Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Radijs 05-06-07, 06:09 PM	But now the war's over... The basic concept is like this: In the DM's world there is one nation who'se main export is people or rather soldiers/cannon fodder. Bourke Süleyman's parents couldn't afford to keep him so they sold him away to the millitary where he was trained to fight and kill from a very young age. He knows tactics, he knows magic and he knows how to fight. But he doesn't know much of anything else. By all rights his life should have been spent on the field of battle but due to an administrative flamingo-up (thats like a ****-up only worse) he was discharged and sent packing. Now he wanders around as a sword for hire. Thats the basic concept I've got in my head for a backup character. I'm thinking of making him a bit of a violent sociopath. Evil but not by choice. As far as he has been taught, murder, pillage and looting are things that are perfectly fine and violence is an excellent resort to fall back on when you fear that its going to go over your head. What else would be a nice touch for this eternal soldier?
JulesCARV 05-06-07, 09:51 PM	Out of curiousity -- what's his class? Perhaps he could have a kind of submissive personality. If anyone has any suggestions, he's inclined to take them. Perhaps he has something of a stunted sense of aesthetics. He doesn't know what people are talking about when they say that something is beautiful, ugly, jarring, etc. Maybe no sense of humor. Perhaps even no sense of pleasure in anything. Maybe he knows, to some extent, that he's somehow incomplete. He knows there has to be more to life than what he experiences. He doesn't know exactly what it is that other people have that he doesn't, though. He knows that there's some piece of him that's "missing," but he doesn't know what that piece looks like, or where it would fit. Or maybe not. Maybe he regards himself as a superior being, who has risen above the petty concerns of others, and become focused on the core of life: conflict, offense, and defense. I'm not sure.
DojiHoturi 05-07-07, 01:16 AM	If he was essentially a slave trained in a military environment, he would know that his actions have consequences. That may or may not bother him if he feels he will be able to get out of any trouble he causes. Just because he was bred for combat does not necessarily mean he is not intelligent enough to realize there is something else besides fighting. It sounds like he is smart enough to wield magic (although maybe not if he is actually a sorcerer and not a wizard). Chances are he would prefer structure being that that is what he is most used to. However, he might have always chaffed under the thumb of his leadership. A sociopath, almost by definition, does everything by choice. It is just that his definition of what is right and wrong are different from the rest of societies. What makes a sociopath 'evil' is how far one goes in the pursuit of his lifestyle. If you every read 'Ender's Game' by Orson Scott Card (I highly recommend it if you havn't). Ender is a sociopath. He is so freaking smart that he thinks way beyond where most of us are comfortable. This makes him a sociopath in the fact that his actions seems to have no or very little reason to those around him, but from the character's perpective, they make total sense. As far as all those naughty things that he has been taught to be acceptable (murder/looting/pillaging), that is kind of a stretch. Most professional armies do not encourage that sort of behavior. Although they can be devastating to a nations morale initially, eventually it turns into something which will haunt the invading army as partisans and rebels start their business. If an enemy knows it will be shown no mercy or quarter, it will fight that much harder for its survival. Yes, there was a time that mercenaries were often partially paid in plunder. But this was somewhat uncommon for the reasons mentioned above. Of course, I am speaking in terms of our world in this regard... Keep in mind that killing in war is not considered murder. Killing outside of that context, it is (or can be). Very few soldiers in any era would find themselves willing or able to kill someone who is defenseless unless there was an immediate threat to himself or his fellows by leaving that individual alive. It just isn't done. Violence as a backup reaction when he is overwhelmed is completely reasonable. That is just how he shows his frustration. Now if he is unable to control his frustration that he ends up killing folks (or even just severely beating them), then that is a problem, and he will reap the consequences as his list of assaults and kills continues to get longer and he becomes a scourge on the land. Do you really want to have to deal with every community keeping a look out for your man? To be honest, I would never want a character like this in my party unless I wanted the heartache that would go with it. If I were not already hunted by the law and just wanted some extra muscle to help me out and all it took was to offer him some of the loot, then yeah, I would have him join me. I would not trust him further than I could throw him, however. But if I was neutral or good, I would likely as not, be part of the group that was coming to turn your guy into the authorities. Not sure what your current party is like, might want to blow the idea by them and your GM and see that it really fits what you guys are doing. Cool character ideas are fun, but if they do not fit your parties goals, save the concept for another gaming group/campaign. 2 pennies, Doji
Radijs 05-07-07, 03:57 AM	Well he is a sorcerous gish, trained for mounted combat. In total a nice combination of classes and PRC's that I picked up on the charopt forum. He's strong, charismatic but not very dextrous or smart. I'm currently behind a diffrent machine then where I keep my DnD stuff. but IIRC he has STR 18, dex 12, con 14, int 10 cha 14. I should have mentioned (but I forgot) that the enemy he has been fighting is an inherently evil force (not unlike the shadowlands from oriental adventures). The general idea that I've got rolling around in my mind is that he knows he's missing a few beats to the bar but he doesn't know how to deal with it. Taking orders & carrying out instructions is second nature to him and he's not so daft that he can't learn something new. So the paladin-like pc in the group will have some nice oppertunities to reform this character. What Jules said sounds like an interesting concept as well. Someone so stunted that he just doesn't function as a person. He just shuts down a little bit.