Post/Author/DateTime	Post
fuzzyrabbitstrikesback 03-20-06, 05:48 PM	Hi. My gaming group is going to be starting a new, level 1 campaign in the near future. Having played mostly melee-types in the past, I've decided to try something different. I've set my heart on playing a Warforged artificer. For now, I'm not going to worry about stats, feats, or other crunch. I need flavor and backstory. Now, let it be known that we play in homebrew worlds, not Eberron. So no war = very few Warforged. I'm looking for a way to fit my character into the world while still keeping him unique. I've talked with a fellow player and brainstormed the idea that his character would somehow discover Cal'vir, my character. Warforged become "inert" if their nonlethal damage equals or exceeds their hp. I'm assuming that being "inert" means being completely deactivated for purposes of awareness, and I'm considering working that into his background. In a nutshell, the idea I'm tinkering with is this: The Warforged awakens to see a half-elf standing over him. As his senses clear, the half-elf explains how he found the Warforged and what lengths he went to to fix this 'stone man'. The Warforged has no memory of his past. All he can find are small wooden carvings and other trinkets scattered around the area he was found in (I'm thinking in an underground cave complex or high in the mountains). After hearing this, the half-elf decides to name him Cal'vir, and the elven words for stone man, "calx vir". While he can't remember his specific past, he finds out very quickly that he loves to create things and in fact shows a great knack for crafting both mundane and magical items. At the point we begin adventuring, he'll have travelled with the half-elf for a month or two. He travels for many reasons, the most prominent being that he wants to see this new (to him) world. The second is his love of crafting. Third, Cal'vir feels he owes his existance to the half-elf, so he travels with him and helps him out. And finally, he journies in the hopes that he will one day uncover his past. I'm looking for ways to take this budding idea and really make something of it. With that, I humbly ask for comments and ideas. Thanks.
Dipteran_Legacy 03-21-06, 02:42 AM	I'd like to offer constructive points for you to build on, but with a "amnesia" past, especially one that seemingly goes right up to the start of the game, or close to it, there's little to develop :(
fuzzyrabbitstrikesback 03-21-06, 11:51 AM	Dipteran_Legacy: well, I talked with the half-elf player last night and apparently he ALSO wants to use the 'amnesia backstory'. For clarification, he's going to play a half-elf Blue Mage (Aramek's version, can be found in the Core Class Compendium on the boards for those interested). Basically, he lost his memory when he tried to learn a dangerous spell. FYI, Blue Mages learn spells by getting hit by them...and that still only gives them a chance. So the half-elf has amnesia. :( Another idea I had was to have a powerful wizard create me. He could be a construct specialist looking to create a companion to be his friend. He himself is a master craftsman, covering many different skills. So after many, many years he finally creates me. Overjoyed at his success, the kind wizard cares for me almost like a son. He teaches me the art of crafting (armorsmithing, sculpting, alchemy, pretty much every craft skill I can manage to take a point or two in) and, more importantly, he begins to teach me the secrets of creating magic items. During this time, my potential begins to show (my level of Artificer) and I quickly pick up the method of 'faking' spells that he teaches me. After this, I need a way to leave this wizard behind, guilt-free, and still have a reason to go adventure. I'm thinking my artificer's love of crafting and need to see the rest of the world should be enough. The scenario I'm envisioning is that I have been travelling the countryside for a few weeks when I come across the other players during the first play session. Perhaps have the wizard die of old age? Seems a bit anticlimatic, but that doesn't bother me too much. But if anyone has any better ideas that would foster a good reason to adventure, please share. Other than that questions and comments are still welcome.
Dipteran_Legacy 03-21-06, 11:07 PM	actually, the amnesia thing works alot better with two people, as long as you have faith in your DM's storytelling and creativity. you two could meet under really random circumstances.....mayhaps you're both in a bar, when a group of shady people come in and try to drag you both outside, and off to who knows where...after a bit of a scuffle, you introduce yourselves to each other, and ask if the other knew anything about the incident. you could join up then,-maybe the two of you are heading towards the same place or something- or join up later, upon another strangely random meeting. you could have the DM work out an elaborate backstory in which you both knew each other well, and some terrible event wiped both your memories clean, and left you separated.... just a thought, and it requires a lot of faith in a really good DM to work right, but it would be very awesome if it was pulled off right...
fuzzyrabbitstrikesback 03-22-06, 06:18 PM	While that's a cool idea, I don't think it would work incredibly well. I have my doubts that my DM would pull it off, but I admit that does seem like a very cool idea. Thanks, Dipteran_Legacy.