Post/Author/DateTime	Post
HobbitGuy1420 01-03-08, 05:05 PM	makeup test + race/class combo = angsty backstory... in a generic/greyhawk campaign setting. As a Captain in the Guard of the local Dwarven stronghold, Doran Stonehelm had a pretty good life. His duties were hard, but he took satisfaction in the knowledge that his clan (and the rest of the stronghold) were kept safe through his efforts. His command, about twenty of the finest dwarven scouts and warriors he had ever known, was one of the most tightly-knit companies in the Guard. Each of them had saved the lives of the others, and they were as close as brothers. And then the demons struck. Stonehelm and his company were investigating some disappearances to the south of the stronghold, in a thickly forested swath of land. He sent out scouts first, but when they did not return, his superiors ordered him to lead his company into the forest, to comb it until he located whatever had been causing the disappearances. Doran had misgivings about the mission, but he had his orders. He searched the forest for two days and found nothing. Every night he ordered a careful watch - but it wasn't careful enough. When he awoke on the third day of the mission, he was shackled to the wall of a cave. Around him were the rest of his company, similarly bound. A dretch was locking the shackles on the last of his men. Over the next year, Doran had to watch as the Dretch, his Vrock overseer, and a third demon who never lowered the hood of his cloak tortured and murdered his entire company, cutting them to pieces while they still lived. After seeing one too many noble dwarfs sobbing and begging like children, Doran vowed that he would never break to the foul demons' will. At the last, Doran himself was taken from his bonds upon the wall and shackled to a table. With sickening grins and cackles of glee, the demons went to their work, tormenting him with horrible pain. Then they killed him. Doran was sent to Celestia, and this would have been the end of the story if he had not felt the pull of resurrection upon his soul. He looked down and saw that the Demons were performing some form of ceremony over his body. He knew that the creatures would be a horrific danger to the Dwarven stronghold if his people were not warned, and he trusted his wits and his strength to let him escape, so he returned to his body, still in the demons' clutches. Only to endure horrible pain. The demons' ceremony had returned him to life, it was true, but he still bore every wound they had inflicted upon him. His arms had been restored to their sockets, but at the places where they had been torn out were clotted, scabrous rents, filled with blackening blood. The demons laughed madly when they saw that Doran had returned. After giving him just enough food and drink to keep him alive for a while longer, they returned to work, torturing him again, cutting off smaller and smaller pieces while he watched, and screamed, and waited. They killed him five times. Each time, he returned with more horrific wounds imprinted upon his body, and every time he felt his sense of self, his soul, dwindle. In the end, he knew that he had lost the whole of his old life - his fingers could not hold a battle-axe with the same skill, nor could he deal the great, telling blows with which he had once protected his people. Yet still he returned, burning with the desire to keep his people safe and to destroy the creatures which had done this to him. Eventually, the demons made a mistake. The Dretch was left to watch Doran while the others left on some errand or other, and the miserable demon, intent on following them in order to see what they were doing, neglected to bind the Dwarf to the table as tightly as he should have. Doran snapped his bonds and escaped from the cave. He made his way, slowly and painfully, to the dwarven stronghold, to warn them of the danger. He was never allowed to enter. The guards at the gate, frightened by his terrible appearance, called up an alarm. No matter how often he called the passwords, no matter how many times he swore that he was Captain Stonehelm of the Guard, none listened - not even when the very officers who ordered him on the ill-fated mission appeared at the gate. When the short but deadly arrows used by the dwarven guard began to rain around him, he cursed the stronghold and ran, renouncing his clan for their stupidity. Just as he left the archers' range, one arrow struck deeply into his back. Doran staggered down the road, wracked with pain and feverish, until he reached a nearby human settlement. A farmer, seeing him, screamed that undead were attacking, and ran for the Church of St. Cuthbert which sat at the center of town. The cleric of St. Cuthbert followed the man quickly, knowing that even a single undead could create horrible casualties. He arrived to find a mob of local farmers and other villagers throwing stones at the prone figure of a dwarf upon the road. The Cleric took up his holy symbol and prayed to St. Cuthbert, and a sudden realization ran through him. Whatever this strange dwarf was, he was not undead! The cleric stopped the villagers from killing the dwarf and brought him into the temple to heal him. The impacts from the stones healed easily, as did the arrow wound he found in the dwarf's back, but no matter what magic he used, the terrible lines which crisscrossed the dwarf's entire body would not heal. When the dwarf awoke, he and the cleric spoke about what had happened. Doran was impressed by the cleric's staunchness, and when he heard that St. Cuthbert preached retribution against evil, he dedicated his life to The Cudgel on the spot. Soon he began training as a cleric of St. Cuthbert, focusing his studies on fiends and how to destroy them. He took up a new name, Doran Hellbane, to show his new purpose. Doran Hellbane, the cleric of St. Cuthbert, lives to destroy all fiendish workings, especially those of demons. His true calling is to find the demons who tormented him and to kill them as utterly as possible. He has cut all ties with his former clan, most of whom still believe him dead, in any case. A photograph of Doran, wearing the dark robes he usually uses to hide his deformity. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/HobbitGuy1420/Doran.jpg
bravo052492 01-03-08, 08:14 PM	That's a good story because it describes a goal for the character (something DM's love, because then they can give you fulfillment of goals). Also, although you are effectively a high level (being a powerful guard captain,) it tells of a fall from power, and explains your fall to a lower level (your inability to lift an axe as well). These are all good, for it doesn't show powerplaying or genericness. The story itself is a standard "Demons kill buddies, now I'm ******" story, but it has enough variety to stand on its own.
HobbitGuy1420 01-03-08, 08:40 PM	Actually, the character's gonna start at 1st level - the repeated death/rezzes made him lose all his levels in Fighter - he's gonna be a 1st-level Cleric. may wind up multiclassing to Fighter later, but that's up in the air. The basic concept for this guy is that he's an utterly tormented soul. The fact that the demons killed his friends irks him, but he's more mad about the fact that they killed *him*. They tore him apart, body and soul, and cost him his entire life. Besides, I love the thought of a character who has to be careful when he walks around, or people're gonna start shouting "Undead! Flesh golem!" and running for their weapons.
bravo052492 01-03-08, 08:41 PM	And it'll be an interesting thing to roleplay when they start admiring him, and revering him as a "saint" and a "hero."
HobbitGuy1420 01-03-08, 08:43 PM	Oh, I don't expect that to happen - the guy's charisma is about as low as it gets, and he is very much NOT a nice person. Good, yes, but not nice. The best I'm expecting is an uneasy "thank you for your help, now please leave."
bravo052492 01-03-08, 08:48 PM	Hm. Legends still spread, especially if you ever slay those demons.
Newpaintbrush 01-03-08, 08:50 PM	I disagree. The importance of family and clan are very great to a dwarf. I can see a dwarf cursing fate, but really, cursing his own clan for their inability to recognize him? And later on, the dwarf would have time to consider his appearance and the conditions under which he got back to the dwarven stronghold. Unless you want to say your dwarf was driven insane by his ordeal, which is perfectly fine. --- I think it more likely that the dwarves of the clan would think of your dwarf as a suspicious and possible traitor or demonic agent, and that your dwarf would understand but not accept that judgment. And shenanigans and complications follow.
bravo052492 01-03-08, 09:02 PM	I disagree. The importance of family and clan are very great to a dwarf. I can see a dwarf cursing fate, but really, cursing his own clan for their inability to recognize him? And later on, the dwarf would have time to consider his appearance and the conditions under which he got back to the dwarven stronghold. Unless you want to say your dwarf was driven insane by his ordeal, which is perfectly fine. --- I think it more likely that the dwarves of the clan would think of your dwarf as a suspicious and possible traitor or demonic agent, and that your dwarf would understand but not accept that judgment. And shenanigans and complications follow. Well, I believe that assumption about Dwarf culture is true, but not necessarily about an individual. Maybe the pain was so much at that point, he just couldn't bare to be in a clan that would disdain him?
HobbitGuy1420 01-03-08, 09:42 PM	hrm... I meant for him to feel abandoned and betrayed by the clan. I suppose the way I wrote it isn't the best way to show that, I guess... At first I wanted him to get back and realize that they hadn't even searched for him, but I'm not sure how to do that while keeping the immediacy of it all.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 01-04-08, 03:51 AM	First it's a well written story and an excellent background. My compliments on that. I do, however, find it hard to believe that the dwarves didn't look for him. I also find it hard to accept that he could have risen so high in the ranks if he wasn't the type who accepted traditional dwarven ideals. That being said I could easily see a case made for feeling as though he had betrayed them. After all his fellows dies under his command and he was unable to warn the clan of the coming danger... a failing by dwarven mindset regardless of the fact that it was they who drove him away. Perhaps he now thinks of himself as a low thing with a high purpose. Or (if you really want him to feel betrayed) maybe he started to after the fact. Transferring feelings of shame for his failings to feelings of betrayal by the dwarves after he is driven off and starting to live his new life in order to find a way of accepting said new life..
Newpaintbrush 01-04-08, 04:55 PM	The question is really about suspension of disbelief. You want to have a certain backstory for your character, and I understand that you want certain circumstances to coincide so your character will end up in a certain position. However, given the circumstances you describe, I think the reactions of the people involved are unlikely. I think with slightly DIFFERENT circumstances, people could react as you wished - but I digress. makeup test + race/class combo = angsty backstory... in a generic/greyhawk campaign setting. As a Captain in the Guard of the local Dwarven stronghold, Doran Stonehelm had a pretty good life. His duties were hard, but he took satisfaction in the knowledge that his clan (and the rest of the stronghold) were kept safe through his efforts. His command, about twenty of the finest dwarven scouts and warriors he had ever known, was one of the most tightly-knit companies in the Guard. Each of them had saved the lives of the others, and they were as close as brothers. In other words, this is a middle-aged dwarf that is rather firmly part of the Establishment. Why middle-aged? He's a Captain, and must have lived through some portion of his life rising to that station, and is obviously experienced (these aren't just twenty of scouts or warriors, but twenty of the finest he has ever known, implying vast experience - plus you indirectly imply some adventures by mentioning saving of lives, and the closeness of the group). Why part of the Establishment? I assume the "Guard" to be a military force, dwarves have a military tradition (battling evil humanoids and giants); second, "Guard" is a conservative word that implies protecting the existing dwarven people and culture rather than going off beating things up). So. Middle-aged Establishment Military Conservative. If you want to change that, change your story - he rose meteorlike through the ranks in the Fourth Dwarven Expeditionary Force and was a hardened veteran by the age of sixteen, or whatnot. And then the demons struck. Stonehelm and his company were investigating some disappearances to the south of the stronghold, in a thickly forested swath of land. He sent out scouts first, but when they did not return, his superiors ordered him to lead his company into the forest, to comb it until he located whatever had been causing the disappearances. Doran had misgivings about the mission, but he had his orders. He searched the forest for two days and found nothing. Every night he ordered a careful watch - but it wasn't careful enough. Mmhm. Everything's going to character so far. Mister Middle-aged Military Conservative goes off to follow orders. When he awoke on the third day of the mission, he was shackled to the wall of a cave. Around him were the rest of his company, similarly bound. A dretch was locking the shackles on the last of his men. Well, this really is a little weird. You're sticking a big black patch into the middle of the story that I assume will be filled out later. I would really think that treachery or evil magic must be responsible; surely the "finest scouts and warriors" would never just be hauled off in chains to a cave somewhere. It's just not possible under normal circumstances. Over the next year, Doran had to watch as the Dretch, his Vrock overseer, and a third demon who never lowered the hood of his cloak tortured and murdered his entire company, cutting them to pieces while they still lived. After seeing one too many noble dwarfs sobbing and begging like children, Doran vowed that he would never break to the foul demons' will. At the last, Doran himself was taken from his bonds upon the wall and shackled to a table. With sickening grins and cackles of glee, the demons went to their work, tormenting him with horrible pain. Then they killed him. Doran was sent to Celestia, and this would have been the end of the story if he had not felt the pull of resurrection upon his soul. He looked down and saw that the Demons were performing some form of ceremony over his body. He knew that the creatures would be a horrific danger to the Dwarven stronghold if his people were not warned, and he trusted his wits and his strength to let him escape, so he returned to his body, still in the demons' clutches. Does Moradin dwell in Celestia? I just don't know. As far as "looking down", though, I believe that typically the one being resurrected only knows what agent of what deity or alignment is trying to resurrect him - he can't look down and see some sort of ceremony going on. But we can suspend that for the moment. I don't see that the creatures are necessarily a "horrific danger" to the dwarven stronghold. To the dwarven people, yes, but I don't think that a dretch, a vrock, and some hooded demon can storm the front gates, and even so it would be breaking character for these demons. After all, they're off in a forest cave somewhere, not plotting to break into the heart of the dwarven stronghold. But neither of those are major concerns, as they can easily be explained away by some minor additions to the story. Only to endure horrible pain. The demons' ceremony had returned him to life, it was true, but he still bore every wound they had inflicted upon him. His arms had been restored to their sockets, but at the places where they had been torn out were clotted, scabrous rents, filled with blackening blood. The demons laughed madly when they saw that Doran had returned. After giving him just enough food and drink to keep him alive for a while longer, they returned to work, torturing him again, cutting off smaller and smaller pieces while he watched, and screamed, and waited. They killed him five times. Each time, he returned with more horrific wounds imprinted upon his body, and every time he felt his sense of self, his soul, dwindle. In the end, he knew that he had lost the whole of his old life - his fingers could not hold a battle-axe with the same skill, nor could he deal the great, telling blows with which he had once protected his people. Yet still he returned, burning with the desire to keep his people safe and to destroy the creatures which had done this to him. Mm, I think dying five times is a bit melodramatic. But all right, you know. Why not. You'd think perhaps this dwarf fellow would get a clue after the second death, though. At this point, suspension of disbelief begins to really break down. Up to this point, minor inconsistencies can be explained away, but WHY would this dwarf return to life time and time again? He's just a captain; this sort of futile coming back to life just to be tortured to death again is something you'd hardly expect even of a dwarven king. There is no immediate discernible threat to the dwarven people, or even his clan (That's why it would be a really good idea for you to have the dwarf overhear some sort of horrible infiltration plan of the demons', possibly involving an unknown highly placed dwarf traitor, so the dwarf would really think his whole clan was going to be wiped out). But all right, let's say this dwarf heard something that made him think his clan really was in danger, and let's say this dwarf REALLY was SUPER loyal to his people. So loyal that he would come back to life to face being tortured to death FIVE TIMES. Eventually, the demons made a mistake. The Dretch was left to watch Doran while the others left on some errand or other, and the miserable demon, intent on following them in order to see what they were doing, neglected to bind the Dwarf to the table as tightly as he should have. Doran snapped his bonds and escaped from the cave. He made his way, slowly and painfully, to the dwarven stronghold, to warn them of the danger. What danger? He was never allowed to enter. The guards at the gate, frightened by his terrible appearance, called up an alarm. No matter how often he called the passwords, no matter how many times he swore that he was Captain Stonehelm of the Guard, none listened - not even when the very officers who ordered him on the ill-fated mission appeared at the gate. How convenient. Or suspicious. When the short but deadly arrows used by the dwarven guard began to rain around him, he cursed the stronghold and ran, renouncing his clan for their stupidity. Just as he left the archers' range, one arrow struck deeply into his back. So this guy CHOOSES to get TORTURED TO DEATH FIVE TIMES on the REMOTE chance that he can save his dwarven clan. Then he gets poinked by one little Dwarf arrow, and suddenly, he's all "wah! I give up on my clan!" You see what I mean by suspension of disbelief. It just doesn't make any sense. Unless, of course, your dwarf was insane at this point and couldn't think rationally (which is an acceptable solution). Doran staggered down the road, wracked with pain and feverish, until he reached a nearby human settlement. A farmer, seeing him, screamed that undead were attacking, and ran for the Church of St. Cuthbert which sat at the center of town. The cleric of St. Cuthbert followed the man quickly, knowing that even a single undead could create horrible casualties. He arrived to find a mob of local farmers and other villagers throwing stones at the prone figure of a dwarf upon the road. The Cleric took up his holy symbol and prayed to St. Cuthbert, and a sudden realization ran through him. Whatever this strange dwarf was, he was not undead! The cleric stopped the villagers from killing the dwarf and brought him into the temple to heal him. The impacts from the stones healed easily, as did the arrow wound he found in the dwarf's back, but no matter what magic he used, the terrible lines which crisscrossed the dwarf's entire body would not heal. When the dwarf awoke, he and the cleric spoke about what had happened. Doran was impressed by the cleric's staunchness, and when he heard that St. Cuthbert preached retribution against evil, he dedicated his life to The Cudgel on the spot. Soon he began training as a cleric of St. Cuthbert, focusing his studies on fiends and how to destroy them. He took up a new name, Doran Hellbane, to show his new purpose. Mmhm. Mister Super Conservative Family Ties has renounced his clan, and has suddenly taken up a new banner of a god that isn't even of the dwarven pantheon! And St. Cuthbert is Lawful Good in Living Greyhawk, but only Lawful NEUTRAL in other settings - you realize he is not about smiting EVIL, but smiting LAWBREAKERS. So again, I think this is a little odd; perhaps you should consider using another god for your purposes. Doran Hellbane, the cleric of St. Cuthbert, lives to destroy all fiendish workings, especially those of demons. His true calling is to find the demons who tormented him and to kill them as utterly as possible. He has cut all ties with his former clan, most of whom still believe him dead, in any case. A photograph of Doran, wearing the dark robes he usually uses to hide his deformity. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/HobbitGuy1420/Doran.jpg Well, I think I mentioned what I think is inconsistent - I think there needs to be an immediate threat to the dwarven stronghold that Doran knows about, I don't think Doran would necessarily break his ties that easily considering his conservative background (and especially noting that he came back from death five times to preserve those ties), I don't think the clan would simply leave Doran alone (when the dwarves hear Doran is alive, what of Doran's family and friends? do they just abandon him?), and I don't know that St. Cuthbert is the best choice of alternate god. Although the story *is* pretty good, I just think it needs a bit more detail to explain away what currently appear as inconsistencies.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 01-04-08, 11:27 PM	While I agree with the point made about needing some more immediate threat to the dwarven stronghold I would point out that the ressurection and re-death works for me for the most part since it goes to the "hero" aspect of the character. Its at this point he becomes set apart from NPCs and made a PC. I also like the alternate path you offered as a reason for leaving the dwarves, using actual betrayal as opposed to my transference of feelings of guilt. Both work well so I'm interested in hearing from the OP which he would prefer, if either.
HobbitGuy1420 01-05-08, 01:26 AM	Thanks a *ton* for the input, folks! So. Middle-aged Establishment Military Conservative. If you want to change that, change your story - he rose meteorlike through the ranks in the Fourth Dwarven Expeditionary Force and was a hardened veteran by the age of sixteen, or whatnot. That's pretty much what I was thinking - I mean, he might have been a bit young for the position, but nothing untoward. Basically, I wanted him to be a middle-to-sterling example of good dwarfishness. Well, this really is a little weird. You're sticking a big black patch into the middle of the story that I assume will be filled out later. I would really think that treachery or evil magic must be responsible; surely the "finest scouts and warriors" would never just be hauled off in chains to a cave somewhere. It's just not possible under normal circumstances. Doran himself didn't witness it, as he wasn't on watch, but yes, there was magic involved. Haven't plotted out what spells or whatever were involved, but none of the members of the company made their saves vs. plot. Does Moradin dwell in Celestia? I just don't know. As far as "looking down", though, I believe that typically the one being resurrected only knows what agent of what deity or alignment is trying to resurrect him - he can't look down and see some sort of ceremony going on. But we can suspend that for the moment. I don't see that the creatures are necessarily a "horrific danger" to the dwarven stronghold. To the dwarven people, yes, but I don't think that a dretch, a vrock, and some hooded demon can storm the front gates, and even so it would be breaking character for these demons. After all, they're off in a forest cave somewhere, not plotting to break into the heart of the dwarven stronghold. But neither of those are major concerns, as they can easily be explained away by some minor additions to the story. Yes, Moradin lives in Celestia (at least, according to Wikipedia). I hadn't recalled the specifics of resurrection; I'll redo that bit, instead saying that he sensed that chaotic evil beings - presumably the demons - were doing it. He'd come back anyway. I like the idea of having them plotting the infiltration, corruption, and overthrow of the stronghold. It gives the issue a nice urgency. They'll mention a traitor, but not by name. gotta give the DM something to play with... At this point, suspension of disbelief begins to really break down. Up to this point, minor inconsistencies can be explained away, but WHY would this dwarf return to life time and time again? He's just a captain; this sort of futile coming back to life just to be tortured to death again is something you'd hardly expect even of a dwarven king. There is no immediate discernible threat to the dwarven people, or even his clan (That's why it would be a really good idea for you to have the dwarf overhear some sort of horrible infiltration plan of the demons', possibly involving an unknown highly placed dwarf traitor, so the dwarf would really think his whole clan was going to be wiped out). But all right, let's say this dwarf heard something that made him think his clan really was in danger, and let's say this dwarf REALLY was SUPER loyal to his people. So loyal that he would come back to life to face being tortured to death FIVE TIMES. He's loyal, yes, but he's also very very stubborn - like, more so even than most dwarves. "Those bloody creatures can kill me all they like, I'm still gonna get outta this one." As for the 5 times... I'm not *too* attached to the term. It was mainly an excuse for just how beaten up his body became. Maybe 3 or 4, instead? How convenient. Or suspicious. Yeah, I'm not sure exactly how widespread the corruption was at this point (may leave it up to the DM's discretion) but there's definitely something rotten in the state of Denmark here. So this guy CHOOSES to get TORTURED TO DEATH FIVE TIMES on the REMOTE chance that he can save his dwarven clan. Then he gets poinked by one little Dwarf arrow, and suddenly, he's all "wah! I give up on my clan!" You see what I mean by suspension of disbelief. It just doesn't make any sense. Unless, of course, your dwarf was insane at this point and couldn't think rationally (which is an acceptable solution). The more I hear the more I realize that I need something more powerful to drive him away. I definitely want him to feel like the clan gave up on him first - I need some sort of action or reaction that's so utterly contemptible or foolish that it'd make him wash his hands of the situation - although I expect he'll be dealing with subconscious guilt on the subject for a while. Mmhm. Mister Super Conservative Family Ties has renounced his clan, and has suddenly taken up a new banner of a god that isn't even of the dwarven pantheon! And St. Cuthbert is Lawful Good in Living Greyhawk, but only Lawful NEUTRAL in other settings - you realize he is not about smiting EVIL, but smiting LAWBREAKERS. So again, I think this is a little odd; perhaps you should consider using another god for your purposes. There were several reasons I chose St. Cuthbert. First off, I need a LG/LN god that specifically references retribution in his creed - a sort of lawful and righteous vengeance. The writeup of St. C. I saw at first included that aspect. If I can't find one specifically, I may try my hand at writing up an appropriate figure. Also, I'd decided, by this point, to have Doran cut all ties with his former life. The decision to follow a human god was part of this. He's dealing with a lot of anger - quite a bit of it irrational and misplaced. He's mad at himself for failing. He's mad at his clan and the dwarven stronghold for (in his eyes) turning their backs on him. He's mad at the demons for using him as a set of tinker-toys. He's mad at Moradin for letting this happen in the first place (hey, people've been mad at God for less). So he's cut all ties. New name, new purpose, new god. So yeah... I think the urgency issues can be taken care of by talk of the infiltration scheme. As for the anger... I *could* have him be driven temporarily insane, but I'm not sure I want to do that. I want the choices to be his and his alone. He may not have been completely sound, but he knew what he was doing. So I need to think of something the rest of the community could do to really cheese Doran's doritos. Some way they can offend and frustrate him enough that he'd just wash his hands of the whole thing...
Terjon of the Blue Rose 01-05-08, 03:32 AM	That's simple enough. You really want to cheese off the character then you let himi finally convince the guard of who he is. He enters and gives word of the danger... and is dismissed. Noone listens. Noone cares. They tell him he is a mad-man who lost his men and his mind at once. He is forced out of service in the guard and rumors begin spreading that his wounds were taken by his own men as they defended themselves from their mad commander. He leaves in disgust and with a good-riddance from the community. He now must seek out a new life while still unable to forget the old which was stolen from him.
Dakr 01-05-08, 07:43 AM	Great backstory and great suggestions, folks. I've got only one suggestion, for the 5-deaths part. I mean, perhaps Doran didn't go to celestia at all - that would further enhance his lack of faith in Moradin. You could throw in some curse as part of the multi-death ritual which drives his soul to darkness instead of heaven, and which doesn't allow a choice of whether he accepts ressurection or not. Perhaps they've tried the multi-death ritual with his other buddies, but they weren't enough high-level - if the fall in power is something you're considering. That would bring another goal to your character: finding out the purpose on that ritual and how it works.
tuberov 01-05-08, 01:21 PM	If you really want to tick off this former dwarven commander, have one of the people that the gate-guards call be his replacement. How Doran takes it is completely up to you (whether he accepts it as the natural order of things or a sign of conceding the fact that Doran and his company are dead). Who knows, maybe the replacement can be the traitor working his way up and in ;).
HobbitGuy1420 01-20-08, 12:09 AM	Terjon, your suggestion was my original thought for what happened to him; I originally decided against it because it let him rest, if only for a bit. I really don't want him to have a chance to recover until he's picked up by the Cleric (whichever god that cleric worships). I'll reconsider it, though - it definitely gives him a reason to storm out an never return. Dakr, that is an intriguing idea. Doran's already broken the rules for resurrection a couple ways (not least in being reduced to a 0th-level character and surviving to regain a 1st level), so it's an opportunity. I do sort of want his return to be by choice - he's a stubborn cuss, if nothing else. Perhaps he was sent to the Abyss or the Hells or wherever, and was given the choice to stay and be tormented, or return and be tormented some more. THAT'D be a fun choice. :-P Tuberov, that's a nice little touch there. Evil mind you got. I like it! :-P