Post/Author/DateTime	Post
fuzzycrusader 05-16-07, 02:09 AM	He woke up this morning half dead on a river bank next to a general of the world's most powerful army and He has no idea how He got there, where He came from or what His name is. He took the general's armor (masterwork Breast Plate) and his bow and quiver (Masterwork Composite Longbow with 30 arrows) and broke off tree branch to fashion it into a great club. He's dressed in a kilt, woolen shirt and wool leggings. He has levels in Barbarian and a level in Bard. I need to think of a background for this character. maybe he was banished from his clan, maybe he was in some kind of battle. I know he's Celtic in heritage and has major fey bloodline. Beyond that I'm not sure what. this in itself is a pretty nutz scenario, and it provides me with a great reason to adventure. So what do you all think?
Westbound 05-16-07, 02:29 AM	Just to let you know before hand, I despise amnesia scenarios, whether in film or television, or RPGs. They're a little cliched. Not that cliche's are bad, necessarily; I tell you this just to give you an idea of where I'm coming from. Ok, you don't have any long term memory. What is your relationship with Caesar...er...this general? Friendly? Hostile? Has your character made any assumptions about the general, the army, and his condition when he awoke? Assumptions are not the same as reality, though in your Barbarian's case they are going to be until he's somehow proven wrong. Chances are, if he's totally amnesiac, he's going to start adopting cultural traits from those he has latched onto. If the general has taken him into his army, then you have to determine what kind of culture that army hails from and what traits it has. He will abandon his former heritage because as far as he knows it means nothing to him. Indeed, if his culture were worth remembering, and he figured through rational deduction that he was a part of that culture, then it would've been good enough to fend off the army and the general that found him? That is, if I presume correctly, that you want your character to be of a culture that was conquered by this general. On top of this, what do you want your character to become at L6, L8, L10, L14, and so on. Do you want to be a leader? Do you want to be a mighty warrior? Technically, your character is a blank slate. He may have training in Barbarian and Bard abilities, but beyond that he can do whatever he has the opportunity to become. He has been detached from his former life, and now he's got the rest of it to fill. He could be married and have children in that former life, and not even know it! Now that would be interesting.
fuzzycrusader 05-16-07, 02:38 AM	I totally forgot to mention that the general was dead. Major sorry. Thanks for helping despite your dislike of the premise. It's greatly appreciated.
Westbound 05-16-07, 03:29 AM	Oh, that's different. In spite of what I said about amnesia scenarios earlier, this sounds pretty interesting. The reason I dislike them is that they're pretty contrived, as in pretty convenient. In television especially, the amnesiac character has rather selective memory loss specifically meant to further a plot, like an episode of Gilligan's Island where the newcomer to the island is a surfer who can't remember just how he got there and how to even surf, but knows just about everything else. Okay, so I'm assuming that that army is either dead or gone. It's likely dead and/or routed (very hastily) because no army, if they could help it, would leave their general behind, alive or dead. Does your character recognize the general? Does your character recognize that the general was an important person, even if he doesn't recognize the general for the man he is? If he recognizes the general, does he realize, then, what kind of trouble he could conceivably get himself involved in if he runs into the wrong people? Like, say, members of the opposing army? Members of the retreating army who left their general behind (they're more likely to kill you on sight for desecrating their general's corpse, whether they liked him or not, because it's a matter of honor and unit pride). Even still, your character is a blank slate, and can adopt whatever cultural characteristics he deems appropriate to him to socialize and survive.
Fithero 05-16-07, 10:24 AM	Personally... id be a bit worried about walking around in a slain generals armor and carrying his weapon.... not the smartest move in the world. Im fond of characters with amnesia (having had a mild (very mild)) case of it myself. As Westbound stated, your a blank slate... just do whatever you want until you find something that you *feel* is right. You know you have anger issues (your rage ability) but you also like to sing, play an instrument (or whatever), thats a pretty interesting mix. Also, do you have any markings on your body, that could give you a clue to your past ie: lots of scars could mean conflict, or a tattoo could mean an affiliation of some sort. The most important question you face, i feel, is do you or do you not want to regain your lost memories? The game will take a dramaticly different path depending on what you choose. Hope this helps. Peace