Eberron: Paladin background [Archive] - Wizards Community

Eberron: Paladin background [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Gabriel06
01-28-06, 11:58 PM I was wanting to get involved in an Eberron game and I wanted to play a paladin but I'm relativly new to Eberron and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to make this background story better.

This first one would be the basic one. And the second would be if I got into a game that didn't start at level 1. Thanks in advance.

Julius was born to a well to do family high up in the Church of the Silver Flame. As soon as he was old enough he was sent off to be trained as a priest. But soon after Julius was sent off, he began to see what the church was really like. It was utter corrupted, the high priests accepted kickbacks to look the other way when it came to church affairs. This behavior sickened Julius, how could these people who were supposed to be devoted to their god be such hypocrites. Julius was about to go and talk to the head priest and tell him of his decision to drop out of the priest hood, but when he knocked on the priest's chambers no one answered. Julius then left the temple and went to the local inn, one that the priest frequented with the companionship of young ladies, to see if he was there. When he arrived he saw there the priest standing in a corner having obviously been drinking. When he saw the boy he staggered over to him and began to scold him for leaving the temple. In a drunken rage he began to beat Julius, after what felt like hours but was surly only a minute or so, a commanding presence materialized behind the priest and threw him to the ground. Julius cowered before the man, fearing the worst. When the man spoke his voice was almost angelic, yet deep in it's tones. He told him there was no reason for him to be scared any longer. Soon after Julius's parents learned of what had happened, and out of shame they disowned him, completely cutting him off. He had nowhere to turn, nowhere to go. He began to reflect on what he had seen in his life, the world thrived for money, and the priesthood was nothing but a means to an end. It was no longer about doing good, or helping anyone. He became a recluse a wandering lost person. Till one day when he made his way to Flamekeep, the location of the Cathedral of the Silver Flame. It was here that he would reaffirm his faith in the Silver Flame and heed the calling, to become a Templar, the group within the church that is charged with defeating evil and rooting out heresy in the church.

Life went well for Julius up and till the War broke out. He received a writ from the Keeper of the Flame herself to report back to Flamekeep and join the Templar in their effort during the war. Julius fought in many battles during the war and when news of the Treaty of Threshold reached him he was relieved, and saddened at the same time. He was released from his wartime duties. He went on into the (LOCATION OF CAMPAIGN) to look for something to fill his time with.
Gabriel06
01-29-06, 06:03 PM No one have any suggestions?
JulesCARV
01-29-06, 06:56 PM Who was the man who stopped the priest? Was it a Templar of the Silver Flame? A celestial?

Another question: why does he return to the Church after seeing how corrupt it is? Why doesn't he start worshipping Dol Arrah or something? This isn't to say that it's a bad thing that he returned, but perhaps you could flesh that out a little more, as far as motivations (like, you could have him become a sort of disillusioned, atheistic type for a while, skulking around aimlessly in ghettos doing odd jobs during his "lost" period, and see that the Silver Flame, for all its faults, is a great source of hope and inspiration to people who have nowhere else to turn and are sick of being preyed on by criminal gangs and the like).
Setherial
01-31-06, 08:29 AM It's a background story but aside from some names there is little Eberronish about it. Also as JulesCARV already pointed out it is full of holes. Why did his family disown him (because he wanted to drop out ?)?
Also how did they find out, he never told the priest, the priest beat him up on sight. Who was the man who interrupted the beating ?

Also I get the feeling you think the Silver Flame is a God, it's not, it's a Symbol of an act of sacrifice and courage. The place where a battle was fought and the rise of a demon was prevented (if I recall correctly).

If you wanne go with the corruption story how about this:

Boy is send at a very early age to a monestary to become a priest. His parents think they are doing the right thing, they don't have much money and sending their son off to a monestary of a faith they both believe in will put a roof over his head, food in his belly and give him a good education.
In truth the priest who runs the monestary is a very bad man, he beats the children, is drunk most of the time and he is involved in a range of illegal activities in which he involves the kids.
One day the boy sees an opportunity to escape and grabs it, he runs and runs down the great road to town but soon sees two of the monestary guards on horseback catching up.
As the first guard rides by he hits the boy with the back of his flail causing him to trip and hit the ground bleeding from a viscious headwound.
The second guard dismounts and closes in, the boy crawls away from the guard but his head is spinning, he is sure he will die.
Then it happens, a knight in full plate armour appears out of nowhere and runs the guard through with his lance. The first Guard turns his horse to face the stranger but once he sees his opponent turns again and flees.
The knight kneels down next to the boy and lays his hands upon the boys head, a warm feeling fills the boy and the pain disappears. Feeling better now he looks up at the knight who removes his helm and tells the boy he is save now. The boy spills his story and the knight takes the boy back to the monestary. The boy should have been terrified but instead he felt strangly calm riding the horse of the knight, the powerfull man who tells him he'll be save now.
The knight sets the children free from the priest and takes the priest to the authorities who inprison him. Over the years he personally trains the boy and teaches him the true values of the Flame. In time the boy becomes a Paladin just like his mentor and heads out into the world to fight injustice and help the weak as once his mentor helped him.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Gabriel06 01-28-06, 11:58 PM	I was wanting to get involved in an Eberron game and I wanted to play a paladin but I'm relativly new to Eberron and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to make this background story better. This first one would be the basic one. And the second would be if I got into a game that didn't start at level 1. Thanks in advance. Julius was born to a well to do family high up in the Church of the Silver Flame. As soon as he was old enough he was sent off to be trained as a priest. But soon after Julius was sent off, he began to see what the church was really like. It was utter corrupted, the high priests accepted kickbacks to look the other way when it came to church affairs. This behavior sickened Julius, how could these people who were supposed to be devoted to their god be such hypocrites. Julius was about to go and talk to the head priest and tell him of his decision to drop out of the priest hood, but when he knocked on the priest's chambers no one answered. Julius then left the temple and went to the local inn, one that the priest frequented with the companionship of young ladies, to see if he was there. When he arrived he saw there the priest standing in a corner having obviously been drinking. When he saw the boy he staggered over to him and began to scold him for leaving the temple. In a drunken rage he began to beat Julius, after what felt like hours but was surly only a minute or so, a commanding presence materialized behind the priest and threw him to the ground. Julius cowered before the man, fearing the worst. When the man spoke his voice was almost angelic, yet deep in it's tones. He told him there was no reason for him to be scared any longer. Soon after Julius's parents learned of what had happened, and out of shame they disowned him, completely cutting him off. He had nowhere to turn, nowhere to go. He began to reflect on what he had seen in his life, the world thrived for money, and the priesthood was nothing but a means to an end. It was no longer about doing good, or helping anyone. He became a recluse a wandering lost person. Till one day when he made his way to Flamekeep, the location of the Cathedral of the Silver Flame. It was here that he would reaffirm his faith in the Silver Flame and heed the calling, to become a Templar, the group within the church that is charged with defeating evil and rooting out heresy in the church. Life went well for Julius up and till the War broke out. He received a writ from the Keeper of the Flame herself to report back to Flamekeep and join the Templar in their effort during the war. Julius fought in many battles during the war and when news of the Treaty of Threshold reached him he was relieved, and saddened at the same time. He was released from his wartime duties. He went on into the (LOCATION OF CAMPAIGN) to look for something to fill his time with.
Gabriel06 01-29-06, 06:03 PM	No one have any suggestions?
JulesCARV 01-29-06, 06:56 PM	Who was the man who stopped the priest? Was it a Templar of the Silver Flame? A celestial? Another question: why does he return to the Church after seeing how corrupt it is? Why doesn't he start worshipping Dol Arrah or something? This isn't to say that it's a bad thing that he returned, but perhaps you could flesh that out a little more, as far as motivations (like, you could have him become a sort of disillusioned, atheistic type for a while, skulking around aimlessly in ghettos doing odd jobs during his "lost" period, and see that the Silver Flame, for all its faults, is a great source of hope and inspiration to people who have nowhere else to turn and are sick of being preyed on by criminal gangs and the like).
Setherial 01-31-06, 08:29 AM	It's a background story but aside from some names there is little Eberronish about it. Also as JulesCARV already pointed out it is full of holes. Why did his family disown him (because he wanted to drop out ?)? Also how did they find out, he never told the priest, the priest beat him up on sight. Who was the man who interrupted the beating ? Also I get the feeling you think the Silver Flame is a God, it's not, it's a Symbol of an act of sacrifice and courage. The place where a battle was fought and the rise of a demon was prevented (if I recall correctly). If you wanne go with the corruption story how about this: Boy is send at a very early age to a monestary to become a priest. His parents think they are doing the right thing, they don't have much money and sending their son off to a monestary of a faith they both believe in will put a roof over his head, food in his belly and give him a good education. In truth the priest who runs the monestary is a very bad man, he beats the children, is drunk most of the time and he is involved in a range of illegal activities in which he involves the kids. One day the boy sees an opportunity to escape and grabs it, he runs and runs down the great road to town but soon sees two of the monestary guards on horseback catching up. As the first guard rides by he hits the boy with the back of his flail causing him to trip and hit the ground bleeding from a viscious headwound. The second guard dismounts and closes in, the boy crawls away from the guard but his head is spinning, he is sure he will die. Then it happens, a knight in full plate armour appears out of nowhere and runs the guard through with his lance. The first Guard turns his horse to face the stranger but once he sees his opponent turns again and flees. The knight kneels down next to the boy and lays his hands upon the boys head, a warm feeling fills the boy and the pain disappears. Feeling better now he looks up at the knight who removes his helm and tells the boy he is save now. The boy spills his story and the knight takes the boy back to the monestary. The boy should have been terrified but instead he felt strangly calm riding the horse of the knight, the powerfull man who tells him he'll be save now. The knight sets the children free from the priest and takes the priest to the authorities who inprison him. Over the years he personally trains the boy and teaches him the true values of the Flame. In time the boy becomes a Paladin just like his mentor and heads out into the world to fight injustice and help the weak as once his mentor helped him.