Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Dell Kallyan 06-25-03, 01:19 PM	I haven't played DnD for long (well, I played Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, etc. but nothing but pen and paper is the way I really want to play. Games like Neverwinter Nights are fun and all, but it just isn't the same). I have been playing 3ed for a bit in a campaign with some friends (I played AD&D also... but I haven't had a solid group to play with until I got into high school), and I have been roll (purposeful to show I min/maxed) playing, and my DM recognized that, and another kid is roll playing also (I can convince him to stop)... but I've decided to begin role playing recently. I'm no longer going to play out of character for more power, I was wrong to do that (defeats the purpose of DnD). So I'm going to begin by making a topic about a character I'm making and his backround so I can completely flesh him out and RP him and I'll post it right here. We decided to do our first evil campaign, so here are his stats with elven racial adjustments (they're amazing, I rolled for them right in front of my DM and didn't reroll or modify anything) : Dell Kallyan Male Elven Sorceror level 3 (were starting at 3 since one person wants to be a drow... so we rasied our level so he would fit in with his ECL) Neutral Evil 5' tall, 99 pounds, 123 years old Str: 10 (0) Dex: 18 (+4) Con: 15 (+2) Int: 16 (+3) Wis: 15 (+2) Cha: 18 (+4) Dell was born into a rather rich, evil, and powerful elven family. Many people in his family were sorcerors, and it is said dragon's blood ran through every Kallyan's veins. Dell was the eldest son of his parents, and upon reaching maturity at the age of about 110, he grew into a handsome young elf who enjoyed writing poetry in his spare time. It was at this time his parents sent him to a sorceror mentor who had trained his parents and grandparents (a very expensive and famous mentor who had been around for almost as long as the Kallyan family!). This mentor, Renal, trained Dell for thirteen years in the ways of the sorceror (in this time Dell learned quickly and achieved level 3, seeing as he was a quick learner and the power of great sorcerors ran through his veins, he was practically born to become nothing other than a sorceror). During Dell's years of training, his mentor gave him many tasks to perform, such as retrieving somewhat rare spell components for him, and Dell's abilities were constanly honed and tested. Dell began to dislike his mentor with time, seeing the training as becoming more and more worthless and a waste of his time. Dell didn't really prefer spells of any type (he liked to have something for any possible occasion so he would never be caught unprepared), but he did like spells that kept him alive (after nearly being cut in half by an orc, he learned that even his superior dexterity might not be enough to always save his life). Dell became increasingly arrogant and short tempered, and he let nothing stop him from reaching his goals (which hid parents had taught him). Even though he and his family was evil, they were still a family and all deeply cared for each other. During his 13th year of training, however, Dell found news that a group of paladins had learned of a plot his parents had to assassinate a rival family of good wizards who were getting a bit too nosey of the Kallyan's business. The paladins 'smote' his entire family, and after they were all dead, somehow Dell was forgotten and the paladins never found out about him and went to kill him also. When Dell heard the news, he was extremely furious, and spent hours destroying various objects in his inn room trying to take out his anger (flipping over tables, throwing books, etc.) and his mentor told him that he couldn't continue his training until he had enough money to pay for the training (which Dell couldn't afford). In his arrogance, Dell thought of himself as better than his mentor anyway and decided to continue on his own. Dell, one night at a tavern, met a young halfling thief and they eventually decided to work together (and later they meet up with the drow and a monk). My backround is kinda poorly written (definitly not some of my good writing, but it is incomplete... I am still brainstorming for better backround ideas, since I don't really like this one... if anyone has a good idea, please help out). Some of Dell's traits are: Extreme arrogance: he thinks he is #1. Elven pride: believes elves are the superior race, pretty much racist against others. Charismatic: despite his beliefs, he wont openly say them since he likes to manipulate people and if he went around yelling about his hatred of everyone, he wouldn't be very well liked. Spontanious: Despite his high intelligence, he doesn't like to plan ahead, since he thinks he is good enough to handle any challenge any time. Self-serving: He cares about himself, nobody else (except his family, which is gone). Poet: Even evil people can like poetry :) Pet peeves: Absolutely hates when people brag about their family, since his family was the only thing he cared about and they were all killed, and he hates talking to or dealing with slow witted folk. Also hates paladins in general for killnig his family. Sorry, the post is really rushed. -D
Dell Kallyan 06-25-03, 10:32 PM	Bump... looking for some input. Also updating and revising my original post...
Redyak 06-26-03, 12:52 AM	I don't have a lot of character-specific advice for you, but I do have some evil alignment advice. 1. Target your more "evil" actions against NPCs, not other players. Evil parties where players attack or steal from other players are plagued with infighting and tend to break apart, quickly ruining the campaign. Talk over this with the DM and other players so that you and the other PCs don't end up killing eachother off. 2. Play a smart evil character. This works well with your high intelligence. Basically, don't get caught doing anything evil or overtly break the law. If you have to assassinate an NPC, for example, don't fling a fireball at him in the middle of the town square. Slip something into his drink, or catch him in a dark alley with a Phantasmal Killer spell. Again, this is for party survival. 3. Set a limit for yourself. Most evil people aren't heinously evil, baby-killing fiends. What's your character's limit? You may think only of yourself, lie, and cheat, but would you murder a man in cold blood? Would you kill another elf? Think about this and decide just where your character draws the line on "evil" actions (and if he draws the line at all, some don't). Hope this helps you out. Redyak
Dell Kallyan 06-26-03, 09:34 AM	Pretty good advice, thanks. I guess I'll leave my backround as it is (the details aren't quite that important, I'm more worried about setting up his personality). Ok, he would murder in cold blood if he had something to gain worth the risks of murder... he would murder another elf, but he has respect for other elves. He views mostly every other race as insignificant fools. So he may not subject an elf to torture an elf before the party kills him, instead he would give him a clean kill (since the drow joining us is a female cleric... she is gonna want to torture people a lot). Yeah, my char will get a few stealthy typed spells since he knows flinging fireballs everywhere isn't the most effective method at killing enemies or achieving his goals, he wants a pretty good variety of spells to deal with any situation so even if the rest of the party dies off, he wants to live on (he wont feel any attachment to the party, they're just a means of achieving his goals of fabulous wealth and power). He hides his last name, nobody knows it, except his mentor... and anybody that finds it out are a threat, since the Kallyan name was well known and if Dell were associated with it, he would most likely be executed or blackmailed. Dell hates having to hide his last name... and one day, when he is powerful enough (if he makes it to epic levels) he wants to reveal it and take rule over the lands and slaughter the paladins who killed his family... if he feels merciful, that is, he'll most likely submit them to torture until they become blackguards through his mind manipulations and 'convincing methods', and he might even give a few as free slaves to the demon princes for their eternal torture (and a few to the female drow cleric if he feels particularly cruel :devil:). In public, Dell looks perfectly normal, a handsome elven sorceror, and commoners will most likely hold him in high regards due to his charismatic nature and politeness (despite his utter hatred for them, he is willing to act politely to help him achieve his goals of wealth but mainly power, seeing as wealth can be easily lost, but power stays with him throguh his magic and helps him get money). He is willing to do a lot to achieve his goals. He wont do anything that risks his life *too* much, by his judgement. Hmmm... so his current list of quirks is: -never tells his last name, he will most likely make one up if asked but use that one from then on as his fake last name -hates paladins -elven pride, self-serving, and arrogant -hates people that brag about their family -disdain for slow witted people (he just hates dealing with idiots and it frustrates him) Hmmm... I want to give him his real quirk though... something to make him completely unique...
TheMightyMcClaw 06-27-03, 11:55 AM	One of my characters, a lawful evil gnome alchemist, had a saying: "This world is full of fools. I intend to make use of them." I think it works for your character as well, though.
Dell Kallyan 06-28-03, 10:41 PM	Hehe, yeah, definitely. My original plans for Dell were to make him a LE Enchanter who would take the Mindbender PrC. He was going to manipulate everything and everyone... then I decided to make him a sorceror, but lately I've been considering making him into a wizard again (we aren't going to start the campaign for quite some time, so I have a while to make up my final character). I had always wanted to make a scheming high int/cha wizard, always ploting and up to no good. I guess my high int for Dell will still, despite his chaotic sorceror and elven natures, be able to do these, but it doesn't have the same feel as a wizard, pouring through ancient tomes and the such. I guess I could reassign Dell's stats and make him a wizard... He would basically have the same backround and only have slight modifications to his personality... I'll have to think about it. -D