Hello! I've recently purchased a D&D 5e Adventure book, and would like to run this adventure here! I think I can handle at least 2 players, and at most 5 players. If a lot of people are interested, I might try making more campaigns for all those interested in playing this. I don't know. Now, I am somewhat new to DMing, so be warned that I'm going to try to stick to the main story for the most part. That's not to say that I'm opposed to creative angles and tactics. Anyway...
This recruitment period will last until this coming saturday (July 14) at earliest, and next Monday (July 16) at the latest.
ADVENTURE BACKGROUND (from the book):
A mysterious shadow fey known as the Dusk Queen left the Winter Court and came to a forest of shadows where she ruled the land from a great stone tower. Although capable of surprising acts of kindness, a vast majority of her reign was marked by cruelty, violence, and death. At some point the Dusk Queen encountered a powerful Wizard from a land of pitiless, burning sun and endless sand traveling in her realm for unknown reasons. Against all logic, they fell in love, eventually exchanging dark and secret vows in the queen's throne room. Because of his homeland, the wizard came to be known as the Sun King.
The two were happy in their own, strange way until the queen had a magical mirror created. This powerful item, which was infused with the shadowy strands of the Dusk Queen's very life essence, greatly expanded her powers and her ambition. The mirror allowed her to spy on her enemies (both real and imagined), cast powerful spells through it across vast distances, and even magically transport herself or her minions to the farthest locations.The Dusk Queen used her mirror with rapidly growing paranoia and zeal, wreaking havoc and death throughout the land. The Sun King found it more and more difficult to overlook the Queen's escalating acts of evil and violence. When he learned the Dusk Queen was secretly planning on invading his homeland, the Sun King knew he had to act.
In the deepest part of a cold, moonless night, the Sun King wove his most powerful spells while the Dusk Queen slept, magically banishing her to a hidden and unknown prison. Once she was gone, the wizard smashed the Dusk Queen's mirror and departed the tower, vowing never to return.
The Sun King's magic did not work as he had planned, however. Due perhaps to the lingering spark of love he still harbored within his heart, the Dusk Queen's magical imprisonment was not permanent. Likewise, the destruction of her mirror was also incomplete--five shards of glass exploded from the mirror and, impossibly, came to rest in various locations throughout the surrounding forest, waiting to be found....
REQUIREMENTS:
Character Requirements:
Level 8 Characters
No Homebrew (I would prefer this over looking over Homebrew things in order to approve of their usage.)
Any Backstory (I don't really mind your character's origin as long as it doesn't go too far from a fantasy setting. You will, however, need to state your character's reasons for coming to the forest in the first place.)
Player Requirements:
Active participation (We all have personal lives, I know. We can't always be here to post at least once every day, but I do have to mention that a lack of participation will take away from the fun of other, and if someone takes too long to post, I would have to either skip their turn, or remove them from the RP altogether. If something pops up in your life that'll prevent you from posting for a certain amount of time, please let me or your fellow players know so we don't have to do either.)
Patience (Again, we all have personal lives to deal with. If something pops up, and you can't post, let me and your fellow characters know, and we'll either wait or figure something out.)
Liam the Weak: Level 4 Human Fighter - Trying to fight against his other personality, and constantly losing.
Aodh: Level 20 Half-Elf Cleric of Life - Not really. It's a strange being that had possessed and broke down a level 20 Cleric of Life Domain, gaining his knowledge and power.
"*****": Level 1 Tiefling Sorcerer - Her family is dead, and her will is broken. She follows orders so that those that command her will allow her to die.
Backstory: Desarian grew up in a small village. One day, the local Lord from the closest keep visited the village with his family as they were traveling through and Desarian fell hopelessly in love with the lord's daughter. He courted her in secret for months, but eventually they were caught. The lord was furious, sending soldiers to arrest the boy. Desarian fled for his life, escaping to the forest. He learned to fend for himself, finding berries and trapping small animals for food. One day he encounted an old man in the forest, a druid, who offered to train him in his ways. Desarian trained with the man for years until the old man eventually died. After that, Desarian remained in the forest as it's protector.
Despair grew up in the city of Valmeria, shunned by others due to his heritage. Survival was a daily struggle, petty thefts a common occurrence. That was until this fateful day when Despair met Lord Samuel of Harringdale a noble Paladin sworn to the Oath of Redemption. He saw a potential for good in Despair and took him in as his personal protege. He taught him in the ways of faith and mercy, gave him a purpose in life and Despair changed to Hope Ekad.
What Hope lacked in combat prowess he made up by his eagerness to learn and improve to the point of perfection. He also took care of most of his lordships administrative needs.
When Lord Samuel learned of the Dusk Queens cruel reign he decided to confront her in an effort to pursuade her to refrain from violence. One night around midnight cries of pain echoed through the camp of Lord Samuel. When Hope reached his masters tent he could only watch in horror as shades sucked away Lord Samuels life force.
It was at this point that Hope Ekad became Weltschmerz Ekahokad realising his masters way wasn't going to help against beings such as the Dusk Queen. So he took a different path and swore an Oath of Redemption to avenge his masters death and punish those commiting crimes and injustices.
Given the mediocre fighter he was Weltschmerz knew that he would need more than his training to accomplish his goals. He contacted agents of Levistus willing to strike a bargain to reach these goals. Not foolish enough to become beholden to Levistus himself Weltschmerz when offered the hexblade Criognis in exchange for a small favor accepted a pact with a his sword. Ever since he and his sword invoke the fear of judgement in the hearts of wrongdoers whereever they cross paths.
When Weltschmerz heard rumors of problems in the Dusk Queens forest he decided to investigate himself in order to prevent the return of this foul creature or to fulfill his vows should the queen return and slay her once and for all.
Backstory: I ran out from civilisation to get away from the noise and seek peace and enlightenment. I have not yet found my peace and enlightenment for the 40 I've been in the forest but...... I hope to find it soon.
Backstory: Born in the time of plague, Eudith was a sickly child whose friends and relatives were often sickly or dying themselves. Perhaps to cope with that she developed an interest in matters of life and death, finding beauty in both. When she was of age she learned the arts of healing and hospice from the local medicine woman, finding that she had a natural talent for both preserving life and gently taking it. In her morbid curiosity she has even experimented on a small scale with the forces of unlife. After her training was complete, she decided to wander a bit to help people and animals live, and die, comfortably. It is this wandering that has brought her to the Dusk Queen's shadowy forest where the boundary of life and death seems particularly weak.
Backstory: Rengar is a ferocious trophy hunter who lives for the thrill of tracking down and killing dangerous creatures. He scours the world for the most fearsome beasts he can find, especially seeking any trace of the elusive creature who scratched out his eye. Rengar stalks his prey neither for food nor glory, but for the sheer beauty of the pursuit. Rengar has noticed some changes in the Forest of Shadows he calls home as of late. Things don’t seem.. normal anymore and he wants to find out why.
Ryman's childhood was rough. From an early age, it was as if fate sought to make him as miserable as it could; his mother died after his birth and his father, a drunkard would often beat him for the smallest things. For years he endured under that dominating fist, often taking out his own frustrations on younger kids in the streets and constantly getting into fights. Things got worse when he ended beating a city guard's son so bad the boy was on death's doorstep, and without even a trial Ryman was thrown in jail. His father petitioned to get him out, but the guards ignored him and eventually his father quit on him and for years Ryman was rotting in that prison. Scrawny and skinny, at the age of fifteen a finely dressed man entered his underground jail cell gave him a look over and within the next day, Ryman was out.
Instead of being freed, he found himself shackled and chained on the back of a cart along with few other prisoners with various ages. A few days they traveled and soon came upon a war camp where he was shoved into a line and yelled at in a language he barely knew. The following years were harsh and brutal, he was beaten relentlessly and sometimes even tortured because some of the men in the war camp were bored. Several months later, he was brought into a line again and given a sword and told he was going to fight for his life or die, and a part of him wanted to give in then, but another part wanted to prove all other shits in the camp that he was worth something and not just some play thing for them to amuse themselves with. Thus, his training began and a few weeks after his first battle, which through sheer luck alone he survived. Then, more training and even more battles until he found himself training new recruits, torturing them just as he was tortured. With every subsequent year he rose through the ranks until the mercenary band were called in to war between the humans and elves, and the leader saw their fortune with the elves.
Alas, it wasn't meant to be. In a pitched battle against the humans in an effort to capture a highly sought after fort, the elves and his mercenary band in particular were defeated and ruined. Ryman found himself once more in chains as a prisoner of war where he was taken to a city and met a strange man from the south. On their way to the prisons, Ryman found a friend in the man who he came to learn was named Neddy, who offered him a great sum of money if he helped him escape. Seeing an opportunity and a chance at a real friend, Ryman agreed and the two managed escape in the dead of night some two weeks later, boarded a riverboat and made their way south to Neddy's city. Once there, as a sort of payment, Neddy offered to teach Ryman what he knew of the art of swordsmanship, Ryman told him he already knew how to fight and when Neddy offered to spar, Ryman was quickly humiliated.
Thus, his training as a swordsman began, first with footwork and basic combinations followed by more complex routines that built on top of each other. Several years later, his savage attack style was changed into a more elegant form where he flowed with deadly precision. He stayed with Neddy thereafter where they continued to train together, sparring often and talking at long lengths until one day while he was walking the streets of the city he met one of the men that was in his squad. They talked a while in a tavern where Ryman learned the name of the man that had taken him from the dungeon's of the city, he also learned he was the only recruit to have been tortured on the orders of that man and that he was currently seen near the Dusk Queen's forest.
Against Neddy's advice, Ryman gathered his things and headed for the forest.
Dromarch was born to mortal humans in their material realm, but they both died when he was very young. He was raised in his Marid uncle's reef palace on the vast ocean floor of the Elemental Plane of Water - not a welcome place for visitors, but for an estranged princeling such as himself, an aquatic paradise. He was too distant in the chain of succession to ever be in true consideration for the throne, and his human ancestry would have made him unpopular anyway. Instead, he was afforded the luxuries of wealth without any of the responsibilities of royalty.
It all went south when a strange visitor arrived one day, all tentacles and foreign tongue and secret fire. Dromarch's memories of that day are vague, but he seems to recall the palace burning in flames unquenched by the neverending sea before some magic gone awry banished him to the plane of his birth. His going was rough at first as he had to adapt to poverty, adversity, and dry land, but Dromarch picked himself up by the bootstraps and eked out a living as an adventurer-for-hire.
Always he is in search of a way back to his primordial home, but a clear path seems ever to elude him. In his journeys, Dromarch has come to understand that the crossing of planes has troubled far more lives than just his own, and many of them much more permanently. Such experiences have filled him with compassion for the victims of wayward magics, and have lead him to seek out the visitations of otherworldly creatures to end the influences they have on the material plane. On one such journey, he followed rumours and traces of knowledge leading to a malignant fey gloom haunting a forest of shadows - and if the adventuring company tasked with dealing with it would have him, then here would his next story begin...
I'll go ahead and warn that I won't be able to post often (if at all) for a period from the end of July to mid-August. If you'll be okay with that, I'd love to be a part of this! If it's a non-start, I'll take no offence at being passed over for other players.
Hi, I would love to join this campaign! I've been wanting to play a magic enhanced archer and have been looking at various Bard or Fey pact Warlock builds and imagining backstories involving the Seelie/Summer court, etc. It seems perfect here.
Name: Kirra Sunsinger
Race: Elf (Eladrin)
Class: Rogue 1 / Lore Bard 6 / Fighter 1 (basically she’s an arcane archer and all around skill monkey)
Background: Courtier
Backstory: Kirra’s parents were part of the Summer Court in the Feywilds and she had the privilege to meet Titania herself when she was very young.After Kirra had shown significant promise in harnessing the Fey magics of her world and her parents had moved on to the outer planes, Titania took a special interest in Kirra and had her trained as an agent of the Summer Court.Now, after many other assignments have allowed her to gain worldly experience and practice with song, spell, sword, and most importantly bow, she has been sent by Titania to find out what truly happened to the evil Dusk Queen.(Brief version, but Kirra will surely have stories to tell via word and song of her other adventures in Faerun to get her where she is today!)
Backstory: Like so many adventurers, Laurine did not have a normal childhood; her father was a snakeoil salesman and her mother used her feminine wiles to charm others from the coin. As such Laurine grew up learning how to take advantage of those not sharp enough to protect themselves from simple cons. Sadly, that almost meant her when the day came and she could not keep up with her parents as they were attempting to evade capture from an angry mob and she became lost in thick wilderness. In the following days of thirst and starvation, she stumbled upon a dryad's grove and was taken in by the fey creature, saving the young woman's life. The dryad asked nothing in return, save that she remember the kindness of the fey and spread her story. Such kindness was alien to Laurine and she did not understand, but as she regained her strength, she was exposed to another outlook on life, one that favored a less selfish nature and she wanted to learn more...
She asked to remain with the dryad for a time to experience more of this different life and found she enjoyed her time with the dryad, whom turned out to be more than a simple fey creature. She was in fact, an Archfey that seemed to see something inside Laurine of which she was unaware herself and asked the young half-elf to be her champion. Laurine was gifted with a magnificent blade called 'Stargard'. She learned much from the Archfey, who promised her power in return for championing their cause wherever she went; Stargard would be her guide and her tie with her patron.
I kept her background decidedly vague for now as there is not much to go on setting-wise, plus I like to really flesh out the small details as I get to know the characters sometimes. Normally my backgrounds a bit longer than this, but I like the change of pace! If you need/like more information before closing out recruitment, let me know and i'll gladly provide!
Backstory: Aqin comes from a long line of sorcerers. They are rich, they are stuck up, and they have questionable morals. Aqin probably the least selfish of his clan but he still has a tendency to look out for himself and his ultimate goal -- to prove he is the best. Much like the rest of his family Aqin simply goes by Stormbringer. Family reunions are few and far between so its less confusing than you'd expect, however, not without its caveats. Depending on which of his kin has passed through a town the simple mention of the name will bring fear (his brother Charles, corrupted by power if he hadn't burned a town to the ground he has definitely done quite a few unmentionables) or joy (his uncle Fev can never turn a blind eye to someone in need, he's spent years helping towns when he only planned to be there days). Even though his family varies on the spectrum of good and evil they are all proud and respectful of each other's accomplishments because of course "A win for one is a win for all" the motto of The Stormbringer Family.
This would be my first pbp and I've only been in a couple campaigns, hope you find my character interesting!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gash- Lvl14 Goblin Wizard - The High Court of the Aasimar Queen
Backstory: For her whole life Norlaith had known nothing but her mother's library, where she had been hidden away due to who she was. She was born to an elven mother after a secret love affair between her mother and father, a silver dragon . At first, she had a wonderful childhood raised by both parents. Until her father's true identity was figured out by the elven village and he had been hunted, forced to run away and she, forced into hiding. Her whole life was spent sneaking out and trying to live and find out what might have happened to her father. Although she found nothing of her father, she did meet a pseudodragon who now follows her around on her journeys. Her mother has finally agreed to allow her to find her missing father, and she has wasted no time running towards the forest with her companion to start her search. She was not prepared for the journey ahead. . .
Backstory: Was chosen to hold the magical of an ancient entity due to his "clear" mind. His mind was blank rather than clear, and totally forgot the exchange. When he woke, he found that he had new powers, and used them for his own agenda (being mischievous)
Just gonna ask this now: Will the Half-Dragon part affect any particular racial traits like abilities and whatnot? Because I tried looking up "Half-Dragons" as a D&D race, and they don't seem to be a part of any official source at the moment.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Liam the Weak: Level 4 Human Fighter - Trying to fight against his other personality, and constantly losing.
Aodh: Level 20 Half-Elf Cleric of Life - Not really. It's a strange being that had possessed and broke down a level 20 Cleric of Life Domain, gaining his knowledge and power.
"*****": Level 1 Tiefling Sorcerer - Her family is dead, and her will is broken. She follows orders so that those that command her will allow her to die.
My own personal encounter with Magic-enhanced archers is actually my first ever D&D character. It was the Arcane Archer sub-class of the Fighter class. A lore bard mixed with a Rogue and Fighter seems interesting though.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Liam the Weak: Level 4 Human Fighter - Trying to fight against his other personality, and constantly losing.
Aodh: Level 20 Half-Elf Cleric of Life - Not really. It's a strange being that had possessed and broke down a level 20 Cleric of Life Domain, gaining his knowledge and power.
"*****": Level 1 Tiefling Sorcerer - Her family is dead, and her will is broken. She follows orders so that those that command her will allow her to die.
Hi! I'm very new to D&D, currently playing through my first campaign, but I'd love to try this PbP if you're still taking people!
Name: Amvilla
Race: Gnome (Rock)
Class: Bard // College of Lore
Background: Entertainer
Backstory: Born to a sword-swallowing father and a dancer mother, Amvilla had quite the happy childhood with her parents' ragtag troupe, days filled with laughter and music. She was the only child in the group, having been born on the road, kept sheltered from the tensions that constantly grew between the elder performers and their conflicts of interest about their audience, their travels, their earnings. Along with the stress of living without a solid source of pay and too many different people to care for, Amvilla's parents' neverending cheerfulness and optimism grated the other performers' nerves just a bit too far. On the way to a nearby city, the troupe stopped in the middle of the forest to make camp for the night. Everyone slept as normal, snug in their tents, embers smoldering in the fire circle. By morning, the troupe had up and left, disappearing without a trace, leaving Amvilla and her parents in their tent with nothing but what they kept inside. With only faded tracks to follow, the gnome family set off. Left to their own devices with little way to survive on their own, the three made camp somewhere not too far off the main trail. Her father went off to gather plants for food, but never returned. When her mother left to look for him and similarly failed to return in the morning, Amvilla set off on her own, grim but determined. Some time later, the tracks she had been following abruptly stopped, and Amvilla discovered the corpses of her former fellow performers, brightly colored wagon nowhere to be found. Now completely on her own, Amvilla made her way towards the town nestled in the outskirts of the sprawling forest, and followed in her parents' humble footsteps, performing on street corners with the same joy and charisma that weaved her childhood, now masking her grief and loneliness. One day, completely by chance, Amvilla saw a certain shortsword sitting in a shop window, one her father used to use all the time in his acts. She then made a promise to herself, that once she had the means, supplies and strength, she would venture back out into the forest that had claimed her family, if only to give herself closure.
Backstory: Xerim Phimm is a silver dragon. His clan lived in the outskirts of The Frozenfar. He is a soldier who specialize in combat and healing from the front lines. His mother is an acolyte and his father was a well renowned soldier. He began his training at a very young age, learning to heal first then to fight. At age 16, his father died in a battle against orcs raiding his clan's village. By the age of 21, he then honed his combat ability to fend off the creatures, but his mother died in that combat. Sad and depressed, the elders in the clan felt that it was time or him to venture off and explore the world. He hesitates to the suggestion but it would give great honor to his clan and to his parents. He sets off leaving his clan and his past behind for the first time.
Oh, cool, how'd you like it? Banishing arrow and some other stuff does look pretty cool. I thought of lots of multiclass combos for this character as strict arcane trickster or eldritch knight didn't have the magic I wanted. One reason I didn't ponder Arcane Archer longer is that the save DC is INT based and most of the casters I was considering to multiclass with were CHA based. I suppose I could try Arcane Archer / Wizard combo some time, although I'd lose a lot of the skill proficiencies of Rogue/Bard and none of the Wizard subclasses seem great for an archer.
There are certainly lots of combos I'd play with such a character so I'm flexible for this campaign if we want to avoid overlapping classes/skills with other characters.
To the GM, I had somethings comes up recently and I would like to remove my character from the selection pool. I am not sure that I will have the time to devote to the game and I do not want to take a spot from somewhere that will. Thank you for your consideration.
Backstory: After she was orphaned, Anora's main parental figures were a tiefling wizard named Xeres and a drow spymaster named Adrestia. She learned discipline, ruthlessness, and decisiveness from both, and grew up to become a natural enforcer for both as she grew up in her home city of al-Calisian. After being gone in a to a monastery and knocking about in her own group with an elf and a halfing, as well as some work in the Zhentarim, Anora got a message from her old elven mentor saying she had heard rumors of a broken, magical mirror, and if she wouldn't mind investigating...
Hello! I've recently purchased a D&D 5e Adventure book, and would like to run this adventure here! I think I can handle at least 2 players, and at most 5 players. If a lot of people are interested, I might try making more campaigns for all those interested in playing this. I don't know. Now, I am somewhat new to DMing, so be warned that I'm going to try to stick to the main story for the most part. That's not to say that I'm opposed to creative angles and tactics. Anyway...
This recruitment period will last until this coming saturday (July 14) at earliest, and next Monday (July 16) at the latest.
ADVENTURE BACKGROUND (from the book):
A mysterious shadow fey known as the Dusk Queen left the Winter Court and came to a forest of shadows where she ruled the land from a great stone tower. Although capable of surprising acts of kindness, a vast majority of her reign was marked by cruelty, violence, and death. At some point the Dusk Queen encountered a powerful Wizard from a land of pitiless, burning sun and endless sand traveling in her realm for unknown reasons. Against all logic, they fell in love, eventually exchanging dark and secret vows in the queen's throne room. Because of his homeland, the wizard came to be known as the Sun King.
The two were happy in their own, strange way until the queen had a magical mirror created. This powerful item, which was infused with the shadowy strands of the Dusk Queen's very life essence, greatly expanded her powers and her ambition. The mirror allowed her to spy on her enemies (both real and imagined), cast powerful spells through it across vast distances, and even magically transport herself or her minions to the farthest locations.The Dusk Queen used her mirror with rapidly growing paranoia and zeal, wreaking havoc and death throughout the land. The Sun King found it more and more difficult to overlook the Queen's escalating acts of evil and violence. When he learned the Dusk Queen was secretly planning on invading his homeland, the Sun King knew he had to act.
In the deepest part of a cold, moonless night, the Sun King wove his most powerful spells while the Dusk Queen slept, magically banishing her to a hidden and unknown prison. Once she was gone, the wizard smashed the Dusk Queen's mirror and departed the tower, vowing never to return.
The Sun King's magic did not work as he had planned, however. Due perhaps to the lingering spark of love he still harbored within his heart, the Dusk Queen's magical imprisonment was not permanent. Likewise, the destruction of her mirror was also incomplete--five shards of glass exploded from the mirror and, impossibly, came to rest in various locations throughout the surrounding forest, waiting to be found....
REQUIREMENTS:
Character Requirements:
Player Requirements:
CHARACTER SHEET (for recruitment):
Name:
Race:
Class:
Background:
Backstory:
Liam the Weak: Level 4 Human Fighter - Trying to fight against his other personality, and constantly losing.
Aodh: Level 20 Half-Elf Cleric of Life - Not really. It's a strange being that had possessed and broke down a level 20 Cleric of Life Domain, gaining his knowledge and power.
"*****": Level 1 Tiefling Sorcerer - Her family is dead, and her will is broken. She follows orders so that those that command her will allow her to die.
Name: Desarian
Race: Hill Dwarf
Class: Druid
Background: Hermit
Backstory: Desarian grew up in a small village. One day, the local Lord from the closest keep visited the village with his family as they were traveling through and Desarian fell hopelessly in love with the lord's daughter. He courted her in secret for months, but eventually they were caught. The lord was furious, sending soldiers to arrest the boy. Desarian fled for his life, escaping to the forest. He learned to fend for himself, finding berries and trapping small animals for food. One day he encounted an old man in the forest, a druid, who offered to train him in his ways. Desarian trained with the man for years until the old man eventually died. After that, Desarian remained in the forest as it's protector.
Name: Weltschmerz Ekahokad
Race: Levistus Tiefling
Class: Paladin 4 / Warlock 4
Background: Courtier
Backstory:
Despair grew up in the city of Valmeria, shunned by others due to his heritage. Survival was a daily struggle, petty thefts a common occurrence. That was until this fateful day when Despair met Lord Samuel of Harringdale a noble Paladin sworn to the Oath of Redemption. He saw a potential for good in Despair and took him in as his personal protege. He taught him in the ways of faith and mercy, gave him a purpose in life and Despair changed to Hope Ekad.
What Hope lacked in combat prowess he made up by his eagerness to learn and improve to the point of perfection. He also took care of most of his lordships administrative needs.
When Lord Samuel learned of the Dusk Queens cruel reign he decided to confront her in an effort to pursuade her to refrain from violence. One night around midnight cries of pain echoed through the camp of Lord Samuel. When Hope reached his masters tent he could only watch in horror as shades sucked away Lord Samuels life force.
It was at this point that Hope Ekad became Weltschmerz Ekahokad realising his masters way wasn't going to help against beings such as the Dusk Queen. So he took a different path and swore an Oath of Redemption to avenge his masters death and punish those commiting crimes and injustices.
Given the mediocre fighter he was Weltschmerz knew that he would need more than his training to accomplish his goals. He contacted agents of Levistus willing to strike a bargain to reach these goals. Not foolish enough to become beholden to Levistus himself Weltschmerz when offered the hexblade Criognis in exchange for a small favor accepted a pact with a his sword. Ever since he and his sword invoke the fear of judgement in the hearts of wrongdoers whereever they cross paths.
When Weltschmerz heard rumors of problems in the Dusk Queens forest he decided to investigate himself in order to prevent the return of this foul creature or to fulfill his vows should the queen return and slay her once and for all.
Race: gnome
Class: druid
Name: Lanben Tarkelby
Background: hermit
Backstory: I ran out from civilisation to get away from the noise and seek peace and enlightenment. I have not yet found my peace and enlightenment for the 40 I've been in the forest but...... I hope to find it soon.
Name: Eudith
Race: Human
Class: Cleric, Death Domain
Background: Haunted One
Backstory: Born in the time of plague, Eudith was a sickly child whose friends and relatives were often sickly or dying themselves. Perhaps to cope with that she developed an interest in matters of life and death, finding beauty in both. When she was of age she learned the arts of healing and hospice from the local medicine woman, finding that she had a natural talent for both preserving life and gently taking it. In her morbid curiosity she has even experimented on a small scale with the forces of unlife. After her training was complete, she decided to wander a bit to help people and animals live, and die, comfortably. It is this wandering that has brought her to the Dusk Queen's shadowy forest where the boundary of life and death seems particularly weak.
Name: Rengar- The Pridestalker
Race: Tabaxi
Class: Forest Ranger/ Rogue
Background: Outlander
Backstory: Rengar is a ferocious trophy hunter who lives for the thrill of tracking down and killing dangerous creatures. He scours the world for the most fearsome beasts he can find, especially seeking any trace of the elusive creature who scratched out his eye. Rengar stalks his prey neither for food nor glory, but for the sheer beauty of the pursuit. Rengar has noticed some changes in the Forest of Shadows he calls home as of late. Things don’t seem.. normal anymore and he wants to find out why.
"CoS" Rumble- Tabaxi Shadow Monk
Name: Ryman Drax
Race: Human
Class: Fighter
Background: Mercenary
Backstory:
Ryman's childhood was rough. From an early age, it was as if fate sought to make him as miserable as it could; his mother died after his birth and his father, a drunkard would often beat him for the smallest things. For years he endured under that dominating fist, often taking out his own frustrations on younger kids in the streets and constantly getting into fights. Things got worse when he ended beating a city guard's son so bad the boy was on death's doorstep, and without even a trial Ryman was thrown in jail. His father petitioned to get him out, but the guards ignored him and eventually his father quit on him and for years Ryman was rotting in that prison. Scrawny and skinny, at the age of fifteen a finely dressed man entered his underground jail cell gave him a look over and within the next day, Ryman was out.
Instead of being freed, he found himself shackled and chained on the back of a cart along with few other prisoners with various ages. A few days they traveled and soon came upon a war camp where he was shoved into a line and yelled at in a language he barely knew. The following years were harsh and brutal, he was beaten relentlessly and sometimes even tortured because some of the men in the war camp were bored. Several months later, he was brought into a line again and given a sword and told he was going to fight for his life or die, and a part of him wanted to give in then, but another part wanted to prove all other shits in the camp that he was worth something and not just some play thing for them to amuse themselves with. Thus, his training began and a few weeks after his first battle, which through sheer luck alone he survived. Then, more training and even more battles until he found himself training new recruits, torturing them just as he was tortured. With every subsequent year he rose through the ranks until the mercenary band were called in to war between the humans and elves, and the leader saw their fortune with the elves.
Alas, it wasn't meant to be. In a pitched battle against the humans in an effort to capture a highly sought after fort, the elves and his mercenary band in particular were defeated and ruined. Ryman found himself once more in chains as a prisoner of war where he was taken to a city and met a strange man from the south. On their way to the prisons, Ryman found a friend in the man who he came to learn was named Neddy, who offered him a great sum of money if he helped him escape. Seeing an opportunity and a chance at a real friend, Ryman agreed and the two managed escape in the dead of night some two weeks later, boarded a riverboat and made their way south to Neddy's city. Once there, as a sort of payment, Neddy offered to teach Ryman what he knew of the art of swordsmanship, Ryman told him he already knew how to fight and when Neddy offered to spar, Ryman was quickly humiliated.
Thus, his training as a swordsman began, first with footwork and basic combinations followed by more complex routines that built on top of each other. Several years later, his savage attack style was changed into a more elegant form where he flowed with deadly precision. He stayed with Neddy thereafter where they continued to train together, sparring often and talking at long lengths until one day while he was walking the streets of the city he met one of the men that was in his squad. They talked a while in a tavern where Ryman learned the name of the man that had taken him from the dungeon's of the city, he also learned he was the only recruit to have been tortured on the orders of that man and that he was currently seen near the Dusk Queen's forest.
Against Neddy's advice, Ryman gathered his things and headed for the forest.
DM - GA's Baldur's Gate
Name: Dromarch Tidesworth
Race: Water Genasi
Class: Ranger (Horizon Walker)
Background: Far Traveller
Backstory:
Dromarch was born to mortal humans in their material realm, but they both died when he was very young. He was raised in his Marid uncle's reef palace on the vast ocean floor of the Elemental Plane of Water - not a welcome place for visitors, but for an estranged princeling such as himself, an aquatic paradise. He was too distant in the chain of succession to ever be in true consideration for the throne, and his human ancestry would have made him unpopular anyway. Instead, he was afforded the luxuries of wealth without any of the responsibilities of royalty.
It all went south when a strange visitor arrived one day, all tentacles and foreign tongue and secret fire. Dromarch's memories of that day are vague, but he seems to recall the palace burning in flames unquenched by the neverending sea before some magic gone awry banished him to the plane of his birth. His going was rough at first as he had to adapt to poverty, adversity, and dry land, but Dromarch picked himself up by the bootstraps and eked out a living as an adventurer-for-hire.
Always he is in search of a way back to his primordial home, but a clear path seems ever to elude him. In his journeys, Dromarch has come to understand that the crossing of planes has troubled far more lives than just his own, and many of them much more permanently. Such experiences have filled him with compassion for the victims of wayward magics, and have lead him to seek out the visitations of otherworldly creatures to end the influences they have on the material plane. On one such journey, he followed rumours and traces of knowledge leading to a malignant fey gloom haunting a forest of shadows - and if the adventuring company tasked with dealing with it would have him, then here would his next story begin...
I'll go ahead and warn that I won't be able to post often (if at all) for a period from the end of July to mid-August. If you'll be okay with that, I'd love to be a part of this! If it's a non-start, I'll take no offence at being passed over for other players.
Hi, I would love to join this campaign! I've been wanting to play a magic enhanced archer and have been looking at various Bard or Fey pact Warlock builds and imagining backstories involving the Seelie/Summer court, etc. It seems perfect here.
Name: Kirra Sunsinger
Race: Elf (Eladrin)
Class: Rogue 1 / Lore Bard 6 / Fighter 1 (basically she’s an arcane archer and all around skill monkey)
Background: Courtier
Backstory: Kirra’s parents were part of the Summer Court in the Feywilds and she had the privilege to meet Titania herself when she was very young. After Kirra had shown significant promise in harnessing the Fey magics of her world and her parents had moved on to the outer planes, Titania took a special interest in Kirra and had her trained as an agent of the Summer Court. Now, after many other assignments have allowed her to gain worldly experience and practice with song, spell, sword, and most importantly bow, she has been sent by Titania to find out what truly happened to the evil Dusk Queen. (Brief version, but Kirra will surely have stories to tell via word and song of her other adventures in Faerun to get her where she is today!)
Name: Laurine Stargard
Race: Half-elf
Class: Warlock (Hexblade)
Background: Charlatan
Backstory: Like so many adventurers, Laurine did not have a normal childhood; her father was a snakeoil salesman and her mother used her feminine wiles to charm others from the coin. As such Laurine grew up learning how to take advantage of those not sharp enough to protect themselves from simple cons. Sadly, that almost meant her when the day came and she could not keep up with her parents as they were attempting to evade capture from an angry mob and she became lost in thick wilderness. In the following days of thirst and starvation, she stumbled upon a dryad's grove and was taken in by the fey creature, saving the young woman's life. The dryad asked nothing in return, save that she remember the kindness of the fey and spread her story. Such kindness was alien to Laurine and she did not understand, but as she regained her strength, she was exposed to another outlook on life, one that favored a less selfish nature and she wanted to learn more...
She asked to remain with the dryad for a time to experience more of this different life and found she enjoyed her time with the dryad, whom turned out to be more than a simple fey creature. She was in fact, an Archfey that seemed to see something inside Laurine of which she was unaware herself and asked the young half-elf to be her champion. Laurine was gifted with a magnificent blade called 'Stargard'. She learned much from the Archfey, who promised her power in return for championing their cause wherever she went; Stargard would be her guide and her tie with her patron.
I kept her background decidedly vague for now as there is not much to go on setting-wise, plus I like to really flesh out the small details as I get to know the characters sometimes. Normally my backgrounds a bit longer than this, but I like the change of pace! If you need/like more information before closing out recruitment, let me know and i'll gladly provide!
Valaith "Rimehand" Kalukavi - Chronicles of Arden
Name: Aqin Von Stormbringer
Race: Half-Elf
Class: Sorcerer
Background: Soldier
Backstory: Aqin comes from a long line of sorcerers. They are rich, they are stuck up, and they have questionable morals. Aqin probably the least selfish of his clan but he still has a tendency to look out for himself and his ultimate goal -- to prove he is the best. Much like the rest of his family Aqin simply goes by Stormbringer. Family reunions are few and far between so its less confusing than you'd expect, however, not without its caveats. Depending on which of his kin has passed through a town the simple mention of the name will bring fear (his brother Charles, corrupted by power if he hadn't burned a town to the ground he has definitely done quite a few unmentionables) or joy (his uncle Fev can never turn a blind eye to someone in need, he's spent years helping towns when he only planned to be there days). Even though his family varies on the spectrum of good and evil they are all proud and respectful of each other's accomplishments because of course "A win for one is a win for all" the motto of The Stormbringer Family.
This would be my first pbp and I've only been in a couple campaigns, hope you find my character interesting!
Gash - Lvl14 Goblin Wizard - The High Court of the Aasimar Queen
Name: Norlaith Qindove
Race: Half-Dragon/Half-Elf
Class: Sorceress
Background: Sage (Librarian)
Backstory: For her whole life Norlaith had known nothing but her mother's library, where she had been hidden away due to who she was. She was born to an elven mother after a secret love affair between her mother and father, a silver dragon . At first, she had a wonderful childhood raised by both parents. Until her father's true identity was figured out by the elven village and he had been hunted, forced to run away and she, forced into hiding. Her whole life was spent sneaking out and trying to live and find out what might have happened to her father. Although she found nothing of her father, she did meet a pseudodragon who now follows her around on her journeys. Her mother has finally agreed to allow her to find her missing father, and she has wasted no time running towards the forest with her companion to start her search. She was not prepared for the journey ahead. . .
Name: Grup
Race: Goblin
Class: Warlock
Background: Criminal
Backstory: Was chosen to hold the magical of an ancient entity due to his "clear" mind. His mind was blank rather than clear, and totally forgot the exchange. When he woke, he found that he had new powers, and used them for his own agenda (being mischievous)
Just gonna ask this now: Will the Half-Dragon part affect any particular racial traits like abilities and whatnot? Because I tried looking up "Half-Dragons" as a D&D race, and they don't seem to be a part of any official source at the moment.
Liam the Weak: Level 4 Human Fighter - Trying to fight against his other personality, and constantly losing.
Aodh: Level 20 Half-Elf Cleric of Life - Not really. It's a strange being that had possessed and broke down a level 20 Cleric of Life Domain, gaining his knowledge and power.
"*****": Level 1 Tiefling Sorcerer - Her family is dead, and her will is broken. She follows orders so that those that command her will allow her to die.
@Hexblade37
My own personal encounter with Magic-enhanced archers is actually my first ever D&D character. It was the Arcane Archer sub-class of the Fighter class. A lore bard mixed with a Rogue and Fighter seems interesting though.
Liam the Weak: Level 4 Human Fighter - Trying to fight against his other personality, and constantly losing.
Aodh: Level 20 Half-Elf Cleric of Life - Not really. It's a strange being that had possessed and broke down a level 20 Cleric of Life Domain, gaining his knowledge and power.
"*****": Level 1 Tiefling Sorcerer - Her family is dead, and her will is broken. She follows orders so that those that command her will allow her to die.
Hi! I'm very new to D&D, currently playing through my first campaign, but I'd love to try this PbP if you're still taking people!
Name: Amvilla
Race: Gnome (Rock)
Class: Bard // College of Lore
Background: Entertainer
Backstory: Born to a sword-swallowing father and a dancer mother, Amvilla had quite the happy childhood with her parents' ragtag troupe, days filled with laughter and music. She was the only child in the group, having been born on the road, kept sheltered from the tensions that constantly grew between the elder performers and their conflicts of interest about their audience, their travels, their earnings. Along with the stress of living without a solid source of pay and too many different people to care for, Amvilla's parents' neverending cheerfulness and optimism grated the other performers' nerves just a bit too far. On the way to a nearby city, the troupe stopped in the middle of the forest to make camp for the night. Everyone slept as normal, snug in their tents, embers smoldering in the fire circle. By morning, the troupe had up and left, disappearing without a trace, leaving Amvilla and her parents in their tent with nothing but what they kept inside. With only faded tracks to follow, the gnome family set off. Left to their own devices with little way to survive on their own, the three made camp somewhere not too far off the main trail. Her father went off to gather plants for food, but never returned. When her mother left to look for him and similarly failed to return in the morning, Amvilla set off on her own, grim but determined. Some time later, the tracks she had been following abruptly stopped, and Amvilla discovered the corpses of her former fellow performers, brightly colored wagon nowhere to be found. Now completely on her own, Amvilla made her way towards the town nestled in the outskirts of the sprawling forest, and followed in her parents' humble footsteps, performing on street corners with the same joy and charisma that weaved her childhood, now masking her grief and loneliness. One day, completely by chance, Amvilla saw a certain shortsword sitting in a shop window, one her father used to use all the time in his acts. She then made a promise to herself, that once she had the means, supplies and strength, she would venture back out into the forest that had claimed her family, if only to give herself closure.
Name: Xerim Phimm
Race: Dragonborn (Silver Dragon)
Class: Cleric (War Domain)
Background: Soldier
Backstory: Xerim Phimm is a silver dragon. His clan lived in the outskirts of The Frozenfar. He is a soldier who specialize in combat and healing from the front lines. His mother is an acolyte and his father was a well renowned soldier. He began his training at a very young age, learning to heal first then to fight. At age 16, his father died in a battle against orcs raiding his clan's village. By the age of 21, he then honed his combat ability to fend off the creatures, but his mother died in that combat. Sad and depressed, the elders in the clan felt that it was time or him to venture off and explore the world. He hesitates to the suggestion but it would give great honor to his clan and to his parents. He sets off leaving his clan and his past behind for the first time.
Angiro Zenjin - Level 4 Half Elf Cleric (Life Domain)
Diangar Legna - Level 1 Aasimar Cleric (Tempest Domain)
Xerim Phimm - Level 1 Dragonborn Cleric (War Domain)
Sariel Phyll - Level 1 Wood Elf Cleric (Trickery Domain)
Geord Terran - Level 1 Earth Genasi Cleric (Nature Domain)
Af Brazenell - Level 5 Tiefling Cleric (Light Domain)
Rafell Sylmith - Level 1 Pallid Elf (Twilight Domain)
@Girania
Oh, cool, how'd you like it? Banishing arrow and some other stuff does look pretty cool. I thought of lots of multiclass combos for this character as strict arcane trickster or eldritch knight didn't have the magic I wanted. One reason I didn't ponder Arcane Archer longer is that the save DC is INT based and most of the casters I was considering to multiclass with were CHA based. I suppose I could try Arcane Archer / Wizard combo some time, although I'd lose a lot of the skill proficiencies of Rogue/Bard and none of the Wizard subclasses seem great for an archer.
There are certainly lots of combos I'd play with such a character so I'm flexible for this campaign if we want to avoid overlapping classes/skills with other characters.
To the GM, I had somethings comes up recently and I would like to remove my character from the selection pool. I am not sure that I will have the time to devote to the game and I do not want to take a spot from somewhere that will. Thank you for your consideration.
Valaith "Rimehand" Kalukavi - Chronicles of Arden
Name: Anora
Race: Human
Class: Monk
Background: Criminal
Backstory: After she was orphaned, Anora's main parental figures were a tiefling wizard named Xeres and a drow spymaster named Adrestia. She learned discipline, ruthlessness, and decisiveness from both, and grew up to become a natural enforcer for both as she grew up in her home city of al-Calisian. After being gone in a to a monastery and knocking about in her own group with an elf and a halfing, as well as some work in the Zhentarim, Anora got a message from her old elven mentor saying she had heard rumors of a broken, magical mirror, and if she wouldn't mind investigating...