Fresh Ideas for Desert Rodents [Archive] - Wizards Community

Fresh Ideas for Desert Rodents [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Phelot_Plaguecrafter
09-16-06, 12:38 AM All right. Long time helper outter, first time asker for help.

The character I've got is an Armand Monk. I'm lawful good, exalted in fact, as I have taken the Vow of Poverty. I follow most of the flavor of the Armand from MMIII. The whole communal life style, the value of life experience as almost a form of currency, enjoying life in all aspects, having respect for all living things, only fighting as an absolute last resort, and all that jazz. Vow of Poverty seemed a fitting choice for an Armand Monk given their lifestyle and such. Since taking the vow, I've actually roleplayed as an exalted character. I've made my DM use the Redeemed Villain thing from BoED a few times. I deal subdual damage a fair amount of the time. I refuse to hold a magical item. I'm all around a good guy. I play the most neutral version of lawful good you can imagine.

So, I actually have a fair amount of story written up already. I'll attempt a summary: Our Armand tribe divides their praise among three major deities. The Sand, The Sky, and The Sun. Each deity receives praise in a time of its specific need. The Sand grants food for the tribe and things of that nature, The Sky grants water, and The Sun grants fertility and health and the like. The tribe never had want for anything that could not be granted by way of worship, and the tribe only prayed for the bare minimum that was necessary. After a time, there came a problem with this system of deities. These deities began bickering. They would vie for the tribe's undivided favor by granting more than that which was necessary. They showed their might by way of sandstorms of incredible force, floods, unheard of in a desert setting, or incredible draughts. There came a time when most of the tribe simply thought the deities had become so enraptured in their quarrel that they had forsaken the lowly Armands. However, among the larger tribe, there were two factions of Armands, each led by a Warden of the tribe who had left and experienced much before returning. One faction had begun taking advantage of the gods' quarrel. They would pray for resources that were unnecessary, and given that the gods were looking for favor, they would provide needlessly. After a time, this faction sprung out of hiding with hoards of food, water, medicine, and clothing that the rest of the tribe desperately needed during this time of spite, but that was not granted to them because the faction superceded their praises with their own. This faction began asking for payment for necessities, and doled them out as though kings of the tribe. They slept on feathered beds rather than fibered mats. They lived in grand homes made of brick rather than tents made of hides. They lived a life of luxury unheard of by the Armands. The second faction was a group of zealots, attempting to find salvation in another deity. This faction understood the truth behind the deities', that if they were truly good, they would have no reason to quarrel, and that if they truly cared about the tribe, they would reconcile their differences. This faction consistently meditated and went on pilgrimages in an attempt to make contact with any other deity or guiding force that could help their people. The first faction saw what the second was doing, and realized that if a new deity was found, the tribe would shun their former 'masters' and the faction's prowess would be undermined, so they sought to stop the second faction in any way possible. The tribe is on the brink of civil war, while horrific natural disasters ravage their land, and the tribe suffers from famine, disease, and a host of other issues with no recompense in sight. The leader of the second faction is my father. So, my character leaves on a pilgrimage to find any sort of power that can help his people, be it deific or mortal.

So, okay, that's the preface for this guy. I go adventuring for a long time, with my party, and I get to a place where I meditate and am found by an emissary of Zuoken. We converse. The emissary makes a lot of sense, and by the way Zuoken speaks through him, he seems sincere and eager to help a race of life loving nomads like us. So, he instills some of his power in me, signified by me taking the Wild Talent feat and going into Fist of Zuoken from monk.

Okay, here's the thing: I need more story than that. That can be strung out to two-three pages maybe, but I'd like five-six. I don't mean for anyone to write out a story, no. I just am looking for ideas. Tell me something I can do for this guy to feather him out more. I need some quirks or something about the actual character, rather than simply the history of his tribe. So, help me out, huh?
roronmisthawk
09-16-06, 01:23 PM maybe throw in a romeo and juliet style romance between your PC and another npc from faction 1, that causes the leader of faction 1 to send assasins after you. this could perhaps lead to you being in the place that you meet your "mentor".
Phelot_Plaguecrafter
09-16-06, 04:28 PM I appreciate the effort, and for any other character, I'd say, "Heck yeah!" but not an exalted monk. Just doesn't fit this guy.
rydi123
09-18-06, 04:36 AM well, considering the background, your character might have a negative view of divinity. even good gods might be viewed w/suspicion, and they would be seen more as extremely powerful entities, rather than gods (which is kind of the case in d&d anyway...). could even lead to levels in ur-priest (with evil requirement removed).

but if you went with that, the character would probably scoff at religions and thier followers (though being careful not to insult the gods either, as they are both real and powerful entities, as he has seen first hand). he would also likely try to find some way of placing the power in the hands of mortals/his people, instead of the gods. his choice of monk could be a way to find true spiritual enlightenment instead of the false salvation offered by the petty and capricious deities of his people.

how that helped some.
Phelot_Plaguecrafter
09-18-06, 01:43 PM I've defenitely taken that into consideration. I never talk about religious theory with other party members. I almost never talk to our cleric, and I actually have yet to speak with our paladin. Don't get me wrong, it took me nearly a month and a half of constantly talking to this emissary before I decided to give it a try, if for no other reason than to find a quick fix for my people. The character is exalted. He tries his damndest to see the good in every situation. I do believe the higher powers I originally worshipped are selfish and hurting my people, but I would never apply that idea to all deities just because I experienced it with a few.

I should defenitely bring that more into the light though, thanks for reminding me of that.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Phelot_Plaguecrafter 09-16-06, 12:38 AM	All right. Long time helper outter, first time asker for help. The character I've got is an Armand Monk. I'm lawful good, exalted in fact, as I have taken the Vow of Poverty. I follow most of the flavor of the Armand from MMIII. The whole communal life style, the value of life experience as almost a form of currency, enjoying life in all aspects, having respect for all living things, only fighting as an absolute last resort, and all that jazz. Vow of Poverty seemed a fitting choice for an Armand Monk given their lifestyle and such. Since taking the vow, I've actually roleplayed as an exalted character. I've made my DM use the Redeemed Villain thing from BoED a few times. I deal subdual damage a fair amount of the time. I refuse to hold a magical item. I'm all around a good guy. I play the most neutral version of lawful good you can imagine. So, I actually have a fair amount of story written up already. I'll attempt a summary: Our Armand tribe divides their praise among three major deities. The Sand, The Sky, and The Sun. Each deity receives praise in a time of its specific need. The Sand grants food for the tribe and things of that nature, The Sky grants water, and The Sun grants fertility and health and the like. The tribe never had want for anything that could not be granted by way of worship, and the tribe only prayed for the bare minimum that was necessary. After a time, there came a problem with this system of deities. These deities began bickering. They would vie for the tribe's undivided favor by granting more than that which was necessary. They showed their might by way of sandstorms of incredible force, floods, unheard of in a desert setting, or incredible draughts. There came a time when most of the tribe simply thought the deities had become so enraptured in their quarrel that they had forsaken the lowly Armands. However, among the larger tribe, there were two factions of Armands, each led by a Warden of the tribe who had left and experienced much before returning. One faction had begun taking advantage of the gods' quarrel. They would pray for resources that were unnecessary, and given that the gods were looking for favor, they would provide needlessly. After a time, this faction sprung out of hiding with hoards of food, water, medicine, and clothing that the rest of the tribe desperately needed during this time of spite, but that was not granted to them because the faction superceded their praises with their own. This faction began asking for payment for necessities, and doled them out as though kings of the tribe. They slept on feathered beds rather than fibered mats. They lived in grand homes made of brick rather than tents made of hides. They lived a life of luxury unheard of by the Armands. The second faction was a group of zealots, attempting to find salvation in another deity. This faction understood the truth behind the deities', that if they were truly good, they would have no reason to quarrel, and that if they truly cared about the tribe, they would reconcile their differences. This faction consistently meditated and went on pilgrimages in an attempt to make contact with any other deity or guiding force that could help their people. The first faction saw what the second was doing, and realized that if a new deity was found, the tribe would shun their former 'masters' and the faction's prowess would be undermined, so they sought to stop the second faction in any way possible. The tribe is on the brink of civil war, while horrific natural disasters ravage their land, and the tribe suffers from famine, disease, and a host of other issues with no recompense in sight. The leader of the second faction is my father. So, my character leaves on a pilgrimage to find any sort of power that can help his people, be it deific or mortal. So, okay, that's the preface for this guy. I go adventuring for a long time, with my party, and I get to a place where I meditate and am found by an emissary of Zuoken. We converse. The emissary makes a lot of sense, and by the way Zuoken speaks through him, he seems sincere and eager to help a race of life loving nomads like us. So, he instills some of his power in me, signified by me taking the Wild Talent feat and going into Fist of Zuoken from monk. Okay, here's the thing: I need more story than that. That can be strung out to two-three pages maybe, but I'd like five-six. I don't mean for anyone to write out a story, no. I just am looking for ideas. Tell me something I can do for this guy to feather him out more. I need some quirks or something about the actual character, rather than simply the history of his tribe. So, help me out, huh?
roronmisthawk 09-16-06, 01:23 PM	maybe throw in a romeo and juliet style romance between your PC and another npc from faction 1, that causes the leader of faction 1 to send assasins after you. this could perhaps lead to you being in the place that you meet your "mentor".
Phelot_Plaguecrafter 09-16-06, 04:28 PM	I appreciate the effort, and for any other character, I'd say, "Heck yeah!" but not an exalted monk. Just doesn't fit this guy.
rydi123 09-18-06, 04:36 AM	well, considering the background, your character might have a negative view of divinity. even good gods might be viewed w/suspicion, and they would be seen more as extremely powerful entities, rather than gods (which is kind of the case in d&d anyway...). could even lead to levels in ur-priest (with evil requirement removed). but if you went with that, the character would probably scoff at religions and thier followers (though being careful not to insult the gods either, as they are both real and powerful entities, as he has seen first hand). he would also likely try to find some way of placing the power in the hands of mortals/his people, instead of the gods. his choice of monk could be a way to find true spiritual enlightenment instead of the false salvation offered by the petty and capricious deities of his people. how that helped some.
Phelot_Plaguecrafter 09-18-06, 01:43 PM	I've defenitely taken that into consideration. I never talk about religious theory with other party members. I almost never talk to our cleric, and I actually have yet to speak with our paladin. Don't get me wrong, it took me nearly a month and a half of constantly talking to this emissary before I decided to give it a try, if for no other reason than to find a quick fix for my people. The character is exalted. He tries his damndest to see the good in every situation. I do believe the higher powers I originally worshipped are selfish and hurting my people, but I would never apply that idea to all deities just because I experienced it with a few. I should defenitely bring that more into the light though, thanks for reminding me of that.