Holo. You can leave some of your campaign or character fic here if you want to, or leave a link to the full thing if you have it. I'll post sometimes too.
This is the backstory for my halfling monk, Gobrick Sunmeadow.
Gobrick Sunmeadow was a happy-go-lucky halfling from the small rural town of Willowdale. His mom Lily and his father Poe had a total of three sons together: Hobrick, who was the oldest son at 34; Gobrick who was the middle child at 28; and Robrick, the youngest Sunmeadow child at 22.
Lily was a housewife, choosing to be a nanny, babysitter, and caretaker for much of the town. She was also known as Mama Sunmeadow to the children she took care of. Poe was a traveling bard known around as Plucky Poe, making reference to both his demeanor and the fact that his instrument of choice was the lute. He would often be away from home for months at a time.
The Son-meadows, as the boys were called growing up, were more of a mixed bag. Hobrick was interested in pressing his luck. Pulling pranks and deceiving people brought him the most joy. After finding what he dubbed his lucky coin, he later became a worshipper and eventually a cleric of the goddess Tymora, who he learned was the face of his lucky coin.
Gobrick loved entertaining people, just like his dad. He wanted to learn to play the lute, but Lily, knowing the kind of life bards lived, forbid it. Not one to keep her boy upset, she eventually broke down and got him his own instrument: a lyre. There’s no way someone can get popular with a lyre, she thought. The middle Sunmeadow boy practiced and practiced, learning the ins and outs of his instrument and eventually drew crowds at bonfires. When Poe was back in town after traveling, Gob would pester his father to play with him. With a true love of entertaining people, Gob soon would use his lyre as an accompaniment to his storytelling.
Robrick looked up to his older brothers. After Hobrick left to travel to spread the word of Tymora, and also try his luck in the wide world, he tried to emulate Gob. It was just after Gobrick had gotten his lyre engraved with a halfling phrase, “Laughter and a smile make it all worthwhile”, that young Robrick got a closer look at his brother’s prized instrument. In secret he plucked a few notes and got giddy, a feeling that was cut short by his brother entering the room. Robrick quickly threw the lyre on the bed and sat on it to hide from Gob that he was messing with it. However, once he sat down there was a snap. The lyre’s frame was snapped, the strings now with nothing to connect to. Robrick had never seen his brother get so upset. Even Gob didn’t know he could get so upset!
Gobrick then set off on a small raft that the citizens of Willowdale used to sell crops and fish that they catch in the river. He just went with the current, wanting to get away. His father did, and so did Hobrick. Gob fell asleep before he reached anything and when he awoke, he was getting poked in the back by an armored guard. The halfling could feel the hot sun beating down on his head. Looking around, he definitely was not in Willowdale anymore. He somehow wound up in sand, but this was not a beach. It was definitely a desert.
Gob had a knack for entertaining people and making them smile. That was his favorite part. He eventually became a big hit at The Tiny Castle, a tavern that catered to patrons of a smaller stature. The halfling told the citizens of Heminster, the city he now found himself a part of, fantastical tales of getting transported to a vampire lord’s domain and having to fight his way out; of being a part of a troop of dwarves and a wizard trying to destroy a powerful magic ring; getting teleported to a far away jungle continent and having to destroy something called a Soulmonger to end a death curse.
After months of staying in Heminster, Gob began to get homesick. He didn’t know how to get back home, let alone how far from it he was. This was the start of a depression for the halfling. Halflings aren’t known to have long periods of sadness cloud their external happy attitude. During this depression, Gob noticed some patrons come into The Tiny Castle that had sun symbols on their clothing. After some small talk, he found out that they came from the largest spire of the city, from the temple of Pelor. That explained the sun symbols. I might have to check that out sometime, he thought.
A few days later, Gob received a package at The Tiny Castle. The dwarf bartender, Garrick, brought it to him. All that was written on the outside was Gob’s full name and a very familiar symbol of a sun in golden ink. Upon opening it, Gob gasped. It was his lyre. However, his lyre was no longer broken. It was seamless. Inside the box was also a folded piece of parchment. He unfolded it and out fell another folder letter. Reading the larger one first, he found out it was from his mom.
Gobrick,
I hope this letter finds you well. We miss you here. We also miss Robrick. He left soon after you did, trying to fix the wrong he committed. He set off to find someone to fix your lyre. I’m not sure how he did it, or who he brought it to, but it was sent back to Willowdale without him.
He said you were in Heminster. How did you even get there, Gob? That’s so far away...
I’m not sure if you’ll ever come home. My boys are now men, and wish to see the world. And that’s fine. I just wish they would all come back so I could see mine. Your father too.
I love you.
Mama Sunmeadow
Gob’s cheeks were streaked with tears as he held the letter close, as if it were his mother. He fell onto the bed in a fetal position. He hugged that letter as if it were his own mother. After wiping his face dry, he picked up and unfolded the second letter. This one from his brother Robrick.
Gob,
I’m sorry. For breaking your lyre. For driving you away. Both were things I never meant to do. You were always so captivating the way you used it along with your stories. I guess I just wanted to be like you. After you left, I knew I had to make it right.
It was a few days into my travels that I found another traveler, a wizard. He was a gnome, I think. Very… weird. He kept saying how he has to find his things, but it sounded like he was talking about a sing;le deck of cards. I asked if he could help me. And help he did. He put a simple enchantment on it to prevent any mundane wear and tear, string breaks, frame fractures, from happening. The thing was that I had to pay him back. He didn’t want money. He said to go to a port city north of us on a different continent, and that I’d know what to do.
I know not what lies ahead for me, but I do hope this lyre makes it to you. This strange gnome even helped me find out where you were! The City of a Thousand Spires!
I hope this helps. Again, I’m sorry.
Robrick
Gob didn’t know enough of the world to know what city his brother was meant to go to. Was Gob on a different continent or just on the other side of the same one as Willowdale? There was no mention of the sun on the package. Did they even put that there? Was it intercepted by someone? The halfling thought it was time to check out this temple of the sun god.
Wow, that's great. Honestly I didn't expect anyone to reply to this thread
I've got more. Another player and I roleplay out of character what our downtime is. It's usually heart to heart conversations but we also spawn several alternate universes where X happened instead of Y.
From the moment he was born, Jailyn Martyrin begun training. He grew up in a place where no one and no where was safe. You had to be ready to defend yourself at all times or risk the chance of dying, no matter how young or old you were. Jailyn was born to and elven mother and a human father in a very accepting town as the only thing that mattered to people there was that you could fight. If you could battle, you were welcome. His mother was an established warrior and his father, a medic who had saved many lives in numerous battles and wars. He was raised in a very loving, if not strict, household.
Once he turned 15, he was considered ready to go out on his own and live as an independent member of society. He could continue school, if he wanted to, or he could enlist in the army and become a warrior. Having a mother and father of such different backgrounds, he decided to do both. He would go to night school to become an experienced and trained warlock while training in the military camp during the rest of his time. This made him a very diversely talented person, with skills in both the art of magic and bonds and how to fight.
Being from this background, he was always very polite and respectful of his superiors, while also being very strict and didn't take any talk back from anyone. For many years, he went into many battles, losing friends, obtaining wounds, and gathering many stories because of it. He loves to tell these stories to the passionate little aspiring warriors he meets. He is said to be so experienced and tough, that he can stare down a hell hound without flinching. He has always been focused on the greater good of the people, and is not afraid to stand up to people in power if he thinks what they're doing is wrong, also being a strong believer in independence.
"Which do you think will be more effective, someone who can work independently without having to rely on someone or something else, or someone who can't do a thing without the permission or presence of others." he says to inspire his troops. "Our job is to defend our country, our community, our nation, the people. If we can't even defend ourselves, how are we supposed to defend others?"
Then, the biggest battle of his life begun. Not just a battle, but a full on war. He lost more people the first month of that war then he had lost in the past three years combined. Most important of all, his charge, a boy who was found in the devastated and abandoned town all on her own, parents dead, no other family to take her in. He had taken care of her for the past six months since, and losing her the way he had was the most devastating thing that had happened to him in his entire life. He felt it was his fault, as he wasn't watching her as closely as he should've been, or so he thought. His troops and he were camping at what they thought to be a safe location for the time being, still ready for battle though, always ready for battle. It came suddenly, too quickly for anyone to react quickly enough, not even him. He had left Maria, the girl, with a couple of his most trusted soldiers so he could go look over some strategy plans with some of his troops. The attack came swiftly and, though he was only a few feet away, a stray bullet had shot her right in her chest, a fatal wound. There was no hope of healing it, not even by means of Cleric or the strongest magic he could think of to help her. From that day on, he never left troops unsupervised. He held strategy meetings outside, even in the freezing cold. He would force everyone to not bother building cabins, but instead build one big barrack so that if they got attacked, they could all stay together. It also caused him to set out to fight for people who couldn't fight themselves, mainly little children.
He does not trust anyone with a child if they cannot fight. He believes that they are risking the lives of themselves and their children, and that it is a cruel thing to do. Even in the most peaceful of towns, you never know when someone might start a battle. That's why he is always extra vigilant in "quiet" towns. He is stubborn as well. He'd rather starve than admit when he's wrong.
Appearance: He is a 21 year old, 5 foot 9 man who has honey brown hair and hazel eyes. His skin is tanned from the many months he's spent outside, making him very freckled, not just on his face, but on his arms as well. He is strongly built, with muscly arms and toned legs. Although his face more resembled a child than a stern adult warrior, his eyes show all his trauma and maturity that came along with it. He has a massive scar, one of many, across his left eye ranging from the arch of his left eyebrow to his cheekbone, ragged and raised. The other scars he has are nothing compared to that one. His hair is wavy and goes down to his shoulders, but he mostly keeps it up away from his face unless he needs to stay hidden. The scar makes him much too identifiable so he uses his hair to cover it up when he needs to stay on the DL.
That's cool. I'd love to hear more. The first character I ever made was awful. Her name was Nearis and she was just so obnoxious. Thankfully, I learned my lesson then and now I'd like to think I make pretty good characters.
Here is a short story I wrote a couple years ago describing a rather harrowing and memorable encounter. The cast of characters includes Eddie the human fighter (me), Graeme the human ranger, Aura the elf druid, Sir Andrew the human paladin, and Cibook the gnome bard. We were investigating a collective organism called the Moxtyledon, which had infected all the vegetation in the area and some of the wildlife as well. It was Eddie's first near-death experience and the first time he really put himself in harm's way to help a party member.
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"We're the perfect combination of expendable and unkillable!"
I wrote a little story to explain how a character (Faolan Corgus, human Barbarian) became a Totem Warrior and my group seemed to like it, so here it is. Background: the party is bring a valuable package from one town to another, about a two month trip in total. ---
Why do dreams seem more real than waking life sometimes? Faolan felt his leg being torn open and was sure that the blood and the pain were real.
His dreams had been more vivid lately. Other nights when he dreamt about his childhood he felt the ground beneath him and smelled the dirt and sweat. He sat in a circle with the other Corgus children and finally remembered their names: Tala, Zef, Rollo, Channe, Lovota, Lupin, Alarick. They were his pack. Together they learned how to fight and also how to care for each other. That's right, Faolan had forgotten, the elders taught them how to heal each other. Keep your pack strong.
Tonight Faolan woke up in a forest. "Didn't I fallen asleep in the cart?", thought Faolan, though only for a moment. When he noticed a dozen wolves growling at him from a few feet away he stopped worrying about that.
The largest wolf took a step towards him. Then he spoke. "Why are you here?" That's not supposed to happen.
Faolan answered: "I don't know." Somehow he knew the wolves understood him.
The wolf spoke again. "You are not part of our pack so you are our enemy. Are you here to challenge me little wolf?" He must be their leader.
Faolan started to stand on his... four legs? Fine, this must be a dream. Faolan rose up and faced the other wolf. "I have a pack, they are not here now."
The Leader lunged forward and snapped at Faolan. Faolan snapped back and growled. Fight one of them or fight them all, he knew those were his options.
"Let's see who is quicker." Faolan jumped to one side and snapped at The Leader's haunch but missed. The Leader lunged for his neck but Faolan withdrew in time.
"Okay, let's see who is stronger." Faolan rammed The Leader and knocked him back but not down. This left Faolan exposed. Instantly The Leader's teeth were on his leg tearing into the flesh and fur.
"All right then, let's see who is tougher." Faolan swallowed the pain and brought his bite down on The Leader's shoulder. The Leader yelped but then shifted his bite upwards onto Faolan's belly. Bloodied and in each other's grip they tumbled to the ground, neither one letting go.
The other wolves watched. They would follow the strongest.
Pain shot through Faolan's stomach. "Gee, maybe it was something I ate." he thought, still half-certain this was a dream. Still, he was losing the fight. Both combatants were getting weaker but the Leader had a better grip on him.
"How do I win this? How do I kill him quickly?"
For a moment Faolan remembered the circle. How do you kill someone quickly? Pierce the heart. Pierce the brain. Slice through the jugular vein. He learned some interesting rhymes as a child. That's right, there was another reason why they were taught medicine.
The Leader was on the ground. Faolan was a bit above him. This was going to hurt. Faolan brought up his front legs and pulled to the side. A chunk of meat tore free from his belly and it was excruciating but The Leader was on his back and his neck was exposed so BITE AND TEAR.
The Leader was about to take another bite out of Faolan's belly but instead barked and screamed in pain. This was not right, too much pain, something was wrong. Faolan limped back and parried The Leader's frenzied snaps. The Leader struggled to his feet but weakened quickly. His snaps turned to barks as his eyes became glassy. Emboldened, Faolan maneuvered around The Leader and bit into his leg, dragging him down. He stayed down.
Faolan continued to attack even though there was no need. He tore into The Leader's belly. He ripped The Leader open. He felt himself rake the corpse with his claws. There was no need. The other wolves were gone. Faolan continued to tear.
Faolan awoke on the ground. The cart was there. The skinned corpse of a wolf was there. His friends were there. Faolan looked at his new skin, grey and hairy, just like in the circle when he was a child.
The story of Orion Khelstar, from a campaign I ran for my nephew. We played the game via IM, so I was able to copy the sessions make them readable as a story. We got through several chapters before the game ended. The link below is to the prologue that I wrote up for the character. There was a great deal of mystery about his origins that my nephew didn't know about. I dropped some hints here and there, but he didn't pick up on them.
My same monk Gob recently went back to his hometown to find it had been attacked by undead and was basically burned to the ground. He ran and practically left his party in the dust trying to make his way to his home to find his mom. His home was a blackened husk and there was no sign of his mother. Instead, he found his brother who had been corrupted by Orcus and sent them through a portal to the Abyss, specifically Thanatos. During their time in the Abyss, the group was able to take a ferry to a different plane: Pandemonium. Here is how they got out of Pandemonium.
When Mirabell threw down the cloth that was the Well of Many Worlds, it opened up the floor underneath her and Gob. The undead shaman dropped through to another plane while the halfling grabbed the edge of the portal and dangled. His hand was in Pandemonium while the rest of his body was dangling thousands of feet in the air above an ocean and islands. It looked like Loriene but he’s never seen anything from this far up before. His monk-like nimbleness would do nothing at this height, so he pulled himself back up to consult with his friends.
The plan was to link arms, fall in, and then Manny, the gnome wizard with a drug problem, would cast the spell Feather Fall. The only issue with this is the falling until they reach about 500 feet above the water THEN he would cast the spell.
While falling, Manny kept a wide grin on his face. There was something he wasn’t telling the rest of them. While everybody else was bracing for impact, the mage almost seemed relaxed. After about 15 seconds, Manny began the casting of the spell. The adventurers felt a tingling sensation in their stomachs while their descent slowed. Manny, however, kept falling at the same speed. He rocketed downwards into the ocean.
During their slow fall, the group leaned towards the chunk of land they saw to make sure they didn’t have to swim as much. Gob began running before he hit the water to ensure he could keep going. Madarai had a Ring of Water Walking, but due to a clumsy entrance he skipped across the water like a stone. Omyth had cast the spell Water Walk on himself and Khali.
As the group reached the landmass, they noticed a river leading out to sea and agreed to follow it. People tend to live along rivers, or at least use them for some purpose, so following it should lead them to someone. And they were right. A fisherman was on the river with his line out as the heroes approached.
Turns out, they were about a day and a half from Corene, a town they haven’t been in for almost a year. They hadn’t returned to it because it was under siege when they left. That was when The Blind Eye initiated their war on this world. Gob, Khali, Omyth, and Madarai were not strong enough to take out the soldiers back then. Could that army have gotten stronger too? The town was on fire when they left, leaving behind Grin Dicer, Angela, Grimtor, and the rest of Corene’s citizens.
Gob’s mood went from cheerful that they were back in the prime material plane to depressed that he was again so far away from Willowdale. Would he ever be able to save his mom? Was she beyond saving at this point? He didn’t know. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.
Coming over a hill, that’s when they saw it. Corene. A decimated mass of buildings, charred and empty, except for one. The temple of Ravana. The stone temple was still intact, though its windows were shattered. While they made their way into town, the group heard music and townsfolk. It was not because there were any actual townsfolk, but the ambient music stones placed around town. The magical sound producing stones were still active, and made the eerie sight even more so.
Gob’s mind flashed to a similar scene, that of Willowdale set ablaze. Then to his childhood home, a blackened husk of a house. When that image finally went away, his eyes witnessed dozens of the same blackened, charred, destroyed buildings.
Khali led the way to the temple of Ravana. “Wait out here,” she said. “I’ve got something I need to do in there.”
“Can I go in too?” Gob asked.
The elf replied in Elvish, knowing only he would understand her. “I need to do this alone, with Ravana. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want to be out here, but okay, that’s fine…” Gob sat next to the temple and tried to meditate. Tried to get the images out of his mind. If he didn’t see the destruction with his eyes open, he saw it with them closed. He could only think back to coming upon his home that was no more and falling to his knees, punching the ground, tears streaming down his face.
This is kinda off topic, but if any of you have wattpad, would you go check out my story. it's got 6 chapters as of today and it's a phsychological thriller/horror. it's called out of the corner of your eye. thanks
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Holo. You can leave some of your campaign or character fic here if you want to, or leave a link to the full thing if you have it. I'll post sometimes too.
Sure, I'll bite! This is the intro to my campaign, but around Part 3 I started blogging the actual campaign, and I've had a lot of fun with it
https://idlemindsdevilscookbook.wordpress.com/2018/07/14/dungeon-delving-part-1-meet-the-party/
This is the backstory for my halfling monk, Gobrick Sunmeadow.
Gobrick Sunmeadow was a happy-go-lucky halfling from the small rural town of Willowdale. His mom Lily and his father Poe had a total of three sons together: Hobrick, who was the oldest son at 34; Gobrick who was the middle child at 28; and Robrick, the youngest Sunmeadow child at 22.
Lily was a housewife, choosing to be a nanny, babysitter, and caretaker for much of the town. She was also known as Mama Sunmeadow to the children she took care of. Poe was a traveling bard known around as Plucky Poe, making reference to both his demeanor and the fact that his instrument of choice was the lute. He would often be away from home for months at a time.
The Son-meadows, as the boys were called growing up, were more of a mixed bag. Hobrick was interested in pressing his luck. Pulling pranks and deceiving people brought him the most joy. After finding what he dubbed his lucky coin, he later became a worshipper and eventually a cleric of the goddess Tymora, who he learned was the face of his lucky coin.
Gobrick loved entertaining people, just like his dad. He wanted to learn to play the lute, but Lily, knowing the kind of life bards lived, forbid it. Not one to keep her boy upset, she eventually broke down and got him his own instrument: a lyre. There’s no way someone can get popular with a lyre, she thought. The middle Sunmeadow boy practiced and practiced, learning the ins and outs of his instrument and eventually drew crowds at bonfires. When Poe was back in town after traveling, Gob would pester his father to play with him. With a true love of entertaining people, Gob soon would use his lyre as an accompaniment to his storytelling.
Robrick looked up to his older brothers. After Hobrick left to travel to spread the word of Tymora, and also try his luck in the wide world, he tried to emulate Gob. It was just after Gobrick had gotten his lyre engraved with a halfling phrase, “Laughter and a smile make it all worthwhile”, that young Robrick got a closer look at his brother’s prized instrument. In secret he plucked a few notes and got giddy, a feeling that was cut short by his brother entering the room. Robrick quickly threw the lyre on the bed and sat on it to hide from Gob that he was messing with it. However, once he sat down there was a snap. The lyre’s frame was snapped, the strings now with nothing to connect to. Robrick had never seen his brother get so upset. Even Gob didn’t know he could get so upset!
Gobrick then set off on a small raft that the citizens of Willowdale used to sell crops and fish that they catch in the river. He just went with the current, wanting to get away. His father did, and so did Hobrick. Gob fell asleep before he reached anything and when he awoke, he was getting poked in the back by an armored guard. The halfling could feel the hot sun beating down on his head. Looking around, he definitely was not in Willowdale anymore. He somehow wound up in sand, but this was not a beach. It was definitely a desert.
Gob had a knack for entertaining people and making them smile. That was his favorite part. He eventually became a big hit at The Tiny Castle, a tavern that catered to patrons of a smaller stature. The halfling told the citizens of Heminster, the city he now found himself a part of, fantastical tales of getting transported to a vampire lord’s domain and having to fight his way out; of being a part of a troop of dwarves and a wizard trying to destroy a powerful magic ring; getting teleported to a far away jungle continent and having to destroy something called a Soulmonger to end a death curse.
After months of staying in Heminster, Gob began to get homesick. He didn’t know how to get back home, let alone how far from it he was. This was the start of a depression for the halfling. Halflings aren’t known to have long periods of sadness cloud their external happy attitude. During this depression, Gob noticed some patrons come into The Tiny Castle that had sun symbols on their clothing. After some small talk, he found out that they came from the largest spire of the city, from the temple of Pelor. That explained the sun symbols. I might have to check that out sometime, he thought.
A few days later, Gob received a package at The Tiny Castle. The dwarf bartender, Garrick, brought it to him. All that was written on the outside was Gob’s full name and a very familiar symbol of a sun in golden ink. Upon opening it, Gob gasped. It was his lyre. However, his lyre was no longer broken. It was seamless. Inside the box was also a folded piece of parchment. He unfolded it and out fell another folder letter. Reading the larger one first, he found out it was from his mom.
Gobrick,
I hope this letter finds you well. We miss you here. We also miss Robrick. He left soon after you did, trying to fix the wrong he committed. He set off to find someone to fix your lyre. I’m not sure how he did it, or who he brought it to, but it was sent back to Willowdale without him.
He said you were in Heminster. How did you even get there, Gob? That’s so far away...
I’m not sure if you’ll ever come home. My boys are now men, and wish to see the world. And that’s fine. I just wish they would all come back so I could see mine. Your father too.
I love you.
Mama Sunmeadow
Gob’s cheeks were streaked with tears as he held the letter close, as if it were his mother. He fell onto the bed in a fetal position. He hugged that letter as if it were his own mother. After wiping his face dry, he picked up and unfolded the second letter. This one from his brother Robrick.
Gob,
I’m sorry. For breaking your lyre. For driving you away. Both were things I never meant to do. You were always so captivating the way you used it along with your stories. I guess I just wanted to be like you. After you left, I knew I had to make it right.
It was a few days into my travels that I found another traveler, a wizard. He was a gnome, I think. Very… weird. He kept saying how he has to find his things, but it sounded like he was talking about a sing;le deck of cards. I asked if he could help me. And help he did. He put a simple enchantment on it to prevent any mundane wear and tear, string breaks, frame fractures, from happening. The thing was that I had to pay him back. He didn’t want money. He said to go to a port city north of us on a different continent, and that I’d know what to do.
I know not what lies ahead for me, but I do hope this lyre makes it to you. This strange gnome even helped me find out where you were! The City of a Thousand Spires!
I hope this helps. Again, I’m sorry.
Robrick
Gob didn’t know enough of the world to know what city his brother was meant to go to. Was Gob on a different continent or just on the other side of the same one as Willowdale? There was no mention of the sun on the package. Did they even put that there? Was it intercepted by someone? The halfling thought it was time to check out this temple of the sun god.
Wow, that's great. Honestly I didn't expect anyone to reply to this thread
I've got more. Another player and I roleplay out of character what our downtime is. It's usually heart to heart conversations but we also spawn several alternate universes where X happened instead of Y.
From the moment he was born, Jailyn Martyrin begun training. He grew up in a place where no one and no where was safe. You had to be ready to defend yourself at all times or risk the chance of dying, no matter how young or old you were. Jailyn was born to and elven mother and a human father in a very accepting town as the only thing that mattered to people there was that you could fight. If you could battle, you were welcome. His mother was an established warrior and his father, a medic who had saved many lives in numerous battles and wars. He was raised in a very loving, if not strict, household.
Once he turned 15, he was considered ready to go out on his own and live as an independent member of society. He could continue school, if he wanted to, or he could enlist in the army and become a warrior. Having a mother and father of such different backgrounds, he decided to do both. He would go to night school to become an experienced and trained warlock while training in the military camp during the rest of his time. This made him a very diversely talented person, with skills in both the art of magic and bonds and how to fight.
Being from this background, he was always very polite and respectful of his superiors, while also being very strict and didn't take any talk back from anyone. For many years, he went into many battles, losing friends, obtaining wounds, and gathering many stories because of it. He loves to tell these stories to the passionate little aspiring warriors he meets. He is said to be so experienced and tough, that he can stare down a hell hound without flinching. He has always been focused on the greater good of the people, and is not afraid to stand up to people in power if he thinks what they're doing is wrong, also being a strong believer in independence.
"Which do you think will be more effective, someone who can work independently without having to rely on someone or something else, or someone who can't do a thing without the permission or presence of others." he says to inspire his troops. "Our job is to defend our country, our community, our nation, the people. If we can't even defend ourselves, how are we supposed to defend others?"
Then, the biggest battle of his life begun. Not just a battle, but a full on war. He lost more people the first month of that war then he had lost in the past three years combined. Most important of all, his charge, a boy who was found in the devastated and abandoned town all on her own, parents dead, no other family to take her in. He had taken care of her for the past six months since, and losing her the way he had was the most devastating thing that had happened to him in his entire life. He felt it was his fault, as he wasn't watching her as closely as he should've been, or so he thought. His troops and he were camping at what they thought to be a safe location for the time being, still ready for battle though, always ready for battle. It came suddenly, too quickly for anyone to react quickly enough, not even him. He had left Maria, the girl, with a couple of his most trusted soldiers so he could go look over some strategy plans with some of his troops. The attack came swiftly and, though he was only a few feet away, a stray bullet had shot her right in her chest, a fatal wound. There was no hope of healing it, not even by means of Cleric or the strongest magic he could think of to help her. From that day on, he never left troops unsupervised. He held strategy meetings outside, even in the freezing cold. He would force everyone to not bother building cabins, but instead build one big barrack so that if they got attacked, they could all stay together. It also caused him to set out to fight for people who couldn't fight themselves, mainly little children.
He does not trust anyone with a child if they cannot fight. He believes that they are risking the lives of themselves and their children, and that it is a cruel thing to do. Even in the most peaceful of towns, you never know when someone might start a battle. That's why he is always extra vigilant in "quiet" towns. He is stubborn as well. He'd rather starve than admit when he's wrong.
Appearance: He is a 21 year old, 5 foot 9 man who has honey brown hair and hazel eyes. His skin is tanned from the many months he's spent outside, making him very freckled, not just on his face, but on his arms as well. He is strongly built, with muscly arms and toned legs. Although his face more resembled a child than a stern adult warrior, his eyes show all his trauma and maturity that came along with it. He has a massive scar, one of many, across his left eye ranging from the arch of his left eyebrow to his cheekbone, ragged and raised. The other scars he has are nothing compared to that one. His hair is wavy and goes down to his shoulders, but he mostly keeps it up away from his face unless he needs to stay hidden. The scar makes him much too identifiable so he uses his hair to cover it up when he needs to stay on the DL.
That's cool. I'd love to hear more. The first character I ever made was awful. Her name was Nearis and she was just so obnoxious. Thankfully, I learned my lesson then and now I'd like to think I make pretty good characters.
That's awesome. Glad you're enjoying it.
Here is a short story I wrote a couple years ago describing a rather harrowing and memorable encounter. The cast of characters includes Eddie the human fighter (me), Graeme the human ranger, Aura the elf druid, Sir Andrew the human paladin, and Cibook the gnome bard. We were investigating a collective organism called the Moxtyledon, which had infected all the vegetation in the area and some of the wildlife as well. It was Eddie's first near-death experience and the first time he really put himself in harm's way to help a party member.
"We're the perfect combination of expendable and unkillable!"
I wrote a little story to explain how a character (Faolan Corgus, human Barbarian) became a Totem Warrior and my group seemed to like it, so here it is. Background: the party is bring a valuable package from one town to another, about a two month trip in total.
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Why do dreams seem more real than waking life sometimes? Faolan felt his leg being torn open and was sure that the blood and the pain were real.
His dreams had been more vivid lately. Other nights when he dreamt about his childhood he felt the ground beneath him and smelled the dirt and sweat. He sat in a circle with the other Corgus children and finally remembered their names: Tala, Zef, Rollo, Channe, Lovota, Lupin, Alarick. They were his pack. Together they learned how to fight and also how to care for each other. That's right, Faolan had forgotten, the elders taught them how to heal each other. Keep your pack strong.
Tonight Faolan woke up in a forest. "Didn't I fallen asleep in the cart?", thought Faolan, though only for a moment. When he noticed a dozen wolves growling at him from a few feet away he stopped worrying about that.
The largest wolf took a step towards him. Then he spoke. "Why are you here?" That's not supposed to happen.
Faolan answered: "I don't know." Somehow he knew the wolves understood him.
The wolf spoke again. "You are not part of our pack so you are our enemy. Are you here to challenge me little wolf?" He must be their leader.
Faolan started to stand on his... four legs? Fine, this must be a dream. Faolan rose up and faced the other wolf. "I have a pack, they are not here now."
The Leader lunged forward and snapped at Faolan. Faolan snapped back and growled. Fight one of them or fight them all, he knew those were his options.
"Let's see who is quicker." Faolan jumped to one side and snapped at The Leader's haunch but missed. The Leader lunged for his neck but Faolan withdrew in time.
"Okay, let's see who is stronger." Faolan rammed The Leader and knocked him back but not down. This left Faolan exposed. Instantly The Leader's teeth were on his leg tearing into the flesh and fur.
"All right then, let's see who is tougher." Faolan swallowed the pain and brought his bite down on The Leader's shoulder. The Leader yelped but then shifted his bite upwards onto Faolan's belly. Bloodied and in each other's grip they tumbled to the ground, neither one letting go.
The other wolves watched. They would follow the strongest.
Pain shot through Faolan's stomach. "Gee, maybe it was something I ate." he thought, still half-certain this was a dream. Still, he was losing the fight. Both combatants were getting weaker but the Leader had a better grip on him.
"How do I win this? How do I kill him quickly?"
For a moment Faolan remembered the circle. How do you kill someone quickly? Pierce the heart. Pierce the brain. Slice through the jugular vein. He learned some interesting rhymes as a child. That's right, there was another reason why they were taught medicine.
The Leader was on the ground. Faolan was a bit above him. This was going to hurt. Faolan brought up his front legs and pulled to the side. A chunk of meat tore free from his belly and it was excruciating but The Leader was on his back and his neck was exposed so BITE AND TEAR.
The Leader was about to take another bite out of Faolan's belly but instead barked and screamed in pain. This was not right, too much pain, something was wrong. Faolan limped back and parried The Leader's frenzied snaps. The Leader struggled to his feet but weakened quickly. His snaps turned to barks as his eyes became glassy. Emboldened, Faolan maneuvered around The Leader and bit into his leg, dragging him down. He stayed down.
Faolan continued to attack even though there was no need. He tore into The Leader's belly. He ripped The Leader open. He felt himself rake the corpse with his claws. There was no need. The other wolves were gone. Faolan continued to tear.
Faolan awoke on the ground. The cart was there. The skinned corpse of a wolf was there. His friends were there. Faolan looked at his new skin, grey and hairy, just like in the circle when he was a child.
Journey to Clarity is the backstory of my Druid and how he went on his adventure.
The story of Orion Khelstar, from a campaign I ran for my nephew. We played the game via IM, so I was able to copy the sessions make them readable as a story. We got through several chapters before the game ended. The link below is to the prologue that I wrote up for the character. There was a great deal of mystery about his origins that my nephew didn't know about. I dropped some hints here and there, but he didn't pick up on them.
http://forgotten-realms.wandering-dwarf.com/shadows/shadows_prologue.php
The noble soul has reverence for itself. -- Nietzsche
http://forgotten-realms.wandering-dwarf.com/
My same monk Gob recently went back to his hometown to find it had been attacked by undead and was basically burned to the ground. He ran and practically left his party in the dust trying to make his way to his home to find his mom. His home was a blackened husk and there was no sign of his mother. Instead, he found his brother who had been corrupted by Orcus and sent them through a portal to the Abyss, specifically Thanatos. During their time in the Abyss, the group was able to take a ferry to a different plane: Pandemonium. Here is how they got out of Pandemonium.
When Mirabell threw down the cloth that was the Well of Many Worlds, it opened up the floor underneath her and Gob. The undead shaman dropped through to another plane while the halfling grabbed the edge of the portal and dangled. His hand was in Pandemonium while the rest of his body was dangling thousands of feet in the air above an ocean and islands. It looked like Loriene but he’s never seen anything from this far up before. His monk-like nimbleness would do nothing at this height, so he pulled himself back up to consult with his friends.
The plan was to link arms, fall in, and then Manny, the gnome wizard with a drug problem, would cast the spell Feather Fall. The only issue with this is the falling until they reach about 500 feet above the water THEN he would cast the spell.
While falling, Manny kept a wide grin on his face. There was something he wasn’t telling the rest of them. While everybody else was bracing for impact, the mage almost seemed relaxed. After about 15 seconds, Manny began the casting of the spell. The adventurers felt a tingling sensation in their stomachs while their descent slowed. Manny, however, kept falling at the same speed. He rocketed downwards into the ocean.
During their slow fall, the group leaned towards the chunk of land they saw to make sure they didn’t have to swim as much. Gob began running before he hit the water to ensure he could keep going. Madarai had a Ring of Water Walking, but due to a clumsy entrance he skipped across the water like a stone. Omyth had cast the spell Water Walk on himself and Khali.
As the group reached the landmass, they noticed a river leading out to sea and agreed to follow it. People tend to live along rivers, or at least use them for some purpose, so following it should lead them to someone. And they were right. A fisherman was on the river with his line out as the heroes approached.
Turns out, they were about a day and a half from Corene, a town they haven’t been in for almost a year. They hadn’t returned to it because it was under siege when they left. That was when The Blind Eye initiated their war on this world. Gob, Khali, Omyth, and Madarai were not strong enough to take out the soldiers back then. Could that army have gotten stronger too? The town was on fire when they left, leaving behind Grin Dicer, Angela, Grimtor, and the rest of Corene’s citizens.
Gob’s mood went from cheerful that they were back in the prime material plane to depressed that he was again so far away from Willowdale. Would he ever be able to save his mom? Was she beyond saving at this point? He didn’t know. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.
Coming over a hill, that’s when they saw it. Corene. A decimated mass of buildings, charred and empty, except for one. The temple of Ravana. The stone temple was still intact, though its windows were shattered. While they made their way into town, the group heard music and townsfolk. It was not because there were any actual townsfolk, but the ambient music stones placed around town. The magical sound producing stones were still active, and made the eerie sight even more so.
Gob’s mind flashed to a similar scene, that of Willowdale set ablaze. Then to his childhood home, a blackened husk of a house. When that image finally went away, his eyes witnessed dozens of the same blackened, charred, destroyed buildings.
Khali led the way to the temple of Ravana. “Wait out here,” she said. “I’ve got something I need to do in there.”
“Can I go in too?” Gob asked.
The elf replied in Elvish, knowing only he would understand her. “I need to do this alone, with Ravana. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want to be out here, but okay, that’s fine…” Gob sat next to the temple and tried to meditate. Tried to get the images out of his mind. If he didn’t see the destruction with his eyes open, he saw it with them closed. He could only think back to coming upon his home that was no more and falling to his knees, punching the ground, tears streaming down his face.
This is kinda off topic, but if any of you have wattpad, would you go check out my story. it's got 6 chapters as of today and it's a phsychological thriller/horror. it's called out of the corner of your eye. thanks