Challenge - Characters based on song lyrics [Archive] - Wizards Community

Challenge - Characters based on song lyrics [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
RadicalTaoist
11-04-04, 08:40 PM Inspired by a recent thread, I think it would be cool to see how you could make a character based on a song. It's not a bad idea to give characters 'theme songs'. For example, my character Lehatharat, who you can find in the Psionic Bounty Hunter Project (see my sig) and in the Character Concept Compilation thread, would have Only In Dreams by Weezer (http://www.lyricsfreak.com/w/weezer/145647.html) as his theme song.

So the thread idea is, one person posts a song, and links to the lyrics (*NOTE* If you're linking to a song with adult lyrics, let's make life easy for the mods and put a warning before the links). The next couple of people build a character based with use of the posted song as a 'theme song', and once we're satisfied (or bored) with that, someone posts a new song.
Here, I'll start with an easy one:
Make a character inspired by the song Money, by the Kingsmen. (http://www.lyricsdownload.com/the-kingsmen-money-lyrics.html)
nihility
11-05-04, 02:07 PM I'll give this a try.

Build: Human Paragon 3/ Wizard 6/ Loremaster 10/ Mindbender 1 (order: HP 1, wiz 6, HP 2-3, Mind 1, Lore 10)

Alternate build: Bardic Sage 20 (UA bard variant)

Basic Concept: Through a combination of social skill, knowledge, and magical power, the character seeks to amass huge amounts of wealth.

Basic Background: The character comes from a city or large town. At a young age, the character's mother died unexpectedly, leaving a single father to care and provide for several children. Shattered by his wife's death, he was unable to hold down a job or do much of anything of use. Thus, his children were forced to run the household on their own. The character was the primary money-maker. As a child, the character could not secure a job that paid well enough to support a family, so the character turned to less scrupulous means to gain money: blackmail, gambling, and other schemes brought in money and kept the family fed. Outright robbery was avoided, since pint-sized pickpockets are both common and expected. An anonymous note that threatens to present your wife with evidence of infidelity, on the other hand, is unlikely to be associated with a ten-year-old.

As the character grew to adulthood, they learned to associate money with security and happiness, and to associate intelligence and guile with making money. Thus it was that, when the character finally left home, a college of wizardry was the destination. Raw power, gained through study and discipline, was a sure path to the character's goals. Combinied with social skills learned through hard practice and a knack for manipulating others, the character found themself to be well-equipped indeed.

Basic Motivation and Outlook: Money and control bring happiness and security. The world is not fair, not just, and not nice. You must fight to stay alive, and your wits and your tongue are your best weapons.

Ability Scores: INT (obviously) and CON - if you make your money by running scams on the street, you'll take a beating every now and then. Live with it or die.

Relationships: Not at all interested in making close friends, though such a relationship would probably be of benefit to the character. Sees others mostly as business partners, competition, or potential sources of profit.

Inspirations and Images: The song "Money" (of course), Nabiki from "Ranma 1/2," "Citizen Kane."
Baator the dark
11-05-04, 08:55 PM Build: CN Epic Level Bard (probably around 21-25 level) I know this sounds munchkin but the song justifies it.

Basic Concept: An exceptionally cocky young man who is the best fiddle player on the material plane.

Background: Johnny was never really raised, he just sort of grew up on his own providing for himself as best he could. He made a living very early on as a street performer in the tiny villages he circulated around. From an early age Johnny was a free spirit and never focused on anything for long except for his fiddle. He practiced every day and by 10 he was playing for nobles and merchants. His skill fed his great ego and he became very cocky and often bragged in front of other musicians. The problem was he was too good, he never met anyone that had the same skill he had which earned him many enemies. However, the nobles he entertained were absolutely enamored with his music and paid him handsomely. Johnny just waisted the money on ale and gambling. One day, a powerful Pit Fiend, a musician himself, appeared before Johnny. The boy didn't flee he stood there sizing the devil up. The Pit Fiend thought having control over the boy's soul would give him the upper hand against the other demon princes if he could control the mind altering music Johnny produced. So to pull off the scam the fiend appealed to Johnny's pride and his greed at the same time, offering the boy a fiddle made of the purest gold if he could beat the devil in a contest. The devil would collect Johnny's soul if he lost however. Johnny took the bet and proved to be more skilled than the Pit Fiend thought. He beat the devil in the contest and collected the golden fiddle.

Motivations: Johnny has an overwhelming desire to prove he is the best at his particular art, he brags boasts and gambles. He is also very good at what he does, so not many can show him up.

Abilities: Charisma obviously for a bard. Intellegence should be average and maybe a lower than average Wisdom score (Johnny isn't to keen on knowing when to stop bragging). Johnny should also have above average Strength and Constitution from surviving his rough child hood and all the barfights his lack of humility gets him into.

Inspiration: "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" -Charlie Daniels Band
RadicalTaoist
11-07-04, 08:44 AM I'll give this a try.That's what I want :D
Nice one Baator, but could you link to lyrics?
RadicalTaoist
12-27-04, 12:30 AM Time for a tad of board necromancy :schemes:

Song - Redemption Song by Bob Marley and the Wailers (http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bob-marley/21829.html)

Race and Build - Goliath, Bard is necessary, Dawncaller, Cleric, Divine Champion, Apostle of Peace, and Mystic Theurge optional, but good ideas. Also Holy Liberator and Goliath Liberator are worth looking at.

Notable mechanics - several Vow feats from the Book of Exalted Deeds, notably Vow of Poverty.

Motivation - to protect the Goliath tribes from those who would enslave them. He believes, however, that it is more important to fight against a victim mentality in the enslaved than to punish the enslavers for their wrongdoing; to him, hatred is the most powerful enslaving force.

Background - An escapee from Giant slavery as a child, he watched his fellow survivors hunt giant slaving bands for the rest of their days, consumed with bitterness. He swore to himself, after seeing the slavery imposed by other races on other races, that he would never die with that kind of venom in his heart. As such, he travels and uses his bardic career to support liberation movements for any number of races, from motivating supporters to delivering secret messages encoded in song for underground resistance movements.
Mirikon
12-27-04, 07:46 PM Wherever I May Roam -- Metallica (http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Metallica/Wherever-I-May-Roam.html)

Melinda Eriksdaughter

The tale begins twenty years before the birth of Melinda Eriksdaughter. In the far north of the world, a group of four young barbarians were out hunting, when they were set upon by a Remorhaz. Three of the four were killed outright, but the fourth, Erik Olrickson, slayed the creature. However, just before it died, the creature gave Erik a mortal wound. As Erik lay upon the ground, his lifeblood turning the white snow to crimson, a creature appeared before him. Erik new instantly that it was a fiend or devil of some kind, but at this point, he was beyond caring of such things. Better to die in battle. He tried to struggle to his feet, but the devil laughed. "You are strong, warrior, so I will offer you a chance to live, and grow stronger."

The wounded warrior, knowing that otherwise he was lost, accepted the deal, even though he did not know what would be asked of him in exchange. The devil pulled out a wand, and touched it to the warrior's forehead. Healing magic spread through him, healing the worst of his wounds. The devil then did something else. He put his hand to Erik's forehead, and said, "You shall bear a child, and when you do, she will be given powers with which she will serve me." Erik felt a cold feeling pass through him, some dark magic, he supposed. And then the devil vanished, leaving no trace of his being there.

Erik Olrickson returned to his tribe, and, for the next twenty years, began building a life for himself. In time, he forgot the Devil, and the bargain, especially when his firstborn was not a girl, but a boy. Even when his second child, a girl, was born twenty years after the encounter with the Remorhaz, he did not remember it.

On her fifteenth birthday, one of the young warriors of the tribe attempted to rape Melinda. She fought back, and though the warrior was stronger than she was, he found himself running in fear, as a bolt of magical energy flew from her hands, striking him. As the news of Melinda's strange powers spread through the village, Erik remembered the pact with the devil, and he was afraid.

The tribal elders held a meeting, in which Melinda's fate was to be judged. Though the elders wished her dead, to keep this 'witch' from harming the tribe, Erik managed to convince them to exile her, instead. Let the frost have her.

And so, at the age of fifteen, Melinda Eriksdaughter was cast out from her tribe, her people, and forced to roam the wilderness, looking for food as best she could. Eventually, she made her way to a nearby city, and joined with a group of adventurers, and now she journeys throughout the world as she learns to hone her powers.

Motivations: Melinda is a Warlock who has been outcast from her tribe. now she adventures and roams the world. She has no home but where she lays her head at night, and whenever people find out the nature of her powers, she is forced to continue on her way. She is extremely bitter about the way she was cast out, and would gladly kill any barbarian that crosses her path, or anyone who calls her a barbarian. Melinda has forsaken the god of her peoples, and instead worships a dark god of revenge and destruction.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
RadicalTaoist 11-04-04, 08:40 PM	Inspired by a recent thread, I think it would be cool to see how you could make a character based on a song. It's not a bad idea to give characters 'theme songs'. For example, my character Lehatharat, who you can find in the Psionic Bounty Hunter Project (see my sig) and in the Character Concept Compilation thread, would have Only In Dreams by Weezer (http://www.lyricsfreak.com/w/weezer/145647.html) as his theme song. So the thread idea is, one person posts a song, and links to the lyrics (NOTE If you're linking to a song with adult lyrics, let's make life easy for the mods and put a warning before the links). The next couple of people build a character based with use of the posted song as a 'theme song', and once we're satisfied (or bored) with that, someone posts a new song. Here, I'll start with an easy one: Make a character inspired by the song Money, by the Kingsmen. (http://www.lyricsdownload.com/the-kingsmen-money-lyrics.html)
nihility 11-05-04, 02:07 PM	I'll give this a try. Build: Human Paragon 3/ Wizard 6/ Loremaster 10/ Mindbender 1 (order: HP 1, wiz 6, HP 2-3, Mind 1, Lore 10) Alternate build: Bardic Sage 20 (UA bard variant) Basic Concept: Through a combination of social skill, knowledge, and magical power, the character seeks to amass huge amounts of wealth. Basic Background: The character comes from a city or large town. At a young age, the character's mother died unexpectedly, leaving a single father to care and provide for several children. Shattered by his wife's death, he was unable to hold down a job or do much of anything of use. Thus, his children were forced to run the household on their own. The character was the primary money-maker. As a child, the character could not secure a job that paid well enough to support a family, so the character turned to less scrupulous means to gain money: blackmail, gambling, and other schemes brought in money and kept the family fed. Outright robbery was avoided, since pint-sized pickpockets are both common and expected. An anonymous note that threatens to present your wife with evidence of infidelity, on the other hand, is unlikely to be associated with a ten-year-old. As the character grew to adulthood, they learned to associate money with security and happiness, and to associate intelligence and guile with making money. Thus it was that, when the character finally left home, a college of wizardry was the destination. Raw power, gained through study and discipline, was a sure path to the character's goals. Combinied with social skills learned through hard practice and a knack for manipulating others, the character found themself to be well-equipped indeed. Basic Motivation and Outlook: Money and control bring happiness and security. The world is not fair, not just, and not nice. You must fight to stay alive, and your wits and your tongue are your best weapons. Ability Scores: INT (obviously) and CON - if you make your money by running scams on the street, you'll take a beating every now and then. Live with it or die. Relationships: Not at all interested in making close friends, though such a relationship would probably be of benefit to the character. Sees others mostly as business partners, competition, or potential sources of profit. Inspirations and Images: The song "Money" (of course), Nabiki from "Ranma 1/2," "Citizen Kane."
Baator the dark 11-05-04, 08:55 PM	Build: CN Epic Level Bard (probably around 21-25 level) I know this sounds munchkin but the song justifies it. Basic Concept: An exceptionally cocky young man who is the best fiddle player on the material plane. Background: Johnny was never really raised, he just sort of grew up on his own providing for himself as best he could. He made a living very early on as a street performer in the tiny villages he circulated around. From an early age Johnny was a free spirit and never focused on anything for long except for his fiddle. He practiced every day and by 10 he was playing for nobles and merchants. His skill fed his great ego and he became very cocky and often bragged in front of other musicians. The problem was he was too good, he never met anyone that had the same skill he had which earned him many enemies. However, the nobles he entertained were absolutely enamored with his music and paid him handsomely. Johnny just waisted the money on ale and gambling. One day, a powerful Pit Fiend, a musician himself, appeared before Johnny. The boy didn't flee he stood there sizing the devil up. The Pit Fiend thought having control over the boy's soul would give him the upper hand against the other demon princes if he could control the mind altering music Johnny produced. So to pull off the scam the fiend appealed to Johnny's pride and his greed at the same time, offering the boy a fiddle made of the purest gold if he could beat the devil in a contest. The devil would collect Johnny's soul if he lost however. Johnny took the bet and proved to be more skilled than the Pit Fiend thought. He beat the devil in the contest and collected the golden fiddle. Motivations: Johnny has an overwhelming desire to prove he is the best at his particular art, he brags boasts and gambles. He is also very good at what he does, so not many can show him up. Abilities: Charisma obviously for a bard. Intellegence should be average and maybe a lower than average Wisdom score (Johnny isn't to keen on knowing when to stop bragging). Johnny should also have above average Strength and Constitution from surviving his rough child hood and all the barfights his lack of humility gets him into. Inspiration: "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" -Charlie Daniels Band
RadicalTaoist 11-07-04, 08:44 AM	I'll give this a try.That's what I want :D Nice one Baator, but could you link to lyrics?
RadicalTaoist 12-27-04, 12:30 AM	Time for a tad of board necromancy :schemes: Song - Redemption Song by Bob Marley and the Wailers (http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bob-marley/21829.html) Race and Build - Goliath, Bard is necessary, Dawncaller, Cleric, Divine Champion, Apostle of Peace, and Mystic Theurge optional, but good ideas. Also Holy Liberator and Goliath Liberator are worth looking at. Notable mechanics - several Vow feats from the Book of Exalted Deeds, notably Vow of Poverty. Motivation - to protect the Goliath tribes from those who would enslave them. He believes, however, that it is more important to fight against a victim mentality in the enslaved than to punish the enslavers for their wrongdoing; to him, hatred is the most powerful enslaving force. Background - An escapee from Giant slavery as a child, he watched his fellow survivors hunt giant slaving bands for the rest of their days, consumed with bitterness. He swore to himself, after seeing the slavery imposed by other races on other races, that he would never die with that kind of venom in his heart. As such, he travels and uses his bardic career to support liberation movements for any number of races, from motivating supporters to delivering secret messages encoded in song for underground resistance movements.
Mirikon 12-27-04, 07:46 PM	Wherever I May Roam -- Metallica (http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Metallica/Wherever-I-May-Roam.html) Melinda Eriksdaughter The tale begins twenty years before the birth of Melinda Eriksdaughter. In the far north of the world, a group of four young barbarians were out hunting, when they were set upon by a Remorhaz. Three of the four were killed outright, but the fourth, Erik Olrickson, slayed the creature. However, just before it died, the creature gave Erik a mortal wound. As Erik lay upon the ground, his lifeblood turning the white snow to crimson, a creature appeared before him. Erik new instantly that it was a fiend or devil of some kind, but at this point, he was beyond caring of such things. Better to die in battle. He tried to struggle to his feet, but the devil laughed. "You are strong, warrior, so I will offer you a chance to live, and grow stronger." The wounded warrior, knowing that otherwise he was lost, accepted the deal, even though he did not know what would be asked of him in exchange. The devil pulled out a wand, and touched it to the warrior's forehead. Healing magic spread through him, healing the worst of his wounds. The devil then did something else. He put his hand to Erik's forehead, and said, "You shall bear a child, and when you do, she will be given powers with which she will serve me." Erik felt a cold feeling pass through him, some dark magic, he supposed. And then the devil vanished, leaving no trace of his being there. Erik Olrickson returned to his tribe, and, for the next twenty years, began building a life for himself. In time, he forgot the Devil, and the bargain, especially when his firstborn was not a girl, but a boy. Even when his second child, a girl, was born twenty years after the encounter with the Remorhaz, he did not remember it. On her fifteenth birthday, one of the young warriors of the tribe attempted to rape Melinda. She fought back, and though the warrior was stronger than she was, he found himself running in fear, as a bolt of magical energy flew from her hands, striking him. As the news of Melinda's strange powers spread through the village, Erik remembered the pact with the devil, and he was afraid. The tribal elders held a meeting, in which Melinda's fate was to be judged. Though the elders wished her dead, to keep this 'witch' from harming the tribe, Erik managed to convince them to exile her, instead. Let the frost have her. And so, at the age of fifteen, Melinda Eriksdaughter was cast out from her tribe, her people, and forced to roam the wilderness, looking for food as best she could. Eventually, she made her way to a nearby city, and joined with a group of adventurers, and now she journeys throughout the world as she learns to hone her powers. Motivations: Melinda is a Warlock who has been outcast from her tribe. now she adventures and roams the world. She has no home but where she lays her head at night, and whenever people find out the nature of her powers, she is forced to continue on her way. She is extremely bitter about the way she was cast out, and would gladly kill any barbarian that crosses her path, or anyone who calls her a barbarian. Melinda has forsaken the god of her peoples, and instead worships a dark god of revenge and destruction.