I like creating characters with awesome backstory which includes a long description about the family, house, etc, etc..... but, when I have to place that family in the Faerun Continent I found there's a tedious data it disturbs/bothers me.
If the campaign starts in a tavern , let's say in Baldur's Gate city but my character lives in the city of Alaghôn ( Turmish province ), then how can I describe the way I ended up in that tavern, although it's so so so far away ????
I only saw one option, I had to ""hire"" a high leveled wizard just to cast Dimension Door during so many days. I haven't count them but, I suspect if the characters can move up to 30 ft per turn, then they cast this spell, and later they repeat this over & over, I think it's a tough effort for the caster. So, since this spell has only a verbal component and nothing else, how many days I, or we, could spend in such ""travel"" ??? Is it cheaper than hiring a chart with 1 horse (( because I would need the enough space to carry the food and water for me )) ?? Or are there any other better options ??
I saw some DMs just needs that information, because of the obvious nonsense "" what are you doing here if you live in the so-so-so- far away land "". Can anyone hlp me with this ??
It is very obviously 1,000,000,000... x more expensive than getting a horse. It's not only absurdly expensive, but also ridiculously slow. A level 20 wizard can only cast that nine times per day, so that's less than a mile. There is a very obvious option. Walk. Your character has feet, don't they??? Why you're there is unrelated to you going 20 times slower for infinitely more cost than walking.
I like creating characters with awesome backstory which includes a long description about the family, house, etc, etc..... but, when I have to place that family in the Faerun Continent I found there's a tedious data it disturbs/bothers me.
If the campaign starts in a tavern , let's say in Baldur's Gate city but my character lives in the city of Alaghôn ( Turmish province ), then how can I describe the way I ended up in that tavern, although it's so so so far away ????
I only saw one option, I had to ""hire"" a high leveled wizard just to cast Dimension Door during so many days. I haven't count them but, I suspect if the characters can move up to 30 ft per turn, then they cast this spell, and later they repeat this over & over, I think it's a tough effort for the caster. So, since this spell has only a verbal component and nothing else, how many days I, or we, could spend in such ""travel"" ??? Is it cheaper than hiring a chart with 1 horse (( because I would need the enough space to carry the food and water for me )) ?? Or are there any other better options ??
I saw some DMs just needs that information, because of the obvious nonsense "" what are you doing here if you live in the so-so-so- far away land "". Can anyone hlp me with this ??
Depending on your character, wild magic, random portal through the feywild, just exploring in exotic places or a simple Teleportation Circle.
Maybe your character paid around 2,000 gold in order to travel to Balder’s Gate, simple enough, definitely cheaper than constant dimension doors.
I saw some DMs just needs that information, because of the obvious nonsense "" what are you doing here if you live in the so-so-so- far away land "". Can anyone hlp me with this ??
You are completely missing the point of the question. It does not matter "how" your character got to Baldur's Gate, they could have walked, ridden a horse, flown on the back of a griffin etc... But none of that matters. What matters is "why" your character went to Baldur's Gate. What is their motivation for being there? Why did they leave their home? Why won't they just return home the moment something bad happens? Why are they willing to risk their life to go on adventures?
When creating a character background, you shouldn't be doing it in a vacuum.
Ultimately, the primary goal of a background is to give you a reason to be doing the sort of things a PC will be doing. It helps a lot if it gives you connections to the actual game that's being run, in particular the other players. This doesn't rule out being a noble(?) from far away, but it makes for a lot more work, and usually more contrivance.
(Also, your background shouldn't try to give you resources and abilities beyond a starting character. If your background says you have the resources to hire a wizard to get you to waterdeep, where did they all go? Because in actual play, you have starting money and gear, and whatever else the DM chooses to give you, and that's it.)
which includes a long description about the family, house, etc, etc..... but, when I have to place that family in the Faerun Continent I found there's a tedious data it disturbs/bothers me
If you like doing that for fun go ahead, but be aware your DM is not going to read that. That is something you are doing for you and no one else. What your DM wants from a backstory is:
1) What is going to motivate your character to go on an adventure? 2) What will scare/worry or create drama for your character? 3) What will cause your character to have internal conflict? 4) What does your character need to grow beyond or get closure over?
For a DM, character backstories are mainly:
sources of inspiration for creating adventures - e.g. if a character's family was killed, maybe there can be an adventure to find and punish the killer; or if a character's loved one disappeared, maybe one of the adventures is finding out what happened to that character.
sources for NPCs that the player characters care about - e.g. in a competition rather than the party's opponents being random NPCs, maybe it is the childhood bully of one of the player characters; or rather than the evil cult capturing random NPCs as hostages, maybe it's the brother of one of the player characters.
sources for adventure hooks - e.g. if a character is broke, then maybe the quest giver offers a big money payout for completing the job; if instead a character feels guilty for some evil they did in the past, then maybe the quest is instead to save some kids who have gotten themselves into trouble.
I saw some DMs just needs that information, because of the obvious nonsense "" what are you doing here if you live in the so-so-so- far away land "". Can anyone hlp me with this ??
You are completely missing the point of the question. It does not matter "how" your character got to Baldur's Gate, they could have walked, ridden a horse, flown on the back of a griffin etc... But none of that matters. What matters is "why" your character went to Baldur's Gate. What is their motivation for being there? Why did they leave their home? Why won't they just return home the moment something bad happens? Why are they willing to risk their life to go on adventures?
Asd I said before, if the Campaign starts in a diferent city than the one I live, then tell how I can reach that city//village//inn//whatever..... that's the point of the question. I know the motivation it's important too but, if the DM just needs an specific info, then tell me again How I can explain it ???
I saw some DMs just needs that information, because of the obvious nonsense "" what are you doing here if you live in the so-so-so- far away land "". Can anyone hlp me with this ??
You are completely missing the point of the question. It does not matter "how" your character got to Baldur's Gate, they could have walked, ridden a horse, flown on the back of a griffin etc... But none of that matters. What matters is "why" your character went to Baldur's Gate. What is their motivation for being there? Why did they leave their home? Why won't they just return home the moment something bad happens? Why are they willing to risk their life to go on adventures?
Asd I said before, if the Campaign starts in a diferent city than the one I live, then tell how I can reach that city//village//inn//whatever..... that's the point of the question. I know the motivation it's important too but, if the DM just needs an specific info, then tell me again How I can explain it ???
I know the motivation it's important too but, if the DM just needs an specific info, then tell me again How I can explain it ???
I'm not sure I understand your question but here's a few examples:
Juliet was exiled from her home after falling in love with Romeo, a member of her family's arch nemesis. However, her brother Tybalt murdered Romeo in a fit of rage before the couple could escape. So Juliet fled in the dead of night, hiring a carriage by pawning the ring, Romeo had given her, to take her to the nearest port and stowing away on a random ship. That ship happened to belong to a spice merchant who took pity on her and agreed to hire her on for the rest of his journey which left her in Baldur's Gate with naught but a handful of coins, and a desire to build a new life.
Indie was a young archaeologist, with a fire-y temper and intense passion for rare relics and antiquities. However, the senior members of his college didn't appreciate his wild theories of lost artifacts of long-forgotten gods and he was denied promotion. Furious, he quit the academy and set out on his own committed to proving his theories correct. He's come to Baldur's Gate seeking a black-market merchant who claims to have a map to the lots temple of Telitoquian.
Merlin was the youngest son of a farmer, and grandson of a farmer, and greatgrandson of a farmer. But when one day he conjured a bolt of fire with his mind, his parents knew his destiny lay beyond their farming community. They put together all the savings they could and sent him on his way to the nearest major city: Baldur's Gate, to seek training and purpose for his talents.
Elija was the eldest son of House Sheba, but when invaders conquered his lands and murdered his family he was forced to flee. However his guardian was shot during their flight and quickly fell ill, leaving Daniel to fend for himself. Adopting a commoner's disguise and the new name Freidrick, he took up work as a courier hoping to keep track of news from his home. However, a few weeks ago during one of his jobs he was kidnapped by bandits and brought to Baldur's Gate to be sold into slavery. Fortunately he escaped, killing a bandit on his way. Now wanted for murder, he hides amidst the scum of the city, looking for a way out and to safety and to take his revenge on the bandit leader.
Elizabeth was the daughter of a rich shipping magnate, however when pirates attacked her ship and took her hostage she found herself preferring their free and emotive culture over the reserved restrictive snobbery of the nobility. She joined the crew working her way up to first mate before a Kraken destroyed their ship. Elizabeth washed up on the shore of Baldur's Gate, half-drown and with nothing but the clothes on her back. Now she seeks to rebuild her fortune and find out what happened to the rest of her crew.
Brother Phillip is a devout follower of [GOD of your choice], he when he came of age he set out on a pilgrimage to prove his faith. This pilgrimage he decided would be to visit every temple of his god, having arrived in Baldur's Gate a few days ago, he was immediately robbed of his wealth and now must seek work to pay his debt at the Inn and well as save up to complete the rest of his journey.
I had this exact thing happen to one of my chars on one campaing in Midgard (Kobold Press) where the campaing started in Zobeck (the central city in the map basically) and my char (because background) was a wizard from an academy in a wizard country very far away.
The solution discussed with the DM was, "your character was doing an exchange program in Zobecks wizard academy, you have Y tutor as a contact". How I got there was actually unnecesary: either a couch that traveled safely for months or the wizard tutors just used the teleportation circles in the academies or something like that.
In the end I do this on all my characters, think on their background and place in the world, then talk with the DM to finish the story on how/why the char ended up in starting city/meeting place. Sometimes I have an specific goal in mind, others the DM puts a twist in the background.
Asd I said before, if the Campaign starts in a diferent city than the one I live, then tell how I can reach that city//village//inn//whatever..... that's the point of the question. I know the motivation it's important too but, if the DM just needs an specific info, then tell me again How I can explain it ???
If you know the why, the how is likely obvious or irrelevant. In most settings, long-distance travel isn't that hard or unusual.
And if you've designed a character who has no good reason to be so far away from their home, they're not a good character, at least for the campaign you're playing.
You have the creative drive to prepare a complete, detailed backstory but cannot conceive of a method for your character to travel to the starting location of the campaign?
Are you generating these characters in a vacuum or as participants in a campaign?
Best option is to change your backstory to dovetail with the campaign. Maybe work backwards from where your character needs to end up.
Years ago, Judges Guild put out an archaic name guide that gave archaic names derived from various residences and occupations. I would combine that guide with the various Player's Guides for the Forgotten Realms (and/or other campaign worlds) to create plausible back stories. As to how I got from a rural village to a metropolis? Well, I either walked or I was hired as a guard for a passing trade caravan. The latter is preferable because it lets you have a couple wilderness skills that are not often seen in a village or town setting.
By the way, ethnic German surnames ending with the 'er' suffix ARE derived from an ancestor's place of residence, or an occupation, or an unusual nickname. I have a real life friend whose surname means 'Alpine valley pasture owner'.
Years ago, Judges Guild put out an archaic name guide that gave archaic names derived from various residences and occupations. I would combine that guide with the various Player's Guides for the Forgotten Realms (and/or other campaign worlds) to create plausible back stories. As to how I got from a rural village to a metropolis? Well, I either walked or I was hired as a guard for a passing trade caravan. The latter is preferable because it lets you have a couple wilderness skills that are not often seen in a village or town setting.
By the way, ethnic German surnames ending with the 'er' suffix ARE derived from an ancestor's place of residence, or an occupation, or an unusual nickname. I have a real life friend whose surname means 'Alpine valley pasture owner'.
oK...... So if you could read my 1º surname backwards it could mean "" ALL -- EVILo """..... So, does that mean my family ancestors belongs to a satanic tribe ??? Who knows.....
I like creating characters with awesome backstory which includes a long description about the family, house, etc, etc..... but, when I have to place that family in the Faerun Continent I found there's a tedious data it disturbs/bothers me.
If the campaign starts in a tavern , let's say in Baldur's Gate city but my character lives in the city of Alaghôn ( Turmish province ), then how can I describe the way I ended up in that tavern, although it's so so so far away ????
I only saw one option, I had to ""hire"" a high leveled wizard just to cast Dimension Door during so many days. I haven't count them but, I suspect if the characters can move up to 30 ft per turn, then they cast this spell, and later they repeat this over & over, I think it's a tough effort for the caster. So, since this spell has only a verbal component and nothing else, how many days I, or we, could spend in such ""travel"" ??? Is it cheaper than hiring a chart with 1 horse (( because I would need the enough space to carry the food and water for me )) ?? Or are there any other better options ??
I saw some DMs just needs that information, because of the obvious nonsense "" what are you doing here if you live in the so-so-so- far away land "". Can anyone hlp me with this ??
My Ready-to-rock&roll chars:
Dertinus Tristany // Amilcar Barca // Vicenç Sacrarius // Oriol Deulofeu // Grovtuk
It is very obviously 1,000,000,000... x more expensive than getting a horse. It's not only absurdly expensive, but also ridiculously slow. A level 20 wizard can only cast that nine times per day, so that's less than a mile. There is a very obvious option. Walk. Your character has feet, don't they??? Why you're there is unrelated to you going 20 times slower for infinitely more cost than walking.
Depending on your character, wild magic, random portal through the feywild, just exploring in exotic places or a simple Teleportation Circle.
Maybe your character paid around 2,000 gold in order to travel to Balder’s Gate, simple enough, definitely cheaper than constant dimension doors.
You are completely missing the point of the question. It does not matter "how" your character got to Baldur's Gate, they could have walked, ridden a horse, flown on the back of a griffin etc... But none of that matters. What matters is "why" your character went to Baldur's Gate. What is their motivation for being there? Why did they leave their home? Why won't they just return home the moment something bad happens? Why are they willing to risk their life to go on adventures?
When creating a character background, you shouldn't be doing it in a vacuum.
Ultimately, the primary goal of a background is to give you a reason to be doing the sort of things a PC will be doing. It helps a lot if it gives you connections to the actual game that's being run, in particular the other players. This doesn't rule out being a noble(?) from far away, but it makes for a lot more work, and usually more contrivance.
(Also, your background shouldn't try to give you resources and abilities beyond a starting character. If your background says you have the resources to hire a wizard to get you to waterdeep, where did they all go? Because in actual play, you have starting money and gear, and whatever else the DM chooses to give you, and that's it.)
If you like doing that for fun go ahead, but be aware your DM is not going to read that. That is something you are doing for you and no one else. What your DM wants from a backstory is:
1) What is going to motivate your character to go on an adventure?
2) What will scare/worry or create drama for your character?
3) What will cause your character to have internal conflict?
4) What does your character need to grow beyond or get closure over?
For a DM, character backstories are mainly:
Asd I said before, if the Campaign starts in a diferent city than the one I live, then tell how I can reach that city//village//inn//whatever..... that's the point of the question. I know the motivation it's important too but, if the DM just needs an specific info, then tell me again How I can explain it ???
My Ready-to-rock&roll chars:
Dertinus Tristany // Amilcar Barca // Vicenç Sacrarius // Oriol Deulofeu // Grovtuk
Does your character have feet?
I'm not sure I understand your question but here's a few examples:
I had this exact thing happen to one of my chars on one campaing in Midgard (Kobold Press) where the campaing started in Zobeck (the central city in the map basically) and my char (because background) was a wizard from an academy in a wizard country very far away.
The solution discussed with the DM was, "your character was doing an exchange program in Zobecks wizard academy, you have Y tutor as a contact". How I got there was actually unnecesary: either a couch that traveled safely for months or the wizard tutors just used the teleportation circles in the academies or something like that.
In the end I do this on all my characters, think on their background and place in the world, then talk with the DM to finish the story on how/why the char ended up in starting city/meeting place. Sometimes I have an specific goal in mind, others the DM puts a twist in the background.
If you know the why, the how is likely obvious or irrelevant. In most settings, long-distance travel isn't that hard or unusual.
And if you've designed a character who has no good reason to be so far away from their home, they're not a good character, at least for the campaign you're playing.
You have the creative drive to prepare a complete, detailed backstory but cannot conceive of a method for your character to travel to the starting location of the campaign?
Are you generating these characters in a vacuum or as participants in a campaign?
Best option is to change your backstory to dovetail with the campaign. Maybe work backwards from where your character needs to end up.
Ok, I 'll try to do it.
My Ready-to-rock&roll chars:
Dertinus Tristany // Amilcar Barca // Vicenç Sacrarius // Oriol Deulofeu // Grovtuk
Years ago, Judges Guild put out an archaic name guide that gave archaic names derived from various residences and occupations. I would combine that guide with the various Player's Guides for the Forgotten Realms (and/or other campaign worlds) to create plausible back stories. As to how I got from a rural village to a metropolis? Well, I either walked or I was hired as a guard for a passing trade caravan. The latter is preferable because it lets you have a couple wilderness skills that are not often seen in a village or town setting.
By the way, ethnic German surnames ending with the 'er' suffix ARE derived from an ancestor's place of residence, or an occupation, or an unusual nickname. I have a real life friend whose surname means 'Alpine valley pasture owner'.
oK...... So if you could read my 1º surname backwards it could mean "" ALL -- EVILo """..... So, does that mean my family ancestors belongs to a satanic tribe ??? Who knows.....
huh ???
My Ready-to-rock&roll chars:
Dertinus Tristany // Amilcar Barca // Vicenç Sacrarius // Oriol Deulofeu // Grovtuk