Editing a Character Backstory for Setting (FR) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Editing a Character Backstory for Setting (FR) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Adrian_Crane
02-03-07, 10:07 PM This has also been posted in the FR forums, since my questions largely relate to making sure everything fits the setting.

I'm trying to fine-tune a FR character I wrote awhile back, when I had little knowledge of the setting aside from "lots of races, uber NPCs, Thayan Wizards are bad, big cities, yadda yadda."

...he's Drow. :hides:

His alignment seems to fit best as Neutral Evil--he'll do whatever it takes to stay alive and he cares only for himself, but he avoids blatantly stupid acts of murder/torture/etc out of fear that they'll draw unwanted attention. I'm thinking he'll probably come around to True Neutral or perhaps Chaotic Neutral eventually, though Good seems like it's really reaching.

His backstory brings him to the surface, and overall events don't do much to change his attitude, but he does get an inkling of the fact that some individuals actually look out for people other than themselves. Still, he's not an idiot, and he knows that this sort of goodwill isn't about to spring up around him on the surface. He also knows he can't return to the Underdark, as he would simply find himself an undoubtedly publicized sacrifice to Lloth.

With that in mind, he's still primarily out for his own survival. However, he now has a few limitations--first, he's trying not to draw attention to his actions, simply because that would bring unwanted scrutiny and he wants to maintain a low profile. Second, he knows he's going to need allies, so he's gritting his teeth and tolerating that as a necessity.

Full Backstory
Born an illegitimate child to a mother of no importance, Tycho's life in the Underdark was hard and cruel, as might well be expected. The boy had a penchant for calculated violence, and this served him well. He grew to become a soldier in the armies of House Vrinn, and his life was one of unending slaughter. Never satisfied with what little power he could attain through force of arms, Tycho was constantly on the lookout for ways to expand his abilities. He was always eager to pick up any scraps of arcane techniques that he could, although such opportunities were few. A common soldier had no hope of actually gaining access to Sorcere itself.

Eventually, the Drow’s natural good looks caught the attentions of one of the House females. She abused his charms liberally for quite some time, but eventually grew tired of him. In order to eliminate any possible complications, Tycho was "volunteered" for a surface infiltration of a Wood Elf settlement.

The mission was fairly straightforward: several pairs of Drow were to be teleported to the surface, where they had to find the assigned target and integrate themselves into the population. Towards this end, each was given a ring, the design of which was copied from jewelry found on some corpses from a previous raid. These trinkets would permit the operatives to alter their appearance to a single, fixed alternate guise.

Tycho was assigned to work with a longtime rival of his, a rogue by the name of Zamethrin Qenir'van. As soon as the pair were on the surface, they went for each other's throats. Tycho emerged the victor in the battle, and he promptly stripped Zam of his ring and used the Drow's corpse as his ticket into the village, claiming he was a traveler who'd been attacked by a scout and that the guards should investigate. With the ensuing commotion, it was relatively easy to manipulate the elves' fears and ingratiate himself, and over the course of several days he settled in.

As the days wore on with no signal to strike, the keyed-up anticipation that had built inside Tycho gradually gave way to boredom. He had already identified several of his compatriots within the area by their rings, although he hadn't needed to make contact with any of them yet. However, when one of the females began making advances on him, he had no choice but to cooperate. Interestingly, his companion, Ildryna, proved remarkably restrained and subtle in her behavior, quite unlike the pushy tactics Tycho was used to.

Tycho began to respect the woman, and that slowly gave way to a mutual friendship, something unheard of among Drow. The two spent time together talking about matters within the village, although both were careful to stay clear of discussions related to the mission, as observers were omnipresent. They also became sparring partners, often researching and perfecting new techniques in combat against each other. It was here that Tycho began to more fully practice weaving arcane magic into his combat style.

One day, during a stroll through a more secluded part of the forest, Tycho’s curiosity finally got the better of him and he actually summoned the gall to ask Ildryna to remove her ring so he could see what she looked like. She seemed puzzled by the request at first, but after some badgering she slid the band off her finger.

Nothing happened.

There was a long pause where Tycho’s stomach fell into his feet, then he swore and tackled her with the intention of cleaning up the loose end he’d just created. Unfortunately, when he had the knife to her throat, he realized he couldn’t do it. That moment’s hesitation was all the opening Ildryna needed to kick him in the gut and send him sprawling. He lay in the grass for several moments, then sighed and removed his own ring.

Ildryna would probably have killed him had she not fainted at seeing his true form.

By the time she regained consciousness, Tycho was sitting on a nearby log, once more disguised. The pair talked things out, and Tycho’s loyalties finally broke. He revealed everything about the mission, including how to identify the agents by looking for the signets they wore. It turned out that the corpses from which the rings had been taken were Elves in Ildryna’s tribal line, hence her own identical ring.

Life returned to some semblance of normality, and one night soon after the signal came. Spiders scuttled into the rooms where the agents had made their lodgings. The vermin were gone as quickly as they’d come, but it was all the alert that the Drow required. They stormed from their bunks, weapons drawn—and were felled by arrows from the darkness, fired by rangers assigned to track them.

The skilled and the fortunate managed to put up resistance, and the night lit up with blue spellfire and the clash of steel. Still, the Drow were dead already, and they knew it.

Tycho, whose identity Ildryna had not revealed to the authorities, met her at the stables. She had a horse waiting for him. The two said their goodbyes, and then he galloped off into the night, promising to return within a fortnight.

He rode his steed to death in a panicked effort to get as far away as possible, then spent the rest of the time lying low and waiting. Finally, the time passed, and he began to make his way back to the settlement.

When he returned, he found Ildryna’s body hanged outside the village walls. Starlight bathed her face in a ghostly pallor, and her neck was skewed in graceful mockery of its natural form. She had been executed for conspiring with the foe, her body left on display for all to bear witness.

He stood, rooted. Strength fled his limbs; thoughts, his mind. He could only stare—frozen, held, forced, helpless.

Dead.

His life ended then, his flame extinguished in the same breath that had taken hers. That bright, violent blaze, so filled with passion and fury, simply faltered, and was gone.

His legs failed him. Metal greaves clattered against stone, crunched upon undergrowth as he collapsed to his knees. Still he stared. Her eyes did not accuse; rather, as ever, they held that private joke, that observation, that secret she always seemed to hold. But now that truth would never find release.

Tears finally came, but he did not feel them. He still knelt, a prisoner of the scene before him. His lips parted a moment. There was no scream: only a weak, gasping breath. The sound of a life, breaking.

Tycho’s world shattered. He collapsed, sobbing for what must have seemed hours, unable to speak, barely able to breathe. When the violent fit of emotion passed, he carefully, reverently removed the body, carrying it to the clearing where he’d first removed his ring. He slid the band from her finger and donned it against his own. Then he buried her.

From there, it is uncertain where precisely his wanderings have taken him.

-----Future Plot Points (to be worked out with the DM's cooperation)-----

Zametheryn, whom Tycho left dead, was a secret follower of Kiaransalee. She returned her loyal follower to unlife with the mission of hunting down and killing the traitor Tycho. Zam is an undead rogue/arcane trickster/assassin type. He has yet to make contact with Tycho. I've actually got a bit I want to run by the DM where Zam rezzes Ildryna himself--as a Deathless. When Tycho initially tries to get her resurrected (via the church of Elistraae, and quite likely after a forced but agreed-to alignment change), he finds out he has to track down and kill her undead shell to finish the job. That in turn leads to his final face-off with Zam, thus tying together all the (major) loose ends of his backstory (and Ildryna ends up unwilling to be resurrected, though she does talk to Tycho and that bit of his story gets finished up).My biggest question is, what works within the FR setting and what doesn't? Did I mix up Wood and Wild Elves? Which region sounds like it might fit the description of where he's ended up?

How would the character deal with religion, given he knows he's fallen out of favor with his entire Pantheon (though I could see him praying to Vhaerun out of desperation)? I can see him perhaps having heard rumors of Elistraae when it all starts out, though he'd dismiss such things as a hoax meant to lure fools.

The name Vrinn was chosen from the pre-selected names list in the FCRS, but I later got the impression that there are ties associated with it. My current rationalization is that he used it because that was the house he last served, but would I be better off just changing the name?

Lastly, how would the character deal with the surface? As a former common soldier, I intend to play up the strangeness of the World Above--i.e. things like fruit that he's never seen before. His knowledge seems limited to "Elves will kill me on sight," and his natural paranoia would take that to the conclusion that "everyone is out to get me," but is there any other info he might know? If not, knowing little about the particulars of the setting actually helps a bit when it comes to acting in-character.

Any help on fixing things that I got flat-out wrong, or questions regarding plot points and the like would be great. I'll take whatever assistance I can get. :bow:
Adrian_Crane
02-06-07, 05:10 PM ...bump. Any thoughts? I'm trying to figure out how he might have knowledge of Shar early on, since hers seems the best fit for a choice of religion after everything that's happened.
Adolph_Kheebler
02-07-07, 12:52 AM Damn that is a really good backstory. I don't really have much to comment on. It seemed correct by FR to me. The only problem is that rings of alter self would never work and the drow would know that. There are high level casters in most elf cities and someone with True Sight or Mage Sight would have come along eventually. But you can suspend your disbelief on that one.

You talked about blending arcane and combat, what class is he by the way? Duskblade seems the closest I can think of to what you described.
Adrian_Crane
02-07-07, 11:39 AM I'm split between Duskblade or the more long-term Ftr/Wiz/PrC gish approach, but yeah, that's his general style.

Thanks for the compliment. ;)

And I envision the settlement as being more of a town than city, so perhaps that makes the suspension of disbelief easier? You're right though, does seem like if I were running a city I'd be inclined to Zone of Truth / divination any suspicious guests, with or without their knowledge...

Hmmm...could say they DID, and knew what the Drow were all along. But then the hard part is, even if you're able to track them, why let them live at all?
Adolph_Kheebler
02-08-07, 12:20 AM If it's a small settlement then it isn't really that much of a problem. The problem would arise if you are in a big city. I know that Waterdeep has guards with constant True Sight at all gates. However it isn't worth it for a small village. True Sight is a quite high level spell and expensive to make permanent.
Stormbrand
02-08-07, 04:00 PM All fine by FR.

Since you are evil however, you might want to get revenge on the town that executed your loved one.
razhan
02-09-07, 01:09 AM well done.

he would not know much you are right because he has heard lies about the world above for years. umm will his drow mate come after him after finding that he is still alive?
Adrian_Crane
02-09-07, 10:40 AM will his drow mate come after him after finding that he is still alive?If you mean the one who had him sent on the mission in the first place, she doesn't know yet. Given he was the only survivor (Zam technically died like the others, though he was raised to undeath), nobody back home has heard the news. She's undoubtedly experiencing some good ol' disfavor from Lloth, though, so she'll put two and two together before long. :D

As to revenge...oh yes,there will be vengeance :plotting:

Targetted, though. He'll have to figure out who, precisely, was responsible for the verdict and carrying it out.
razhan
02-10-07, 04:12 PM true, i like the non good renegade drow odea it makes a drow that realy has folavor not some Drizzt wannabe.
camirblu
02-15-07, 03:33 PM Crazy, interesting character, and I -like- the chip on his shoulder. Few comments on the FR setting, but I look forward to his story developing. And if it finishes, exactly what the falling-out would be.

This is the "villian" you watch out for, and the world never paints an easy picture.

Here's to hoping you've a solid RPer for the role of Ildryna. I wonder what she would be like as a sort of ghost that he could interact with. I'd be tempted to throw in "he can interact with her after certain rituals are met," for example, holding her hand or a sparring match, which could add some flavor once a month to the campaign where he looks forward to the event, like hell, and something will always result from it. Perhaps the conditions change slightly each time. She doesn't always need a 'message' for him, but it would ensure that closer to these events, he would grow more distracted or more wary of something disrupting it.

Or another twist on the "continually there ghost," instead. A barely-there presence. He has to learn to interact with her throughout the day while not letting on with his companions that that's what he's doing. She survives by his belief, offers advice at the DM's discretion and his own emotions give him no choice. Can he let her go? Does it cause her pain or contentment to stay? Sometimes she remembers her death and sometimes not. Sometimes she appears as she did in death, other times joyous as in life. Her continued presence depends on his belief in her. What does this do to his relationship with his companions? will she be forced to leave if he kills Zam? What if killing Zam isn't the key to helping her?

What's he do then?
Adrian_Crane
02-15-07, 03:59 PM Can he let her go? Does it cause her pain or contentment to stay? Sometimes she remembers her death and sometimes not. Sometimes she appears as she did in death, other times joyous as in life. Her continued presence depends on his belief in her. What does this do to his relationship with his companions? will she be forced to leave if he kills Zam? What if killing Zam isn't the key to helping her?

What's he do then?
Just to start off...you nailed the falling out with that first question. The way it ultimately will work out (or at least, the plan) is that he'll have her raised, but it won't work--instead, he finds himself in some quasi-plane with just him and her, in the grove where they first revealed their true selves. Essentially, she asks him to let her go.

He does. In Norse tradition, it's a sad story with a happy ending--he finally finds closure, they say their goodbyes, and he ends up back at the altar while everyone's wondering what happened. Then he moves on (by this point he's at least True Neutral, possibly even Neutral Good).

She does show up to him in moments of semi-consciousness, such as right when he's drifting off or waking up. I've had more than my share of AMV ideas for the whole thing (cheesy, yes, but some songs just *work*), and I always imagine her as that mostly-transparent barely-there presence when he's reminiscing.

Her presence itself is largely a DM Deus Ex Machina--it can be used to explain just about anything, from curse effects on Tycho all the way to a random True Res if called for. I'm leaving that to whoever's running the game, once I determine we're on the same page.

As to Zam--just to make it clear, because I'm not sure everyone got it: Ildryna is a *wood* elf. Not Drow. Tycho mistook her for one due to her tribal ring, which, coincidentally, was from the same tribe as the scouts the Drow initially slew to get the design.

When he kills her (in her undead form), it's because you can't raise someone if they're undead--says so in RAW. As to Zam, Zam is Drow. Killing him really doesn't have any effect on the Tycho/Ildryna relationship, it just finally ties up a loose end.

Hope that's all cleared up. :bow:

As always, thanks for the feedback. I'm quite proud of his story, myself--I just wish I could find a group already! Hoping that works out when I head off to college this fall. And yeah, I'm not entrusting him to a DM and group of players until I know they can get seriously into it. :D

For more crunchy tidbits:

Tycho and the church of Eiliastraae (assuming I spelled that right)

Not sure how the first run in will happen, but I have a good idea of how it'd go down; Initially, you've got a fun situation where there's a clearly evil Drow hanging around church proceedings. He's cynical, snide, and basically thinks they're all a bunch of idealistic idiots. Unfortuntely for him, he needs them--they're some of the few allies he'd actually be able to count on. So he helps them out when it's necessary. When you've got events such as that run they do, when they go unarmed to various villages, he's the one bringing up the rear with concealed weaponry and generally acting as a bouncer (or failing concealed weaponry, he just readies spells).

I look forward to playing the bull in the china shop when it comes to church affairs. Of course, he starts mellowing eventually, but we'll see just how long that takes. ;)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Adrian_Crane 02-03-07, 10:07 PM	This has also been posted in the FR forums, since my questions largely relate to making sure everything fits the setting. I'm trying to fine-tune a FR character I wrote awhile back, when I had little knowledge of the setting aside from "lots of races, uber NPCs, Thayan Wizards are bad, big cities, yadda yadda." ...he's Drow. :hides: His alignment seems to fit best as Neutral Evil--he'll do whatever it takes to stay alive and he cares only for himself, but he avoids blatantly stupid acts of murder/torture/etc out of fear that they'll draw unwanted attention. I'm thinking he'll probably come around to True Neutral or perhaps Chaotic Neutral eventually, though Good seems like it's really reaching. His backstory brings him to the surface, and overall events don't do much to change his attitude, but he does get an inkling of the fact that some individuals actually look out for people other than themselves. Still, he's not an idiot, and he knows that this sort of goodwill isn't about to spring up around him on the surface. He also knows he can't return to the Underdark, as he would simply find himself an undoubtedly publicized sacrifice to Lloth. With that in mind, he's still primarily out for his own survival. However, he now has a few limitations--first, he's trying not to draw attention to his actions, simply because that would bring unwanted scrutiny and he wants to maintain a low profile. Second, he knows he's going to need allies, so he's gritting his teeth and tolerating that as a necessity. Full Backstory Born an illegitimate child to a mother of no importance, Tycho's life in the Underdark was hard and cruel, as might well be expected. The boy had a penchant for calculated violence, and this served him well. He grew to become a soldier in the armies of House Vrinn, and his life was one of unending slaughter. Never satisfied with what little power he could attain through force of arms, Tycho was constantly on the lookout for ways to expand his abilities. He was always eager to pick up any scraps of arcane techniques that he could, although such opportunities were few. A common soldier had no hope of actually gaining access to Sorcere itself. Eventually, the Drow’s natural good looks caught the attentions of one of the House females. She abused his charms liberally for quite some time, but eventually grew tired of him. In order to eliminate any possible complications, Tycho was "volunteered" for a surface infiltration of a Wood Elf settlement. The mission was fairly straightforward: several pairs of Drow were to be teleported to the surface, where they had to find the assigned target and integrate themselves into the population. Towards this end, each was given a ring, the design of which was copied from jewelry found on some corpses from a previous raid. These trinkets would permit the operatives to alter their appearance to a single, fixed alternate guise. Tycho was assigned to work with a longtime rival of his, a rogue by the name of Zamethrin Qenir'van. As soon as the pair were on the surface, they went for each other's throats. Tycho emerged the victor in the battle, and he promptly stripped Zam of his ring and used the Drow's corpse as his ticket into the village, claiming he was a traveler who'd been attacked by a scout and that the guards should investigate. With the ensuing commotion, it was relatively easy to manipulate the elves' fears and ingratiate himself, and over the course of several days he settled in. As the days wore on with no signal to strike, the keyed-up anticipation that had built inside Tycho gradually gave way to boredom. He had already identified several of his compatriots within the area by their rings, although he hadn't needed to make contact with any of them yet. However, when one of the females began making advances on him, he had no choice but to cooperate. Interestingly, his companion, Ildryna, proved remarkably restrained and subtle in her behavior, quite unlike the pushy tactics Tycho was used to. Tycho began to respect the woman, and that slowly gave way to a mutual friendship, something unheard of among Drow. The two spent time together talking about matters within the village, although both were careful to stay clear of discussions related to the mission, as observers were omnipresent. They also became sparring partners, often researching and perfecting new techniques in combat against each other. It was here that Tycho began to more fully practice weaving arcane magic into his combat style. One day, during a stroll through a more secluded part of the forest, Tycho’s curiosity finally got the better of him and he actually summoned the gall to ask Ildryna to remove her ring so he could see what she looked like. She seemed puzzled by the request at first, but after some badgering she slid the band off her finger. Nothing happened. There was a long pause where Tycho’s stomach fell into his feet, then he swore and tackled her with the intention of cleaning up the loose end he’d just created. Unfortunately, when he had the knife to her throat, he realized he couldn’t do it. That moment’s hesitation was all the opening Ildryna needed to kick him in the gut and send him sprawling. He lay in the grass for several moments, then sighed and removed his own ring. Ildryna would probably have killed him had she not fainted at seeing his true form. By the time she regained consciousness, Tycho was sitting on a nearby log, once more disguised. The pair talked things out, and Tycho’s loyalties finally broke. He revealed everything about the mission, including how to identify the agents by looking for the signets they wore. It turned out that the corpses from which the rings had been taken were Elves in Ildryna’s tribal line, hence her own identical ring. Life returned to some semblance of normality, and one night soon after the signal came. Spiders scuttled into the rooms where the agents had made their lodgings. The vermin were gone as quickly as they’d come, but it was all the alert that the Drow required. They stormed from their bunks, weapons drawn—and were felled by arrows from the darkness, fired by rangers assigned to track them. The skilled and the fortunate managed to put up resistance, and the night lit up with blue spellfire and the clash of steel. Still, the Drow were dead already, and they knew it. Tycho, whose identity Ildryna had not revealed to the authorities, met her at the stables. She had a horse waiting for him. The two said their goodbyes, and then he galloped off into the night, promising to return within a fortnight. He rode his steed to death in a panicked effort to get as far away as possible, then spent the rest of the time lying low and waiting. Finally, the time passed, and he began to make his way back to the settlement. When he returned, he found Ildryna’s body hanged outside the village walls. Starlight bathed her face in a ghostly pallor, and her neck was skewed in graceful mockery of its natural form. She had been executed for conspiring with the foe, her body left on display for all to bear witness. He stood, rooted. Strength fled his limbs; thoughts, his mind. He could only stare—frozen, held, forced, helpless. Dead. His life ended then, his flame extinguished in the same breath that had taken hers. That bright, violent blaze, so filled with passion and fury, simply faltered, and was gone. His legs failed him. Metal greaves clattered against stone, crunched upon undergrowth as he collapsed to his knees. Still he stared. Her eyes did not accuse; rather, as ever, they held that private joke, that observation, that secret she always seemed to hold. But now that truth would never find release. Tears finally came, but he did not feel them. He still knelt, a prisoner of the scene before him. His lips parted a moment. There was no scream: only a weak, gasping breath. The sound of a life, breaking. Tycho’s world shattered. He collapsed, sobbing for what must have seemed hours, unable to speak, barely able to breathe. When the violent fit of emotion passed, he carefully, reverently removed the body, carrying it to the clearing where he’d first removed his ring. He slid the band from her finger and donned it against his own. Then he buried her. From there, it is uncertain where precisely his wanderings have taken him. -----Future Plot Points (to be worked out with the DM's cooperation)----- Zametheryn, whom Tycho left dead, was a secret follower of Kiaransalee. She returned her loyal follower to unlife with the mission of hunting down and killing the traitor Tycho. Zam is an undead rogue/arcane trickster/assassin type. He has yet to make contact with Tycho. I've actually got a bit I want to run by the DM where Zam rezzes Ildryna himself--as a Deathless. When Tycho initially tries to get her resurrected (via the church of Elistraae, and quite likely after a forced but agreed-to alignment change), he finds out he has to track down and kill her undead shell to finish the job. That in turn leads to his final face-off with Zam, thus tying together all the (major) loose ends of his backstory (and Ildryna ends up unwilling to be resurrected, though she does talk to Tycho and that bit of his story gets finished up).My biggest question is, what works within the FR setting and what doesn't? Did I mix up Wood and Wild Elves? Which region sounds like it might fit the description of where he's ended up? How would the character deal with religion, given he knows he's fallen out of favor with his entire Pantheon (though I could see him praying to Vhaerun out of desperation)? I can see him perhaps having heard rumors of Elistraae when it all starts out, though he'd dismiss such things as a hoax meant to lure fools. The name Vrinn was chosen from the pre-selected names list in the FCRS, but I later got the impression that there are ties associated with it. My current rationalization is that he used it because that was the house he last served, but would I be better off just changing the name? Lastly, how would the character deal with the surface? As a former common soldier, I intend to play up the strangeness of the World Above--i.e. things like fruit that he's never seen before. His knowledge seems limited to "Elves will kill me on sight," and his natural paranoia would take that to the conclusion that "everyone is out to get me," but is there any other info he might know? If not, knowing little about the particulars of the setting actually helps a bit when it comes to acting in-character. Any help on fixing things that I got flat-out wrong, or questions regarding plot points and the like would be great. I'll take whatever assistance I can get. :bow:
Adrian_Crane 02-06-07, 05:10 PM	...bump. Any thoughts? I'm trying to figure out how he might have knowledge of Shar early on, since hers seems the best fit for a choice of religion after everything that's happened.
Adolph_Kheebler 02-07-07, 12:52 AM	Damn that is a really good backstory. I don't really have much to comment on. It seemed correct by FR to me. The only problem is that rings of alter self would never work and the drow would know that. There are high level casters in most elf cities and someone with True Sight or Mage Sight would have come along eventually. But you can suspend your disbelief on that one. You talked about blending arcane and combat, what class is he by the way? Duskblade seems the closest I can think of to what you described.
Adrian_Crane 02-07-07, 11:39 AM	I'm split between Duskblade or the more long-term Ftr/Wiz/PrC gish approach, but yeah, that's his general style. Thanks for the compliment. ;) And I envision the settlement as being more of a town than city, so perhaps that makes the suspension of disbelief easier? You're right though, does seem like if I were running a city I'd be inclined to Zone of Truth / divination any suspicious guests, with or without their knowledge... Hmmm...could say they DID, and knew what the Drow were all along. But then the hard part is, even if you're able to track them, why let them live at all?
Adolph_Kheebler 02-08-07, 12:20 AM	If it's a small settlement then it isn't really that much of a problem. The problem would arise if you are in a big city. I know that Waterdeep has guards with constant True Sight at all gates. However it isn't worth it for a small village. True Sight is a quite high level spell and expensive to make permanent.
Stormbrand 02-08-07, 04:00 PM	All fine by FR. Since you are evil however, you might want to get revenge on the town that executed your loved one.
razhan 02-09-07, 01:09 AM	well done. he would not know much you are right because he has heard lies about the world above for years. umm will his drow mate come after him after finding that he is still alive?
Adrian_Crane 02-09-07, 10:40 AM	will his drow mate come after him after finding that he is still alive?If you mean the one who had him sent on the mission in the first place, she doesn't know yet. Given he was the only survivor (Zam technically died like the others, though he was raised to undeath), nobody back home has heard the news. She's undoubtedly experiencing some good ol' disfavor from Lloth, though, so she'll put two and two together before long. :D As to revenge...oh yes,there will be vengeance :plotting: Targetted, though. He'll have to figure out who, precisely, was responsible for the verdict and carrying it out.
razhan 02-10-07, 04:12 PM	true, i like the non good renegade drow odea it makes a drow that realy has folavor not some Drizzt wannabe.
camirblu 02-15-07, 03:33 PM	Crazy, interesting character, and I -like- the chip on his shoulder. Few comments on the FR setting, but I look forward to his story developing. And if it finishes, exactly what the falling-out would be. This is the "villian" you watch out for, and the world never paints an easy picture. Here's to hoping you've a solid RPer for the role of Ildryna. I wonder what she would be like as a sort of ghost that he could interact with. I'd be tempted to throw in "he can interact with her after certain rituals are met," for example, holding her hand or a sparring match, which could add some flavor once a month to the campaign where he looks forward to the event, like hell, and something will always result from it. Perhaps the conditions change slightly each time. She doesn't always need a 'message' for him, but it would ensure that closer to these events, he would grow more distracted or more wary of something disrupting it. Or another twist on the "continually there ghost," instead. A barely-there presence. He has to learn to interact with her throughout the day while not letting on with his companions that that's what he's doing. She survives by his belief, offers advice at the DM's discretion and his own emotions give him no choice. Can he let her go? Does it cause her pain or contentment to stay? Sometimes she remembers her death and sometimes not. Sometimes she appears as she did in death, other times joyous as in life. Her continued presence depends on his belief in her. What does this do to his relationship with his companions? will she be forced to leave if he kills Zam? What if killing Zam isn't the key to helping her? What's he do then?
Adrian_Crane 02-15-07, 03:59 PM	Can he let her go? Does it cause her pain or contentment to stay? Sometimes she remembers her death and sometimes not. Sometimes she appears as she did in death, other times joyous as in life. Her continued presence depends on his belief in her. What does this do to his relationship with his companions? will she be forced to leave if he kills Zam? What if killing Zam isn't the key to helping her? What's he do then? Just to start off...you nailed the falling out with that first question. The way it ultimately will work out (or at least, the plan) is that he'll have her raised, but it won't work--instead, he finds himself in some quasi-plane with just him and her, in the grove where they first revealed their true selves. Essentially, she asks him to let her go. He does. In Norse tradition, it's a sad story with a happy ending--he finally finds closure, they say their goodbyes, and he ends up back at the altar while everyone's wondering what happened. Then he moves on (by this point he's at least True Neutral, possibly even Neutral Good). She does show up to him in moments of semi-consciousness, such as right when he's drifting off or waking up. I've had more than my share of AMV ideas for the whole thing (cheesy, yes, but some songs just work), and I always imagine her as that mostly-transparent barely-there presence when he's reminiscing. Her presence itself is largely a DM Deus Ex Machina--it can be used to explain just about anything, from curse effects on Tycho all the way to a random True Res if called for. I'm leaving that to whoever's running the game, once I determine we're on the same page. As to Zam--just to make it clear, because I'm not sure everyone got it: Ildryna is a wood elf. Not Drow. Tycho mistook her for one due to her tribal ring, which, coincidentally, was from the same tribe as the scouts the Drow initially slew to get the design. When he kills her (in her undead form), it's because you can't raise someone if they're undead--says so in RAW. As to Zam, Zam is Drow. Killing him really doesn't have any effect on the Tycho/Ildryna relationship, it just finally ties up a loose end. Hope that's all cleared up. :bow: As always, thanks for the feedback. I'm quite proud of his story, myself--I just wish I could find a group already! Hoping that works out when I head off to college this fall. And yeah, I'm not entrusting him to a DM and group of players until I know they can get seriously into it. :D For more crunchy tidbits: Tycho and the church of Eiliastraae (assuming I spelled that right) Not sure how the first run in will happen, but I have a good idea of how it'd go down; Initially, you've got a fun situation where there's a clearly evil Drow hanging around church proceedings. He's cynical, snide, and basically thinks they're all a bunch of idealistic idiots. Unfortuntely for him, he needs them--they're some of the few allies he'd actually be able to count on. So he helps them out when it's necessary. When you've got events such as that run they do, when they go unarmed to various villages, he's the one bringing up the rear with concealed weaponry and generally acting as a bouncer (or failing concealed weaponry, he just readies spells). I look forward to playing the bull in the china shop when it comes to church affairs. Of course, he starts mellowing eventually, but we'll see just how long that takes. ;)