest, are not just pretending to be friends and trading information and various goods out of necessity, and any number of other ideas that they had about them. But, sense the elders have no current interest in having potential contact with any other group, other then the Half-Elfs. The elders, agreeing that Litrix would not hesitate to make that line of detection again, decided to banish him. After a few months, and even though Usk was doing just fine on his own in the wild, he decided to go to the Half-Elfs and see if they would allow him to stay with them. Sense they (Half-Elfs) trust the tribe and have not reason to not trust Usk, especially after saving the child. The Half-Elfs, while unable to take him in, know a half-Elf bounty hunter couple that would be able to. Through bounty hunting and other examples, they were able to teach Litrix about society, the good and the bad. Seven years later, with the half-Elf couple Zankas and Saflynn. After the first four years, Litrix felt like he wanted to have a go at bounty hunting on his own. He had a talk with Zankas and Saflynn about it, and they felt that he was ready but encouraged him to at some point find a partner to team up with. During the last week of his first month on his own, he is close to finding his target, when he is stopped by a Tabaxi. He introduces himself as Broken Chain of The Mountain Slopes Clan. He explains that he also has been on the hunt for this target for some time also. Chain offers his help, and that if they should succeed, they split the reward fifty fifty. After the success, they both admit that they worked as a team better than they both thought. They have been partners ever sense. About a year into working together, Broken Chain of The Mountain Slopes Clan and Litrix, found out about a recent joining of two mafia families. A Half-Orc family that go by The Blue Shields, and a Dragonborn family that calls themselves Sivak Axe. After three years of focusing largely on the to families, they find one of the last known residence of a well known Kobold who works for the Sivak Axe family, to Litrix and Broken's surprise, the door is unlocked, and they find the unconscious body of somebody that does not appear to be their target. They come back with the unconscious body, and tells the couple what he found. Saflynn tells them that, this is Kogil Valmok, a well known female Dragonborn Ranger, who helps protect the city. Litrix, decides that he should study and learn as much as he can from Kogil. This might be his chance to redeem himself. This could also be a great way to help protect, and maybe even get the Ogres to leave his tribe alone. During Kogil's recovery, her and Litrix had a conversation. And she agreed to teach him the basics, before he gets any ideas of going out on his own. Litrix and Broken, talked about the idea of leaving, but agreed that, Litrix being the more adventurous of the two of them, would be the best choice. With his new skill set, Litrix now to go on an adventure, while also, testing his skills. And prove, to himself and his tribe that he is worthy of rejoining the tribe. The next day after Litrix left, Broken (Chain of The Mountain Slopes Clan), found out that the Sivak Axe family has put out a sizable price on Litrix's head, and in case that the bounty was not enough to get the job done, messages were sent out, to various contacts, to have him killed, for single-handedly apprehending Xiswyn the daughter of Qelgar Kleampheshtindish who is second in command.
Half Elf Rouge/Bard that I created but have not played yet.
Oleander Kalakuta:
(Note: This is slightly disturbing. You have been warned.)
Her father, Vasuki Kalakuta (the human parent), is the owner of a large and successful shipping business, and the leader of a criminal empire that spans the entire city in which they live. One day, while walking in his gardens, his eyes fell upon the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her name was Jasmine Rose (the elven parent), and she had recently lost her parents to a terrible workplace accident. The moment he saw her, he knew that she was the one for him. He used the loss of her parents to get close to her, and pretended to be sympathetic to her losses to make himself an important figure in her life.
Slowly, he charmed her, and as she had few friends, which she began to grow apart from as he began to demand more and more of her time, she fell hard for him. When they married, he quickly took her away from the world. While she was now rich, her entire world had become limited to the grounds of the manor she lived in, every day became strictly governed, and punishments were dished out for the slightest infractions and often violent. He also made her aware of his criminal dealings, and reminded her that by knowing and not immediately telling, she was complicit in all the crimes he had committed. He used this once more to keep her with him, and eventually, she became pregnant with his daughter Oleander. When Oleander was born, her father rejoiced. He loved his daughter dearly, and showered her with gifts and affection, but her mother was the opposite. Due to the way Vasuki had treated her, she couldn't love her child and pushed her away instead. This led to her becoming far closer with her father than with her mother.
Five years into her daughter's life, Jasmine became pregnant again, and this time she was carrying twins! While this was joyous news to Oleander and her father, this only drove her mother into further despair, and she began to neglect herself, refusing to eat, drink, or sleep unless she was forced to. This made her very, very sick, to the point where this caused majour complications with the pregnancy. On top of that, the babies were not developing as they should, and Vasuki becoming violent with her any time she refused to eat or sleep only caused them further harm. Due to all this, Jasmine miscarried. One of the babies was stillborn, and the other lived for about a day before dying. The tragedy didn't end there. Jasmine's sickness had been eating away at her body, and she couldn't survive the long and difficult birth, dying in the process.
Her father was thrown into grief. Despite the way that he had treated her, he had truly loved her, and now she was gone, and the two children as well. He never even got the chance to give them names. The only thing left to comfort him was his remaining daughter, and he threw himself headfirst into caring for her. He spoiled her, treating her to the finest the world had to offer, and she loved him dearly in return. Some signs started to show, however, that she was not like most other children.
It began with torturing small animals, or laughing when she made other children cry, but the most damning sign came when her father told her the truth of his criminal work. Unlike her mother's disgust, she showed a strange fascination with what her father did. She got very involved with her father's work, and quickly rose through the ranks to become her father's right hand. Her father taught her all the skills that she would need, educating her in combat, manipulation, and even a touch of magic. She also became talented in the use of poisons, and showed an extreme willingness to use whatever means necessary to win. She soon commanded the respect of many, many members of her father's group, but the only one she cared about was her father.
Her father's orders were the only orders she would follow, and her father was the only person she wouldn't dare sacrifice, no matter what. Nothing could taint her father's name in her eyes, not learning of the way he had treated his wife, not his high body count, not anything he would ever do. Her love for her father ran very deep, slowly evolving from platonic to something more, twisted. She has not acted on this however. Vasuki meanwhile, has begun to plan to set her up with another follower of his, who has been working with him for two years longer than she has, and who has shown many similarities in personality to him.
Character Backstories:
(Note: these are summarized, there is a bit more detail to a couple of them)
Meira Beacon (LG Protector Aasimar Paladin):
Born to a power hungry and corrupt noble, who was secretly a dark sorcerer, seemingly only to increase his reputation, she ran away at a young age and joined an order of Paladins calling themselves the Beacon. They acted as protectors and teachers, traveling around the world and improving the lives of others. While a part of the order, she would meet another young disciple of the order, Harmonia. She fell in love with the other girl, but it was not to be, at least not yet. Harmonia fell in love with a man outside of the order, and had two children with him. Meira's father found out about this relationship, and used false visions of Harmonia's partner dying to manipulate her into betraying the order and helping him and his followers destroy it. Nearly all of the order's member's died that day.
Heartbroken, Meira fled with the remainder of the order, most of whom were young students that had managed to escape the attack by hiding in secret corners that only they could really fit into, and Harmonia's two children, whom she raised as her own. She'd eventually become the leader of a new Beacon order, one that was focused in on resisting her father's growing influence, and all they went through together turned them from a small group of survivors united by circumstance, to a close knit family.
Luckily, Harmonia found out that she had been manipulated, and turned her back on Meira's father, joining Meira's resistance effort and redeeming herself. Before the final battle against her father, Meira and Harmonia planned out their wedding, but the world would get in their way again. When the battle ended, Meira was victorious, but her father had one last trick up his sleeve. He cast a spell on her that did two things. One, all of her abilities were reset to how they were when she began her training, and two, her memories were wiped of all locations. She still remembered her family, but she didn't know how to get to them. Since the battle had been fought simultaneously in several locations with the hope of wiping out everything that remained of her father's army while Meira confronted her father one on one, Meira was completely separated from her family.
The only location that she could still remember by some chance was Candle Keep, a safe house used during the war. While she couldn't remember where it as, she set out to try and find it, so she could see her family again.
Taiga (LG Human Druid/Ranger):
Taiga's first memory is bothering her werewolf adoptive father to turn her into a lycanthrope like him, and him reminding her that they'd agreed he wouldn't turn her until she turned twenty. She was found in the forest by a pack of werewolves after an accident that left her orphaned, but these weren't your everyday savage predators. They were good aligned, followed an ancient spring of natural magic that had existed since the beginning of the world, and lived in a forest warped by that ancient spring, full of incredible creatures that seemed to be out of a fairytale. When they found Taiga, they took her in, and raised her alongside their leader's own son.
One day, Taiga had a dream in which she met two individuals who looked a lot like her, and they turned out to be her parents. They revealed to her that they had been allies of the werewolf pack in protecting the ancient sanctuary in which they lived, and gave her flower that when under the light of the moon, opened to reveal a compass made out of wood. They told her that the compass would point to other springs of the ancient magic, and when Taiga woke up, the flower was clutched in her hand. When she told her adoptive family of her dream, they explained that when someone who's an ally of the ancient magic dies, their souls become a part of it, and they are able to guide other allies in their work. Taiga decided to set out following the compass, and her family, while they were worried about her, they knew that this would make her happy, so they bid her farewell.
Valentina Zalenski (LN Human Wizard/Fighter):
At a young age, Valentina lost both of her parents, and was left to raise herself along with her brother, Valentin. Despite the depressing land of Barovia and the terrible loss they had suffered, the siblings managed to carve out a sliver of happiness for themselves, working as hunters. One thing that they weren't aware of however, and the thing that would prove to be their undoing, was the fact that Strahd had taken notice for Valentin, and sought to make him one of his consorts. One night, Strahd approached them outside of their home, demanding that Valentin return to castle Ravenloft with him. When Valentin said no, preferring to stay with his sister, Strahd grew enraged and attacked them. Valentina tried everything to protect her brother, even setting their home aflame as an attempt to create a distraction, but it all failed, and Valentin was taken to castle Ravenloft against his will.
Valentina was devastated and swore to rescue her brother from the vampire's clutches, and bring down Strahd.
Aeldit Alvis (CG Human Artificer):
No one was sure if Aeldit was even going to live through the night when he was born. He was so small, and even though he did survive, he was so fragile. In his tribe, infants like him were sent out to sea as a prayer for a stronger next generation. But Aeldit was an exception. He was the chief's son, and his father hid him in his home and raised him in secret. His mother was kinder, but she wouldn't be there for long, as she was eventually taken away by one of the dragons that constantly raided their home (in reality, she had run away with the dragon, as she was tired of all the fighting and the way she was being treated for having a runt son. She wasn't able to take her son with her, as her husband had even hidden his existence from her).
Aeldit would often sneak into the forest, and one day, while out there, he met a dragon hatchling. While he expected this to be a fearsome monster, he turned out to be a kind individual who sympathized with Aeldit, as he was also small for his age and the runt of his litter. The two of them became friends and got up to a lot of shenanigans together, without being noticed of course.
One day, they snuck back into Aeldit's home and crept into his father's room. While looking through his father's desk, Aeldit found a letter from his mother that she had written for him while she was expecting. The two of them read it, and found out that his mother was wereraven, and that it was likely that Aeldit had inherited this trait. Included with the letter was a strange pendant, which the letter stated could "change the shape of a loved one". As Aeldit finished reading the letter and slipped the pendant into his pocket, his father came into the room, and was furious at finding out that Aeldit had befriended a dragon, and was even more angry that his son was a wereraven, as he believed that all lycanthropes were an evil curse on the world.
He decided that it was high time that he sent Aeldit out to sea as he should have done a long time ago. Aeldit packed up his things, but as he about to leave, he was stopped by his friend, who expressed a desire to travel with him. While the two of them were out at sea, however, something unforeseeable happened. Aeldit tried to put the pendant around his friend's neck and it turned his friend into a human, but also melded into his skin and couldn't be taken off.
I want my funeral to be so funny everyone forgets to cry.
Model 813 memory logs
Day 1: awakening in the household. Met new owners.
Day 5: was left alone with son for first time, nothing went wrong.
Day 10: master 01 left. Master 02 shows signs of sickness.
Day 15: master 01 returned with a bag full of medicine. Master 02s condition is deteriorating. I am to keep the small one away from her room.
Day 20: masters 01 and 02 left. I am to look after the ‘Jacob’ until their return
D̶͉͉̀́̇a̷͚͋͐y̵͎̺̞͆̓ ̸̜̣̒̈͝2̸̪̊1̷̼̫̎͛:̶̧̦͎̈ ̶̜̹̝̓̀f̷̖͍̹̔́͝i̶̫͗͂̚l̷̨͐͑͝e̸̳̔̈́͒ ̶̟̳̺́̈́͠ç̴͓̆͐̿ö̷̲̭̪̒r̶̰̞͐r̵̖̈́u̸̫̒̓p̴̡̩̰̕t̴̻̫̫̓̇̕é̴͔̇d̷̖͍̀
Day 24: master 01 returned. Master 02 did not.
D̵̢̑ä̸͎ÿ̶̖́ ̴̘̍2̵̪̍6̶̲͗:̶̝̋ ̶̢̂f̷͇̊i̸̡̓ḻ̸͝ḛ̴̾ ̵̪͒c̵̛͈ǒ̴͉r̶̞͂r̶̢̃ų̵̀p̷̦͂t̸͓͆ě̷͚d̴̥̀
Day ??: “hello? Can anyone hear me? What’s going on? Who...who am I?”
“Jacob is gone. I don’t know where. Who’s Jacob? Why don’t I know this!?”
*shut down*
Day ̵̲̅̈́̋͆͠ ̵̤͉͚͖̔́͛̅ ̴̘͉̂̾ ̷͚̗͚̫̽͆̍͝ ̷̬̒͑̇ ̷̛͈̔̒ ̸̮̠͖͒͊: everything is gone. The town is destroyed. The house is in ruins. A path leads out. I follow
Day π: path stopped. Trees clawed. Growling. I...feel? Couldn’t be. Can’t feel. But...afraid. Growling growing louder. *forced shutdown*
Day A113: I woke up in a cabin. Lying on my stomach. An arrow is sticking out of my back. A man is whittling a stick in an armchair. It is master 01. But he looks...different. Sad. Defeated. He says he repaired me. Says I should leave. For once, I don’t listen to his orders. This isn’t something I knew I could do. It’s, exiting? He doesn’t seem confused by it. I ask about Jacob. He starts crying. Someone knocks on the cabin door. He tells me to leave again. I refuse. He try’s to push me out the window. I say “no”. The door breaks and someone walks in. They begin to talk. Master 01 calls him [redacted]. *forced shutdown*
I recently hopped into a Descent into Avernus campaign a friend had started a while a back, playing a silver draconic origin sorceress. Some Descent into Avernus spoilers below since the character was made for that campaign to join in mid way.
The basic gist of the character is that rather than traditional means, she was the subject of...less than ethical experiments involving dragon blood as the origin of her abilities. After escaping from all of that, she eventually ended up at Candlekeep, living a quiet life as an assistant to a librarian there who took her in, and meeting the rest of the party when they arrive there to have the demonic puzzle box thing opened. Doing her best to keep her abilities secret.
She also happens to be from the city that got dragged into Avernus, giving her little choice but to embrace her abilities and help the party in thwarting Zariel or else her own soul being forfeit to the archdevil when she dies.