Post/Author/DateTime	Post
forteanother 07-22-06, 12:22 AM	I've decided on a history for my first character, a half-elf fighter, involving an attack on a troupe he was with travelling in the forests, but I can't decide on a believable and exciting reason why a group of elves and humans would be attacked, or what would want to attack. Is there a particularly frightful group of something that would hate such a troupe that lives in forests?
Syltorian 07-23-06, 07:08 AM	Welcome to the boards and enjoy your first character! Now, to your question: I am afraid you might have to give us more details first. Determine what the group he was with was, and what they were standing for. Once you have their motives, it should be much easier to find the opposing ones, and without knowing what the group was, we are limited to giving very generic answers for the greatest part. There are a very large amount of possibilities - someone opposing their mission, an ancestral enemy of their clan, bandits, lycanthropes out for fresh meat, slavers, druids becoming over-protective of their territory, someone mistaking them for a group with a mission they have to stop (such an enemy could even be good, despite their terrible mistake), a ghostly or fey hunt (which simply attacks at random), beasts or animals (or plant-creatures) who are merely feeding or defending their territory. Perhaps someone received a prophecy that a member of that group would destroy them. Which, given that your character survived, could actually be self-fulfilling. Their attempt to save themselves from this prophecy provided the very reason for their destruction. Make sure your DM agrees with that though, as it might influence the campaign. This list is far from exhaustive, and so far pretty simple. To help more, we would need more details. What kind of troupe was he with? His clan or family? Were they nomads in these forests? Were they travelling through? If so, where from and where to, and why? Was it a band of travelling minestrels or a caravan or an army detachment? Fugitives from somewhere? Were they bandits themselves? What campaign world are you playing in? In Faerūn, maybe the Eldreth Veluuthra (despite the presence of elves), in Eberron, maybe the Ashbound if your group has mages. What is your character actually like? It might also be useful to get some hints from your DM what the campaign will be about. Perhaps you could include something in your character history that fits into the main quest you are going to have, althought that is not always necessary (as long as it does not run counter to it). Once you answer some of he questions above and provide some more details, I'll be glad to provide some more detailed ideas, as I am sure others will too. Good luck. :)