Background story for an abjurant champion [Archive] - Wizards Community

Background story for an abjurant champion [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
the_redbeard
07-30-07, 05:00 AM Chorin Koth, his blades were quick but magic is quicker.

“Oh, yeah, I was an ass-kicker alright. Quicker than anyone in the bars in Eltabar. What? You think that in Thay there aren't bars seedier than this? The people that work for the Red Wizards build up quite a thirst. I should know – I used to be one of them. Where do you think these red eyes come from? Yes, I've got some bad blood back there some where. With my luck with women (wink), must be some kind of incubus back there, heh, that tricked his way under the skirts of one of my great great grandmothers.

“Anyway. Yes, I was quick, and thought my blades were quick enough to get out of any scrape, or that I could get away from any trouble I got myself into – which was plenty. I should have known better, being in Thay. This one time I won a poker game against a half-ogre, bluffed him completely. I should have known better not to show him my cards after he folded (grins) but even after he busted the card table with his great axe, I still managed to grab a ruby from the pot and tumble between his legs and out that door.

“Yeah, I can see I'm going on too long on how quick I am. And I know now that my blades and my feet aren't fast enough. Not fast enough for magic. It wasn't cards. It was a woman. Heh, yeah, you'd think that with a smile like mine (grins showing pointed teeth) they wouldn't have anything to do with me. But I can play a smile like this like I can play a poor hand of cards, and I can tell them what they want to hear.

“Her name was Racine, and I told her what she wanted to hear. She had hair black as jet, long and thick. But it was her wealth as much as her looks that had me interested. My favorite combination. She wasn't even wearing her wedding ring – not that I think it would have stopped me, but I might have been more, discrete shall we say. (wink again). So when her husband stormed into that bar, it was her only reaction that told me I was in trouble.

“Still, what did I know? I'd always been quick enough. Not that time. I shouldn't be here today, I should be dead, and I don't think Shaundakul (lesser deity of travel, portals, wind, p 250 of the FRCS) would have sent winds to keep my soul from the Abyss. (makes a sign for the god in the air).

“A word and a wave and I was helpless. I'd be dead if he hadn't wanted to taunt me and teach Racine a lesson. Her dagger in his back saved my life that night, broke his concentration and gave me a head start. Shaundakul saved me after that, and several times since. I've learned that Racine's affair with me ended up being quite public, and the wizard, one Metoth Ankhalab, feels that he must kill me for his pride, as well as his place in the pecking order of the Red Wizards. So he's after me, and the god of travel and portals is my escape. These days, I seek magic and those paths. Which is why we're talking.

“Like I said, if Shaundakul, Rider of the Winds, hadn't helped me, I'd not have gotten away from Metoth and his trackers. Metoth's magic is fast, but the Shaundakul is faster, and he knows the quickest paths. Like that portal you said you knew about. If my story won't be coin in exchange for its location, how about we play a game of cards?”

Chorin begins as a swashbuckler, a vagabond, living by his wits amongst the servants of the Red Wizards. He thought the quickness of his hands and his wit would be fast enough, but then was humbled by magic. From then on, his life changed. Hounded by a Red Wizard, Chorin not only turned to magic himself, but also found a cause.

Class progression:
swashbuckler3->wiz2->fighter1->abjurant champion5->swiftblade
Race: lesser tiefling

I've read a grand total of one Forgotten Realms book (uh, didn't care for it much really) but I'm in a campaign in Faerun now. So I don't really know if it fits the setting that well.

I'm coming in after the group started, and they needed a melee type/meat shield. That's not my favorite character role, so I came up with the above progression - a melee oriented fighter-gish. Yep, not fully optimized, doesn't get 9th level spells - we won't get that far anyway.
With the swashbuckler levels, he starts with a good BAB, good hit points, two weapon fighting and insightful strike, as well as good skill ranks in bluff, sense motive and tumble. For cheap roleplaying cheese I'll likely quote lines from Kenny Rodger's 'the gambler' - "know when to walk away, know when to run."
JulesCARV
07-30-07, 05:42 PM Mechanically, one thing that concerns me is that fighter and swashbuckler are more than one level apart, and neither are a favored class for lesser tieflings, so unless your DM has house ruled that they don't apply, you'll be taking 20% experience penalties. The easiest way out that I see is taking a second level of fighter.

Anyway, I like the backstory. One issue, though, is that he seems to be charming, but not terribly bright. Not dumb, but nothing in his story made him seem very smart either, and I presume you'll want your intelligence to be high if you're going to be a wizardl-based abjurant champion. After reading the story, I expected him to be a sorcerer or bard-based, and seeing that he was a wizard surprised me.

Overall, good stuff.
the_redbeard
07-31-07, 04:41 AM Mechanically, one thing that concerns me is that fighter and swashbuckler are more than one level apart, and neither are a favored class for lesser tieflings, so unless your DM has house ruled that they don't apply, you'll be taking 20% experience penalties. The easiest way out that I see is taking a second level of fighter.

Anyway, I like the backstory. One issue, though, is that he seems to be charming, but not terribly bright. Not dumb, but nothing in his story made him seem very smart either, and I presume you'll want your intelligence to be high if you're going to be a wizardl-based abjurant champion. After reading the story, I expected him to be a sorcerer or bard-based, and seeing that he was a wizard surprised me.

Overall, good stuff.

Thanks.
We houserule away the experience penalties in a puff of rule zero. I should have mentioned that.

I see what you're saying on the tone of the piece. I was trying to convey a 'street' smarts feel which can be just as intelligent without the vocabulary. (His intelligence is high to be sure.) I'll keep it in mind for further pieces and a rewrite.

In play I've kept with the 'gambler' theme with dialog, corny as that is. I'm having fun so far, though with only two sessions I haven't had much room to explore.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
the_redbeard 07-30-07, 05:00 AM	Chorin Koth, his blades were quick but magic is quicker. “Oh, yeah, I was an ass-kicker alright. Quicker than anyone in the bars in Eltabar. What? You think that in Thay there aren't bars seedier than this? The people that work for the Red Wizards build up quite a thirst. I should know – I used to be one of them. Where do you think these red eyes come from? Yes, I've got some bad blood back there some where. With my luck with women (wink), must be some kind of incubus back there, heh, that tricked his way under the skirts of one of my great great grandmothers. “Anyway. Yes, I was quick, and thought my blades were quick enough to get out of any scrape, or that I could get away from any trouble I got myself into – which was plenty. I should have known better, being in Thay. This one time I won a poker game against a half-ogre, bluffed him completely. I should have known better not to show him my cards after he folded (grins) but even after he busted the card table with his great axe, I still managed to grab a ruby from the pot and tumble between his legs and out that door. “Yeah, I can see I'm going on too long on how quick I am. And I know now that my blades and my feet aren't fast enough. Not fast enough for magic. It wasn't cards. It was a woman. Heh, yeah, you'd think that with a smile like mine (grins showing pointed teeth) they wouldn't have anything to do with me. But I can play a smile like this like I can play a poor hand of cards, and I can tell them what they want to hear. “Her name was Racine, and I told her what she wanted to hear. She had hair black as jet, long and thick. But it was her wealth as much as her looks that had me interested. My favorite combination. She wasn't even wearing her wedding ring – not that I think it would have stopped me, but I might have been more, discrete shall we say. (wink again). So when her husband stormed into that bar, it was her only reaction that told me I was in trouble. “Still, what did I know? I'd always been quick enough. Not that time. I shouldn't be here today, I should be dead, and I don't think Shaundakul (lesser deity of travel, portals, wind, p 250 of the FRCS) would have sent winds to keep my soul from the Abyss. (makes a sign for the god in the air). “A word and a wave and I was helpless. I'd be dead if he hadn't wanted to taunt me and teach Racine a lesson. Her dagger in his back saved my life that night, broke his concentration and gave me a head start. Shaundakul saved me after that, and several times since. I've learned that Racine's affair with me ended up being quite public, and the wizard, one Metoth Ankhalab, feels that he must kill me for his pride, as well as his place in the pecking order of the Red Wizards. So he's after me, and the god of travel and portals is my escape. These days, I seek magic and those paths. Which is why we're talking. “Like I said, if Shaundakul, Rider of the Winds, hadn't helped me, I'd not have gotten away from Metoth and his trackers. Metoth's magic is fast, but the Shaundakul is faster, and he knows the quickest paths. Like that portal you said you knew about. If my story won't be coin in exchange for its location, how about we play a game of cards?” Chorin begins as a swashbuckler, a vagabond, living by his wits amongst the servants of the Red Wizards. He thought the quickness of his hands and his wit would be fast enough, but then was humbled by magic. From then on, his life changed. Hounded by a Red Wizard, Chorin not only turned to magic himself, but also found a cause. Class progression: swashbuckler3->wiz2->fighter1->abjurant champion5->swiftblade Race: lesser tiefling I've read a grand total of one Forgotten Realms book (uh, didn't care for it much really) but I'm in a campaign in Faerun now. So I don't really know if it fits the setting that well. I'm coming in after the group started, and they needed a melee type/meat shield. That's not my favorite character role, so I came up with the above progression - a melee oriented fighter-gish. Yep, not fully optimized, doesn't get 9th level spells - we won't get that far anyway. With the swashbuckler levels, he starts with a good BAB, good hit points, two weapon fighting and insightful strike, as well as good skill ranks in bluff, sense motive and tumble. For cheap roleplaying cheese I'll likely quote lines from Kenny Rodger's 'the gambler' - "know when to walk away, know when to run."
JulesCARV 07-30-07, 05:42 PM	Mechanically, one thing that concerns me is that fighter and swashbuckler are more than one level apart, and neither are a favored class for lesser tieflings, so unless your DM has house ruled that they don't apply, you'll be taking 20% experience penalties. The easiest way out that I see is taking a second level of fighter. Anyway, I like the backstory. One issue, though, is that he seems to be charming, but not terribly bright. Not dumb, but nothing in his story made him seem very smart either, and I presume you'll want your intelligence to be high if you're going to be a wizardl-based abjurant champion. After reading the story, I expected him to be a sorcerer or bard-based, and seeing that he was a wizard surprised me. Overall, good stuff.
the_redbeard 07-31-07, 04:41 AM	Mechanically, one thing that concerns me is that fighter and swashbuckler are more than one level apart, and neither are a favored class for lesser tieflings, so unless your DM has house ruled that they don't apply, you'll be taking 20% experience penalties. The easiest way out that I see is taking a second level of fighter. Anyway, I like the backstory. One issue, though, is that he seems to be charming, but not terribly bright. Not dumb, but nothing in his story made him seem very smart either, and I presume you'll want your intelligence to be high if you're going to be a wizardl-based abjurant champion. After reading the story, I expected him to be a sorcerer or bard-based, and seeing that he was a wizard surprised me. Overall, good stuff. Thanks. We houserule away the experience penalties in a puff of rule zero. I should have mentioned that. I see what you're saying on the tone of the piece. I was trying to convey a 'street' smarts feel which can be just as intelligent without the vocabulary. (His intelligence is high to be sure.) I'll keep it in mind for further pieces and a rewrite. In play I've kept with the 'gambler' theme with dialog, corny as that is. I'm having fun so far, though with only two sessions I haven't had much room to explore.