Post/Author/DateTime	Post
JohntheDM 08-22-05, 02:29 PM	"Where I come from there are many ways to live, but even more ways to die." - Zreth Zreth was born into a ferocious tribe of warrior goblins known as the goreblades. Although small in number they did a good job of maintaining their freedom from local orc hobgoblin and bugbear tribes and keeping settling humans on their toes so they could not take over what the group saw as their land. This kept them continously on the move and imbued in Zreth a healthy dose of paranoia and some would say cowardice. Those who said cowardice very quickly learned to hold their tounges after a group of goblin youths who abandoned Zreth while on a hunting expedition found themselves being tracked to a cave where Zreth cut out the tounge of the groups leader and carved a c for coward into every one of his enemies flesh as they slept. Those actions earned Zreth a beating that put him an inch from death, courtesy of the father of one of the youths-the now heavily scarred Zreth then swore that he would never let theatrics get in the way of vengance-satisfaction was not compensation for the scars across his face, arms, legs and back that bother him to this day. As Zreth came of age he grew silent and brooding taking pleasure in what he saw as subtly mocking the son of the chief with the same silence he had inflicted on him. The only one among his tribe that he would speak to unforced was his mother Nirka- a shaman of the tribe and one who showed him favor uncharacteristic of a goblin mother and he spent many days after stalking about on raids talking to his mother about her dreams and the omens she saw. He never really believed in such things-his mother's magic was real enough but he thought her prophetic dreams delusions and assured her many times that "everything would be alright". He would learn to curse that naviete. A group of adventurers sent by a local town to clear out the menace struck in the middle of the night when he was away scouting. He came back just in time to hear as the members of his tribe were slaughtered one by one. His mother cried out to him that night as one of the mercenaries brutually stabbed her to death asking...begging...pleading for his help. He knew that he could not help he knew that to reveal himself would mean death, so he kept silent...no theatrics...just survival. He followed the humans back to their camp listening as they thanked the gods for their victory over the goblin savages and prayed for the safety of their "civilized town". Zreth swore a different oath that night, a pledge to carry on silent vengance against those who had killed his mother in the name of their "civilization" a vengance which would wait, would sleep with one eye open, would stalk...but that would never be extingushed...a vengance, quite simply that would survive. Zreth's goals are numerous-firstly to wipe out those who would destory the life of creatures like his mother-savage yet beautiful individuals who do all they can to survive in a world that hates them. If possible he wishes to destory the nearby settlements that sent the adventurers responsible for the defeat of his tribe, but barring that wants to learn more about his enemy so that he strike where they are weakest. Proving himself to others is one of his secondary and often hiden goals-even though he has sworn vengance on the civilized races as a whole he still feels a deep-seated need to be validated in their eyes and to prove that the goblin virtues of ruthlessness oppertunism and resourcefulness still have their place even as the world changes.
Gingerbread Guy 08-23-05, 06:02 PM	Interesting, but my initial concern is how Zreth is going to mesh with a regular D&D group. Are the other characters going to be goblins? Or is there going to be an elven paladin that Zreth isn't going to get along with from day one? Anyway, the background is well written, but I just can't get excited about "my family was killed by orcs" backgrounds. You do get points for reversing the roles, but its basicly the same tired tune. I suggest putting more thought into his personality and behaviour to make him feel more unique. Goblins and other such tribal creatures tend to have vastly different social values than humans and elves. If you're in a mixed party that includes humans and the like, I suggest playing up the culture clash. Give the most respect to the biggest, toughest PC (or possibly one with a lot of magic - Zreth could have a healthy respect for magic, being that his mother was a shaman). Most goblins don't have houses or rooms of their own, so concepts such as personal property and privacy are generally strange to them - as a result, try to really push the boundaries of people's personal space. Walk into rooms (even the privy) unannounced, take anything that isn't nailed down or hidden in a bag or container (while honestly believing that no one wanted it.. if they wanted it, they'd take better care of it) and so on. You don't need to be outright rude - Zreth may be making an honest attempt to get along with his new friends, or to at least be civil - but do emphasize how different he is. Thats really where the character is interesting for me. ~Ginger
Fithero 08-24-05, 07:43 AM	Sounds very cool...a goblin ranger who hates humans (i think...sorry for stating the obvious :P) A change from the usual i must admit. Im not that bothered if somebody takes an old story type (my family was killed by orcs...a dragon burnt my town...i was a slave) aslong as they spruce it up a bit. Its cool if the family was taken by lizard men and eaten alive (killed by orcs). Or if the Big T just stomped on your town because it was so small and it didnt even see it (down burned by dragon). Or there is the one where he wasnt just a slave to humans, but to illithid of some other alien like creature or demon. Old stories, new twists...its the way things are these days and im ok with that. Later
JohntheDM 08-26-05, 10:09 PM	I'm sorry for the "killed by orcs" background, but I assure you that none of my characters have been similar. I really felt like it would be cool to have enemies for Zreth that he may eventually come to identify with-while a human or elf with a "killed by orcs" background is not likely to come to an understanding with said orcs I was imagining that Zreth might learn to admire or even like humans-if not as a race, then as individuals. I really loved you suggestions about privacy and theiving, though I'll try not to ham the second one up too much. I was thinking that he would have a healthy respect for magic, especially those thought of as seers-his mother's death (though not necessarily that of his entire tribe. Can we say plot line? ;) ) alerted him to the idea that destiny is a true and powerful force, which might make him slightly superstitious. Any other ideas? Thank you for your input :D I just don't want to fall into cliche or predictability.