Fleshing out a warforged wizard [Archive] - Wizards Community

Fleshing out a warforged wizard [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Lord Welkerfan
12-17-07, 10:35 PM In my game, a player is playing a warforged wizard who works as a librarian at Morgrave University in Sharn. He never fought in the Last War, and is on a quest to collect all knowledge. He carries with him at all times a "Book of Everything" in which he scribes information about just about everything he encounters.

The problem is, that is where the character stops.

Can you help me to help the player to flesh him out?
Cuaglar
12-18-07, 08:30 AM Of course, 'fleshing out' is a figure of speech with this character, yes?

I've played many characters whose sole aim in life is the acquisition of knowledge and learning, because it is something I can relate to. I love to learn! My Eberron wizard also took a book around with him everywhere, but it only had a working title, 'Things I Learned Today', which was part journal and part randomly organised encyclopedia.
But in Eberron things tend to take on a different tint. In Eberron, one has to explore the reasons why this warforged is a bookworm.
Here's a rundown of suggestions, based on alignment (note; these are just my interpretation of the alignments, and others could take different meanings)
Lawful Good: The wizard seeks the wisdom and learning necessary to help those around him; you never know when an obscure law can bring a dangerous criminal to justice, or when a stray fact happens to be the one saving someone's life.
Neutral Good: The wizard tends to just want to get along with his learning, without concerning himself unduly with the authorities of his world, and generally tries to use his knowledge to improve the lot of those around him.
Chaotic Good: Here is where, I think, things might get interesting. If the warforged wizard is this alignment, he may be looking for something that would enable the warforged race to upgrade their status even further, perhaps with some lore about the old warforged of Xen'drik, or the location of some remote place where the warforged could start a nation of their own.
Lawful Neutral: Here, your wizard might just be interested in furthering his own goals, without using his talents for good or harm, but generally bowing to authority and the laws of the land.
And, it's late, so I can't go on anymore. :)
Lord Welkerfan
12-18-07, 05:18 PM I think he may like these, but can you think of any more impersonal motivations?
Ratpick
12-19-07, 07:21 AM You want to flesh him out, eh? Well, take the Reforged Prestige Class.

*drum roll*

Thank you, I'll be here all week!

On a more serious note, the Warforged are rife with roleplaying potential IMHO. I really like the idea of a Warforged librarian. With that composite body he'd never tire of carrying books and sorting them according to whatever decimal system they use in Morgrave University and since he doesn't need to sleep he can absorb books during the night at an unbelievably quick rate.

Hmmm, out to collect all knowledge, eh? I've always seen the Warforged as the oddball race in Eberron. All the other races have a clear idea of their origins and identity, but the Warforged, by virtue of being an artificial race and relatively new to the world, are left with lots of questions about their place in the world. I know it's a bit of a cliché with Warforged characters, but what if his search for knowledge is at the same time a search for understanding his own place in the world?

There's a lot of material in the Eberron Campaign Setting that's pointing towards Warforged parts having been found in Xen'drik, suggesting that the Warforged may have existed in some form in times before. What if this character has read some explorer's account of Xen'drik and suddenly becomes hellbent on exploring the place for some clues about his origins? This could be problematic if you do not intend to set the campaign in Xen'drik, though.

Hope that was at least somewhat helpful.
Terjon of the Blue Rose
12-20-07, 04:46 AM One important point to take into consideration is "Who paid to have him made and to what end?" Surely Morgrave has better uses for their funds and superior guardians. The who, how, and why of his construction will, I think, tell you much of his purpose and personality, not to mention his upbringing.
San_Mateo
01-05-08, 07:08 PM Akin to the last post, I think it'd be good to figure out his specific origins. Was he a late-created Warforged, and thus never saw any fighting just because he was rolled out too late? Or was there another reason? Possibly a defect that couldn't be corrected in time?

It's good to figure out that kind of origin, and figure out just how he came to be a Librarian where he is. Was moving there and getting that job suggested to him, or requested? Or did he go of his own accord? And why that place and library specifically? And how long and how much trouble did it take to get there?

Aside from that..

Just wanting knowledge for the sake of itself sounds fine to me. Not every hobby needs to be connected to a strong desire to do anything with it, or to change one's self. However, if you choose to keep it simplistic, it's good to put more into developping other aspects of his character too.

I say a good way to start is to figure out what all he does in a day. This is a lot more tricky with Warforged, as some traditional things a character does (get dressed, eat) that tells us something about them don't apply.

Surely he doesn't spend all day in the library, or in pursuit of his hobby. (Indeed, mechanics-wise and flavor wise even the mind of a Warforged will grow bored from enough repetition in a short amount of time.) He probably lives somewhere, the size and scale of it saying a lot about his character. Most Warforged probably have some kind of place to stay and keep their posessions(no matter how meager) when they need. Later or more humanish Warforged might have more space, or decoration or such.

So, he probably has a home, and a job, one that he probably spends more time doing than required, but what else does he do? Does he have any friends, or people he just associates with? He might hang out with whoever his boss is, or trade notes with other scholars. Maybe there's other Warforged or people he used to work with around to interact with.

Also, thinking of how he knows/met/will meet the other PCs can certainly help. Scholarly or caster types or whomever would have use for a Library would probably meet him and could just get to know him from his job indeed.

But really, the sky is the limit. Try to put yourself in his shoes, and figure out how he sees the world, and then try and figure out how his life is and how he came to be the person he is today.
San_Mateo
01-05-08, 07:15 PM Ack, double post. Not sure how to delete it.
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi
01-06-08, 05:55 PM Here's an idea: he was employed in the Last War as a reconnaissance type. He was built to be all about information. Scouting ahead or spying, take your pick. The point is, at some point, he failed. He failed to report some detail that at the time seemed exceedingly minute, but later turned to be important. He probably shrugged it off and forgot about it. But then his failure to report this piece of info led to disaster - probably routing of whatever division he was associated with. He feels terrible about what his negligence has wrought, and so he records everything now, lest he repeat his mistake. I like it. It just seems like exactly the way a warforged would overcompensate, recording everything for later. To back up this story, you should probably put a few ranks in spot. Even if he was built for a different kind of reconnaissance (maybe gather info?), the ranks in spot reflect his attempt to make sure he never again misses something important. Insist that the party uses your familiar as the scout, or find some way to keep a divinatory eye on the scout, so you can make sure that you've checked yourself that everything checks out - and that you have every minute detail in your Book of Everything. Loremaster or scout/swiftblade seem logical routes to go.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lord Welkerfan 12-17-07, 10:35 PM	In my game, a player is playing a warforged wizard who works as a librarian at Morgrave University in Sharn. He never fought in the Last War, and is on a quest to collect all knowledge. He carries with him at all times a "Book of Everything" in which he scribes information about just about everything he encounters. The problem is, that is where the character stops. Can you help me to help the player to flesh him out?
Cuaglar 12-18-07, 08:30 AM	Of course, 'fleshing out' is a figure of speech with this character, yes? I've played many characters whose sole aim in life is the acquisition of knowledge and learning, because it is something I can relate to. I love to learn! My Eberron wizard also took a book around with him everywhere, but it only had a working title, 'Things I Learned Today', which was part journal and part randomly organised encyclopedia. But in Eberron things tend to take on a different tint. In Eberron, one has to explore the reasons why this warforged is a bookworm. Here's a rundown of suggestions, based on alignment (note; these are just my interpretation of the alignments, and others could take different meanings) Lawful Good: The wizard seeks the wisdom and learning necessary to help those around him; you never know when an obscure law can bring a dangerous criminal to justice, or when a stray fact happens to be the one saving someone's life. Neutral Good: The wizard tends to just want to get along with his learning, without concerning himself unduly with the authorities of his world, and generally tries to use his knowledge to improve the lot of those around him. Chaotic Good: Here is where, I think, things might get interesting. If the warforged wizard is this alignment, he may be looking for something that would enable the warforged race to upgrade their status even further, perhaps with some lore about the old warforged of Xen'drik, or the location of some remote place where the warforged could start a nation of their own. Lawful Neutral: Here, your wizard might just be interested in furthering his own goals, without using his talents for good or harm, but generally bowing to authority and the laws of the land. And, it's late, so I can't go on anymore. :)
Lord Welkerfan 12-18-07, 05:18 PM	I think he may like these, but can you think of any more impersonal motivations?
Ratpick 12-19-07, 07:21 AM	You want to flesh him out, eh? Well, take the Reforged Prestige Class. drum roll Thank you, I'll be here all week! On a more serious note, the Warforged are rife with roleplaying potential IMHO. I really like the idea of a Warforged librarian. With that composite body he'd never tire of carrying books and sorting them according to whatever decimal system they use in Morgrave University and since he doesn't need to sleep he can absorb books during the night at an unbelievably quick rate. Hmmm, out to collect all knowledge, eh? I've always seen the Warforged as the oddball race in Eberron. All the other races have a clear idea of their origins and identity, but the Warforged, by virtue of being an artificial race and relatively new to the world, are left with lots of questions about their place in the world. I know it's a bit of a cliché with Warforged characters, but what if his search for knowledge is at the same time a search for understanding his own place in the world? There's a lot of material in the Eberron Campaign Setting that's pointing towards Warforged parts having been found in Xen'drik, suggesting that the Warforged may have existed in some form in times before. What if this character has read some explorer's account of Xen'drik and suddenly becomes hellbent on exploring the place for some clues about his origins? This could be problematic if you do not intend to set the campaign in Xen'drik, though. Hope that was at least somewhat helpful.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 12-20-07, 04:46 AM	One important point to take into consideration is "Who paid to have him made and to what end?" Surely Morgrave has better uses for their funds and superior guardians. The who, how, and why of his construction will, I think, tell you much of his purpose and personality, not to mention his upbringing.
San_Mateo 01-05-08, 07:08 PM	Akin to the last post, I think it'd be good to figure out his specific origins. Was he a late-created Warforged, and thus never saw any fighting just because he was rolled out too late? Or was there another reason? Possibly a defect that couldn't be corrected in time? It's good to figure out that kind of origin, and figure out just how he came to be a Librarian where he is. Was moving there and getting that job suggested to him, or requested? Or did he go of his own accord? And why that place and library specifically? And how long and how much trouble did it take to get there? Aside from that.. Just wanting knowledge for the sake of itself sounds fine to me. Not every hobby needs to be connected to a strong desire to do anything with it, or to change one's self. However, if you choose to keep it simplistic, it's good to put more into developping other aspects of his character too. I say a good way to start is to figure out what all he does in a day. This is a lot more tricky with Warforged, as some traditional things a character does (get dressed, eat) that tells us something about them don't apply. Surely he doesn't spend all day in the library, or in pursuit of his hobby. (Indeed, mechanics-wise and flavor wise even the mind of a Warforged will grow bored from enough repetition in a short amount of time.) He probably lives somewhere, the size and scale of it saying a lot about his character. Most Warforged probably have some kind of place to stay and keep their posessions(no matter how meager) when they need. Later or more humanish Warforged might have more space, or decoration or such. So, he probably has a home, and a job, one that he probably spends more time doing than required, but what else does he do? Does he have any friends, or people he just associates with? He might hang out with whoever his boss is, or trade notes with other scholars. Maybe there's other Warforged or people he used to work with around to interact with. Also, thinking of how he knows/met/will meet the other PCs can certainly help. Scholarly or caster types or whomever would have use for a Library would probably meet him and could just get to know him from his job indeed. But really, the sky is the limit. Try to put yourself in his shoes, and figure out how he sees the world, and then try and figure out how his life is and how he came to be the person he is today.
San_Mateo 01-05-08, 07:15 PM	Ack, double post. Not sure how to delete it.
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi 01-06-08, 05:55 PM	Here's an idea: he was employed in the Last War as a reconnaissance type. He was built to be all about information. Scouting ahead or spying, take your pick. The point is, at some point, he failed. He failed to report some detail that at the time seemed exceedingly minute, but later turned to be important. He probably shrugged it off and forgot about it. But then his failure to report this piece of info led to disaster - probably routing of whatever division he was associated with. He feels terrible about what his negligence has wrought, and so he records everything now, lest he repeat his mistake. I like it. It just seems like exactly the way a warforged would overcompensate, recording everything for later. To back up this story, you should probably put a few ranks in spot. Even if he was built for a different kind of reconnaissance (maybe gather info?), the ranks in spot reflect his attempt to make sure he never again misses something important. Insist that the party uses your familiar as the scout, or find some way to keep a divinatory eye on the scout, so you can make sure that you've checked yourself that everything checks out - and that you have every minute detail in your Book of Everything. Loremaster or scout/swiftblade seem logical routes to go.