So Ive built a 7th level CG human wizard (divination) sage: researcher background, Ive named Modoc the Magnificent and I want to create a backstory for this character, but Im no writer. Thats where I was hoping you gracious and illustrious bunch may come to my aid. I dont know how to flesh this character out, Im drawing a total blank. The one idea I had was that I thought it would be intresting to have his mentor be a lich who trained him for...reasons? Who knows liches are essentially just nerds who couldnt read enough books while alive so they went all magic zombie so they could keep nerding out in their evil basement, I mean lair. Maybe just needed and apprentice to return his books to Candlekeep so he wasnt getting killed in late fees? Thoughts?
Seems like a solid starting premise. Not all liches are necessarily evil, though they do tend to slant towards uncaring after so many years of no longer having a mortal coil. It would be interesting to know a few things about your character and his master; presumably:
Why did your lich master decide to train you as an apprentice, and a divination mage at that as opposed to more traditional necromancy? Were they in need of some help with some long-range planning? Did they intend to use you as a sort of spying tool? Was the fact that you were alive and had serious magic potential what drove them to sort of "collect" you for their own before you were snapped up by a rival? Did, as you say, they just need a toady to run library books and collect various ritual components while they were busy doing lich things?
Did your wizard know his master was a lich? Liches are pretty good at disguising themselves and this one may not have let on that it was an undead monster for a very long time. However, since your character is a diviner, it could be that some random divination happened and you ended up understanding your masters true form and its future plans for you. Maybe you didn't like that and decided to leave? Does your master want you back since they invested so much time and effort into you?
What was your relationship to your master like before the "split"? Were they a good master, but somewhat aloof and oddly uncaring most of the time, or harsh and unforgiving of failure? Did you leave on good terms after completing the thing they wanted you to accomplish for them, or did you flee in the night after a horrible revelation?
Assuming at some point you met up with a band of adventurers to call your own, what was your journey like before finding them? Did you wander the countryside openly or one the run from your master's minions? Did you make any connections in any towns along the way? Maybe a local priest who sheltered you in their temple or a young farming family who took you in during the rain. Maybe you made some deals with a local thieves guild to get by for a while and now owe them for the service.
Start there and see where that takes you.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Another thing to consider, if your lich master is still "alive" is that they may have some sort of notoriety in the local area and being known as a student of the lich may color how people react to your character. Some may see you as an accomplice in the lich's more unsavory dealings, while others may see you as either a captive or unwilling lieutenant who broke free of the lich's control and now travels the land, fighting back your former master's forces and doing your best to even your moral debt.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Im working on a fully fleshed out backstory and will be posting it when finished so if youd like so see the finished result stay tuned and i look forward to your feedback
I think it really depends if you want your character to be good or evil
I think it is easier for the Apprentice to be from a pre-lichdom time. It saves a lot of tropes and cliches.
I would be tempted to have them to involved in the creation of the phylactery the sealed metal box. Perhaps they could be the ones that transcribed magical phrases onto strips of parchment. They could either feel guilt for what they have done. Want to join there masters side. Or even (not particularly believable I think) have them realise their mistake and seek to correct a transcribe before the transformation wears off.
So this is my first attempt at a detailed background and I would love some feedback. Feel free to make suggestions, edit, or alter this so that it make sense and flows correctly. My grammer isnt the best so bear that in mind.
I also need help with and ending so any suggestions there would be apprenticed.
House Talonmist traces their lineage back to the great Sardikar Tahlaunmiiz, Imperial Dreamer of Calimshan, who fled north from Calimport with his family. After being granted a vision fortelling of the Red Plague of -990 DR. As a result Sardikar became obsessed with disease and death, he would later turn to dark arts and necromancy. Seeking to tease out the secrets of lichdom, as a means of forestalling his death; and by extension guiding and securing the legacy of his lineage.
Since then the family has dwelt in the lands that now surround the town of Westgate, near Waterdeep. Acting as a reclusive, low-profile family of traders while slowly gathering magical lore and secerts as they bred and scattered across the Sword Coast. Though throughout the centuries, those descendants of House Talonmist who showed an aptitude for the arcane mysteries would be sent off the family seat of "Kingsgrave Manor". Where they were to apprentice under the immutable patriarch, the lich Sardikar Tahlaunmiiz.
In recent years the Talonmist family has been embroiled in a simmering fued with the Harpells, an upstart family of wizards from Longsaddle. Whom have disrupted Talonmist activities and acquisitions in the past. Members of the opposing families have even been known to engage in duels to the death when tensions boil over. The Talonmists also harbor a cold relationship with the Red Wizards, seeing the new expansion of the merchant-mages into the Sword Coast as a threat to the family business.
It is in this time, some 2,500 years after the exodus from Calimshan, that Modoc was born. The second of Jaheira and Ajantis Talonmist's three children, his early child was free of any significant turmoil or crisis. Modoc's parents made their living as spice merchants in the bustling port city of Waterdeep; and while they were not wealthy, they lived a comfortable lifestyle. This afforded their children the opportunity to receive an education. It was in this evironment of learning and study the Modoc began to thrive. He read voraciously, sometimes late into the night and would often be scolded by his mother, for using to many candles when caught.
However, it would not be long before Modoc's education became a source of umbrage. The normally peaceful home would erupt with cantankerous argument. As the young savant challenged the teachings of his tutors, in subjects that encompassed everything from theological matters, to natual theories, and even the wonders of the higher mysteries. The study was often a room in the throws of raucous debate, in which Modoc's energy was spent disputing, correcting, and badgering his tutors. All the while demanding evidence of their teachings. Invariably these educators would resign amid a string of curses as they stormed from the family home. These resignations began to become a burden on the family finances, we well as a disruption to the education of their other children. Finding no other recourse for the dangerous intellect of their son the parents decided it was time. They sent a message, and received a response. Modoc was to be delivered to Kingsgrave Manor, where he would examined and tested; and if he was deemed worthy he would be formally apprenticed to the venerable "Gandfather Sar".
The precocious youth was sent east by carrage and arrived at an ancient fortified manor house set atop one of the rolling hills north of the town of Westgate. The manor itself seemed to be built over many centuries. With evidence of several different construction phases and techniques, giving the structure an overall disjointed and bizarre appearance. Once emitted into the enigmatic buillding Modoc was questioned at length. Scrutinized by robed men and women of unclear relation to the boy though they bore a distinct resemblance to his father. Eventually he was taken to an antechamber deep in the vaults under the manor, the door to the room beyond was covered in luminous blue runes. At this point his robed guides instructed Modoc to "Wait here" before the pair turned and hurried from the crypt-like atmosphere of the vaults.
Several hours passed before the door swung open as if by some invisible force. It took Modoc a moment to summon to courage to enter. When he did the scene the greeted the boy nearly overwhelmed his senses. Smoke from burning incense hung in several gilded brazers purfuming the air. A small library's worth of the tombs and scrolls sat in a massive, over stuffed, and many more lay stacked on the floor and tables throughout the room. A number of crystals arcing electricity, hovered in place, occasionally shifted from one side of the room to the other. In a corner sat wooden talbe of polished wood holds carefully arranged and straightened lengths of hair. Each set is tied together with bright blue string. The sigil of house Talonmist covered much of the floor. The design is cut into the floor and its tiny channels are full of glistening mercury. In the center of the room stood the desiccated and mummified figure of Grandfather Sar. He was clothed in ivory colored robes trimed with gold, his fingers and throat heavy with jewellery. Small crystaline stones floated above his head, atop which sat a circlet made of opalecent stone. The only thing that kept the boy from fleeing the chamber was sheer awe. As Gandfather Sar reached out a skeletal hand to gesture the youth forward he said "You need not fear me my child. But know this, your existence shall be that, which I weave for you out of sorrow and woe."
Initially Modoc split the majority of his days either assisting his master with alchemical experiments, deep in study, or carefully aiding with embalming rituals to fortify the liches deteriorating form. But as time. Though as the years progressed Modoc's apprenticeship became an affair of extremes. In one moment Grandfather Sar would patently guide the young mage through the intricacies of The Weave and spellcraft. The next the old lich would set impossible goals for any budding wizard to attain. And when Modoc would inevitably fail, his master was harsh and unforgiving. Evidence of the lich's cruelty was most evident at the end of his time at Kingsgrave Manor.
He was told by Grandfather Sar to prepared to a journey to the Shadowfell, no doubt so the lich could achieve some seceret end. The process seemed simple; an aperture opened like a jaw, and swallowed them and they passed into another space. But something happened when the pair attempted to plane shift. And an error left Modoc separated from his master and alone in the Feywild.
At first he could only stare, open-mouthed, stuned at the resplendent natural beauty before him. But he was soon shocked out of this trance. The sound of his master's voice boomed inside of his head. "Return triumphant or die forgetten" the old lich said, and then it was silent. By happenstance or destiny, Modoc had entered the Feywild in the territory of a Brass dragon named Parthanax. The dragon kept a keen eye on its domain and quickly "collected" the spellcaster as a sort of curio. Parthanax brought Modoc back to it's lair, "The Grand Hall of Conversation" where it spent the majority of its time entertaining friends and visitors. The lair also contained an elegant foyer, a gallery for the artwork the dragon collected, sleeping chambers, of course a treasure vault that housed the dragons horde. Pathanax loved to engage his guest in hours of long winded debate, and Modoc was no exception. This environment suited the young mage and he spent countless hours in deep conversation with the dragon and it's visitors. During his time in the Feywild, Modoc learned answers to questions his had not know to ask. After some months with the dragon he was able to convince Pathanax to send him back to the Material Plane.
Seems pretty thought out so far. Some questions to help you along:
1.) Does Modoc want to go back to his grandfather-master? Does he consider his new adventuring carrier his long and wandering triumphant journey home?
2.) Where did he end up after leaving the dragon? Are you just going to drop him off wherever he might gather with a group of other adventurers at the start of a game session, or do you want your character to wander the realms a bit before finding some new friends?
3.) When does your character's powers of divination and prophesy come into the picture? I remember you mentioning that earlier, but you sort of left it out in your main story.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Seems pretty thought out so far. Some questions to help you along:
1.) Does Modoc want to go back to his grandfather-master? Does he consider his new adventuring carrier his long and wandering triumphant journey home?
2.) Where did he end up after leaving the dragon? Are you just going to drop him off wherever he might gather with a group of other adventurers at the start of a game session, or do you want your character to wander the realms a bit before finding some new friends?
3.) When does your character's powers of divination and prophesy come into the picture? I remember you mentioning that earlier, but you sort of left it out in your main story.
Seems pretty thought out so far. Some questions to help you along:
1.) Does Modoc want to go back to his grandfather-master? Does he consider his new adventuring carrier his long and wandering triumphant journey home?
2.) Where did he end up after leaving the dragon? Are you just going to drop him off wherever he might gather with a group of other adventurers at the start of a game session, or do you want your character to wander the realms a bit before finding some new friends?
3.) When does your character's powers of divination and prophesy come into the picture? I remember you mentioning that earlier, but you sort of left it out in your main story.
1.) Thats what I'm having trouble answering. I don't know if I should start the adventure at the point that he returns to the material plane and beging his journey home. Or after he made it back and was sent away for whatever reason. Or if now that he back he is going his own way.
2.) Depends on #1
3.) I tried to his at the liches history as a diviner with title imperial dreamer and the visions and also the table of hair braids qhich is a scrying tool. But maybe it isnt apperant enough.
In that case, it seems your story is a great jumping off point to your character starting his adventuring life. I think your backstory is good enough for a DM to find some interesting nuggets to work with, while also allowing you a goal of sorts and a reason to be wandering out and about in the world. Run with that and let adventure take you where it will.
Yeah, your diviner bit didn't come through very clearly. It's okay though.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
So Ive built a 7th level CG human wizard (divination) sage: researcher background, Ive named Modoc the Magnificent and I want to create a backstory for this character, but Im no writer. Thats where I was hoping you gracious and illustrious bunch may come to my aid. I dont know how to flesh this character out, Im drawing a total blank. The one idea I had was that I thought it would be intresting to have his mentor be a lich who trained him for...reasons? Who knows liches are essentially just nerds who couldnt read enough books while alive so they went all magic zombie so they could keep nerding out in their evil basement, I mean lair. Maybe just needed and apprentice to return his books to Candlekeep so he wasnt getting killed in late fees? Thoughts?
Seems like a solid starting premise. Not all liches are necessarily evil, though they do tend to slant towards uncaring after so many years of no longer having a mortal coil. It would be interesting to know a few things about your character and his master; presumably:
Start there and see where that takes you.
I love these thank so much these ideas will help alot in my quest for a backstory.
Another thing to consider, if your lich master is still "alive" is that they may have some sort of notoriety in the local area and being known as a student of the lich may color how people react to your character. Some may see you as an accomplice in the lich's more unsavory dealings, while others may see you as either a captive or unwilling lieutenant who broke free of the lich's control and now travels the land, fighting back your former master's forces and doing your best to even your moral debt.
I think it really depends if you want your character to be good or evil
I think it is easier for the Apprentice to be from a pre-lichdom time. It saves a lot of tropes and cliches.
I would be tempted to have them to involved in the creation of the phylactery the sealed metal box. Perhaps they could be the ones that transcribed magical phrases onto strips of parchment. They could either feel guilt for what they have done. Want to join there masters side. Or even (not particularly believable I think) have them realise their mistake and seek to correct a transcribe before the transformation wears off.
Notice: Incoming Wall of Text
So this is my first attempt at a detailed background and I would love some feedback. Feel free to make suggestions, edit, or alter this so that it make sense and flows correctly. My grammer isnt the best so bear that in mind.
I also need help with and ending so any suggestions there would be apprenticed.
House Talonmist traces their lineage back to the great Sardikar Tahlaunmiiz, Imperial Dreamer of Calimshan, who fled north from Calimport with his family. After being granted a vision fortelling of the Red Plague of -990 DR. As a result Sardikar became obsessed with disease and death, he would later turn to dark arts and necromancy. Seeking to tease out the secrets of lichdom, as a means of forestalling his death; and by extension guiding and securing the legacy of his lineage.
Since then the family has dwelt in the lands that now surround the town of Westgate, near Waterdeep. Acting as a reclusive, low-profile family of traders while slowly gathering magical lore and secerts as they bred and scattered across the Sword Coast. Though throughout the centuries, those descendants of House Talonmist who showed an aptitude for the arcane mysteries would be sent off the family seat of "Kingsgrave Manor". Where they were to apprentice under the immutable patriarch, the lich Sardikar Tahlaunmiiz.
In recent years the Talonmist family has been embroiled in a simmering fued with the Harpells, an upstart family of wizards from Longsaddle. Whom have disrupted Talonmist activities and acquisitions in the past. Members of the opposing families have even been known to engage in duels to the death when tensions boil over. The Talonmists also harbor a cold relationship with the Red Wizards, seeing the new expansion of the merchant-mages into the Sword Coast as a threat to the family business.
It is in this time, some 2,500 years after the exodus from Calimshan, that Modoc was born. The second of Jaheira and Ajantis Talonmist's three children, his early child was free of any significant turmoil or crisis. Modoc's parents made their living as spice merchants in the bustling port city of Waterdeep; and while they were not wealthy, they lived a comfortable lifestyle. This afforded their children the opportunity to receive an education. It was in this evironment of learning and study the Modoc began to thrive. He read voraciously, sometimes late into the night and would often be scolded by his mother, for using to many candles when caught.
However, it would not be long before Modoc's education became a source of umbrage. The normally peaceful home would erupt with cantankerous argument. As the young savant challenged the teachings of his tutors, in subjects that encompassed everything from theological matters, to natual theories, and even the wonders of the higher mysteries. The study was often a room in the throws of raucous debate, in which Modoc's energy was spent disputing, correcting, and badgering his tutors. All the while demanding evidence of their teachings. Invariably these educators would resign amid a string of curses as they stormed from the family home. These resignations began to become a burden on the family finances, we well as a disruption to the education of their other children. Finding no other recourse for the dangerous intellect of their son the parents decided it was time. They sent a message, and received a response. Modoc was to be delivered to Kingsgrave Manor, where he would examined and tested; and if he was deemed worthy he would be formally apprenticed to the venerable "Gandfather Sar".
The precocious youth was sent east by carrage and arrived at an ancient fortified manor house set atop one of the rolling hills north of the town of Westgate. The manor itself seemed to be built over many centuries. With evidence of several different construction phases and techniques, giving the structure an overall disjointed and bizarre appearance. Once emitted into the enigmatic buillding Modoc was questioned at length. Scrutinized by robed men and women of unclear relation to the boy though they bore a distinct resemblance to his father. Eventually he was taken to an antechamber deep in the vaults under the manor, the door to the room beyond was covered in luminous blue runes. At this point his robed guides instructed Modoc to "Wait here" before the pair turned and hurried from the crypt-like atmosphere of the vaults.
Several hours passed before the door swung open as if by some invisible force. It took Modoc a moment to summon to courage to enter. When he did the scene the greeted the boy nearly overwhelmed his senses. Smoke from burning incense hung in several gilded brazers purfuming the air. A small library's worth of the tombs and scrolls sat in a massive, over stuffed, and many more lay stacked on the floor and tables throughout the room. A number of crystals arcing electricity, hovered in place, occasionally shifted from one side of the room to the other. In a corner sat wooden talbe of polished wood holds carefully arranged and straightened lengths of hair. Each set is tied together with bright blue string. The sigil of house Talonmist covered much of the floor. The design is cut into the floor and its tiny channels are full of glistening mercury. In the center of the room stood the desiccated and mummified figure of Grandfather Sar. He was clothed in ivory colored robes trimed with gold, his fingers and throat heavy with jewellery. Small crystaline stones floated above his head, atop which sat a circlet made of opalecent stone. The only thing that kept the boy from fleeing the chamber was sheer awe. As Gandfather Sar reached out a skeletal hand to gesture the youth forward he said "You need not fear me my child. But know this, your existence shall be that, which I weave for you out of sorrow and woe."
Initially Modoc split the majority of his days either assisting his master with alchemical experiments, deep in study, or carefully aiding with embalming rituals to fortify the liches deteriorating form. But as time. Though as the years progressed Modoc's apprenticeship became an affair of extremes. In one moment Grandfather Sar would patently guide the young mage through the intricacies of The Weave and spellcraft. The next the old lich would set impossible goals for any budding wizard to attain. And when Modoc would inevitably fail, his master was harsh and unforgiving. Evidence of the lich's cruelty was most evident at the end of his time at Kingsgrave Manor.
He was told by Grandfather Sar to prepared to a journey to the Shadowfell, no doubt so the lich could achieve some seceret end. The process seemed simple; an aperture opened like a jaw, and swallowed them and they passed into another space. But something happened when the pair attempted to plane shift. And an error left Modoc separated from his master and alone in the Feywild.
At first he could only stare, open-mouthed, stuned at the resplendent natural beauty before him. But he was soon shocked out of this trance. The sound of his master's voice boomed inside of his head. "Return triumphant or die forgetten" the old lich said, and then it was silent. By happenstance or destiny, Modoc had entered the Feywild in the territory of a Brass dragon named Parthanax. The dragon kept a keen eye on its domain and quickly "collected" the spellcaster as a sort of curio. Parthanax brought Modoc back to it's lair, "The Grand Hall of Conversation" where it spent the majority of its time entertaining friends and visitors. The lair also contained an elegant foyer, a gallery for the artwork the dragon collected, sleeping chambers, of course a treasure vault that housed the dragons horde. Pathanax loved to engage his guest in hours of long winded debate, and Modoc was no exception. This environment suited the young mage and he spent countless hours in deep conversation with the dragon and it's visitors. During his time in the Feywild, Modoc learned answers to questions his had not know to ask. After some months with the dragon he was able to convince Pathanax to send him back to the Material Plane.
[Help me end this story]
Seems pretty thought out so far. Some questions to help you along:
1.) Does Modoc want to go back to his grandfather-master? Does he consider his new adventuring carrier his long and wandering triumphant journey home?
2.) Where did he end up after leaving the dragon? Are you just going to drop him off wherever he might gather with a group of other adventurers at the start of a game session, or do you want your character to wander the realms a bit before finding some new friends?
3.) When does your character's powers of divination and prophesy come into the picture? I remember you mentioning that earlier, but you sort of left it out in your main story.
In that case, it seems your story is a great jumping off point to your character starting his adventuring life. I think your backstory is good enough for a DM to find some interesting nuggets to work with, while also allowing you a goal of sorts and a reason to be wandering out and about in the world. Run with that and let adventure take you where it will.
Yeah, your diviner bit didn't come through very clearly. It's okay though.
Ill just change imperial dreamer to imperial diviner...problem solved, lol.