Gestalt Wizard-Druid [Archive] - Wizards Community

Gestalt Wizard-Druid [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Free1983
07-24-07, 03:20 PM Warning: Long post ahead

Hi,

My player has some problems with coming up with an interesting background. We talked about it and came up with some basic stuff. What I'm looking for here is
a) some finetuning: The ideas we've got might use some modification
b) inspiration: As the title says, it's not generic fighter number three that needs a background.

So here goes:

My player will be playing a druid-wizard (gestalt) level 1. Her name is Lyarnith, she's about 1,65 meter high and weighs about 55kg. She has green eyes and brown hair with some rasta's.

My player was really open to something new (and perhaps a bit lazy ;)) so she decided that she suffers from amnesia. She remembers only something about a big fire on a ship and then she remembers being found on a beach by a band of hunters. Before the fire, she doesn't recall a thing, although she discovered that she had some special skills and abilities that she can't explain.
She had a spellbook when she was found and she figured out she was some kind of spellcaster. The band consists of three families and she was 'taken in' by Linwor (48, male) and Rehindar (50, female) who are both rangers/hunters in the little group. This couple has two children, a daughter named Tinarack (28, bard) and a son named Erathlor (24) who's trained in the ways of his parents. They took her in and named her Lyarnith. She was called this because not long after she recovered, she was found talking with the wolves the druid of the band (Merel, female). This placed the band for a mystery. As Tinarack had explained that she was capable of arcane magic, they had now found Lyarnith using divine magic.
Anyway, Lyarnith got a place in the band and was teached in the ways of the druid and the teachings of Obod-Haī by Merel. The band makes a living by hunting in the woods around Stillcastle and trading the pelts, etc of the animals they hunt. Lyarnith went to Stillcastle but didn't recognise anything, she has learned the language of the band and didn't recall her native language.

Anyway, Lyarnith made a living like this for almost 3 years, but still she has not found a clue to her true origin. Not long ago, a man from the band asked her to come with him to Stillcastle. The youngman, named Firnard, wants to become a great bard and wants to make fame in the city. He asked her to accompany her, as his parents are more at ease when two people of their band go to the city so that they can support each other.

The motives of Lyarnith to leave the band are the following:

Her history: She wants to know where she originates from, she wants to know where she got this spellbook, etc.
Independance: She feels like she has lived long enough in a secluded company and wants to find her way in this life.
Her arcane study: Although she was teached by the druid Merel, she wants to know more about Arcane magic. She has the spellbook, but she isn't able to continue this study. She is looking for a mentor who can pass on more knowledge to her.

However, I'm not sure how I'm going to provide all these things. I want to give her a suitable mentor, but I'm not sure what kind of a character this should be, as I want it to be a person that can teach her arcane and divine magic.

I need some kind of story for the time from birth till the fire on her ship. As you guys don't know my homebrewed world, I'm not really looking for specific stories, but more for general ideas about where a wizard-druid might come from. I also want to be able to use plot hooks from her background in the campaign, so I'm looking for interesting stuff :D)

I've thought about some kind of secret organisation that trains wizards/druids. This organisation needs a purpose (and it better be one that needs this exact combination, or at least both classes). They might have marked her with an invisible arcane mark (which could giver her a start to look for the organisation itself).
She could have been on some sort of mission for this organisation that takes her far away from basecamp. That would help to bring her on a burning ship.

You see that I could use some help here. A purpose for the organisation, a mission for my player or an entirely different idea that fills the gap she has. All suggestions are welcome.

I hope I gave enough info to start. If there's anything that is unclear or if you need some extra information, please ask, and I'l try to give all info needed.

Thanks for the read!

Cheers
warwinner
07-26-07, 10:03 AM Some ideas as to why the pc became wizard/druid or for the mentor

1] Druid,Cohabitation with arcane spellcasters and thus became interested in arcane spells and learned them through study hardwork etc
2] All magic must serve nature, i'll try and bend this unnatural and destructive arcane magic to serve/protect nature
3] Druidic or clerical Land where mages shunned because of unnatural or destructive magic, son or friend of mage or a mage wants to prove that arcane magic is as user wishes it, and wants to prove that it can assist and nurture nature and divine causes
4] A sage or showoff wanting to master all/many forms of magic
5] Studies either form of magic because of necessity [example: fireball needed to fight water elementals commonly attacking in a seaside town]

Some random ideas

The ship was attacked by "villain" who wanted someone in the ship dead, who were they ?[villain & Target]

The organisation is .......
"Animal Assassins"[AA] a assassin's guild, wizard/druids who ruthlessly kill enemies by changing into innocuous looking animal forms & sneaking into prey's room or maul enemies in bear/wolf form so death is blamed on animal attack and escape/avoid detection through wizard spells
The character may have been a apprentice to a AA on a mission, before something went awry that fateful day [Ship burning day]
Orchomenos
07-26-07, 12:47 PM I also have an amnesiac player in my campaign, perhaps could it help you! He's a Wu Jen (oriental wizard). He appeared during a Formian invasion, as a thrall to a taskmaster. Via flashbacks, I had him remember he was part of a large LE army, entering a montainous area (a.k.a. Tibet) to destroy rebel opposition to the Emperor. In the last flashback, only a wooden temple remained with a handful of monks inside; a few platoon were sent to take care of them, but none returned. He was chosen to lead yet another platoon to take care of the monks. He entered, and found the monks. The elder told him to return whence he came, or he would unleash a terrible curse. The PC didn't want to get back, so the monk unleashed the curse: the soldiers were transformed into formians, and he was Dominated by the Taskmaster...

But here's a detail he doesn't know yet:

He hails from the same material plane as my campaign setting, but from a land far to the East. And all this happened 1000 years ago. After these events, he spent a long time on the Astral Plane. During this time, many monks travelled to the West (up to my campaign setting), and founded some schools. His story was past from generation to generation, and they will likely recognize him sooner or later...
Free1983
07-27-07, 08:12 AM Cool story Orchomenos.

And thank you Warwinner for the suggestions. I'm going for an Arcane Hierophant as tutor. It was an elf who has chosen exile from his motherland to observe the different cultures of humans that live next to the elven lands.

As to the background. In my last campaign I had an avatar of the horde that was rampaging its way through the western continent, but that had split his troops in order to open a second front on the eastern continent (where people are unaware of the western continent). I think I'll have her enslaved by the horde, only to be transported to the other continent. That way, she'll start out quite isolated.

Thanks for the ideas.

Cheers

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Free1983 07-24-07, 03:20 PM	Warning: Long post ahead Hi, My player has some problems with coming up with an interesting background. We talked about it and came up with some basic stuff. What I'm looking for here is a) some finetuning: The ideas we've got might use some modification b) inspiration: As the title says, it's not generic fighter number three that needs a background. So here goes: My player will be playing a druid-wizard (gestalt) level 1. Her name is Lyarnith, she's about 1,65 meter high and weighs about 55kg. She has green eyes and brown hair with some rasta's. My player was really open to something new (and perhaps a bit lazy ;)) so she decided that she suffers from amnesia. She remembers only something about a big fire on a ship and then she remembers being found on a beach by a band of hunters. Before the fire, she doesn't recall a thing, although she discovered that she had some special skills and abilities that she can't explain. She had a spellbook when she was found and she figured out she was some kind of spellcaster. The band consists of three families and she was 'taken in' by Linwor (48, male) and Rehindar (50, female) who are both rangers/hunters in the little group. This couple has two children, a daughter named Tinarack (28, bard) and a son named Erathlor (24) who's trained in the ways of his parents. They took her in and named her Lyarnith. She was called this because not long after she recovered, she was found talking with the wolves the druid of the band (Merel, female). This placed the band for a mystery. As Tinarack had explained that she was capable of arcane magic, they had now found Lyarnith using divine magic. Anyway, Lyarnith got a place in the band and was teached in the ways of the druid and the teachings of Obod-Haī by Merel. The band makes a living by hunting in the woods around Stillcastle and trading the pelts, etc of the animals they hunt. Lyarnith went to Stillcastle but didn't recognise anything, she has learned the language of the band and didn't recall her native language. Anyway, Lyarnith made a living like this for almost 3 years, but still she has not found a clue to her true origin. Not long ago, a man from the band asked her to come with him to Stillcastle. The youngman, named Firnard, wants to become a great bard and wants to make fame in the city. He asked her to accompany her, as his parents are more at ease when two people of their band go to the city so that they can support each other. The motives of Lyarnith to leave the band are the following: Her history: She wants to know where she originates from, she wants to know where she got this spellbook, etc. Independance: She feels like she has lived long enough in a secluded company and wants to find her way in this life. Her arcane study: Although she was teached by the druid Merel, she wants to know more about Arcane magic. She has the spellbook, but she isn't able to continue this study. She is looking for a mentor who can pass on more knowledge to her. However, I'm not sure how I'm going to provide all these things. I want to give her a suitable mentor, but I'm not sure what kind of a character this should be, as I want it to be a person that can teach her arcane and divine magic. I need some kind of story for the time from birth till the fire on her ship. As you guys don't know my homebrewed world, I'm not really looking for specific stories, but more for general ideas about where a wizard-druid might come from. I also want to be able to use plot hooks from her background in the campaign, so I'm looking for interesting stuff :D) I've thought about some kind of secret organisation that trains wizards/druids. This organisation needs a purpose (and it better be one that needs this exact combination, or at least both classes). They might have marked her with an invisible arcane mark (which could giver her a start to look for the organisation itself). She could have been on some sort of mission for this organisation that takes her far away from basecamp. That would help to bring her on a burning ship. You see that I could use some help here. A purpose for the organisation, a mission for my player or an entirely different idea that fills the gap she has. All suggestions are welcome. I hope I gave enough info to start. If there's anything that is unclear or if you need some extra information, please ask, and I'l try to give all info needed. Thanks for the read! Cheers
warwinner 07-26-07, 10:03 AM	Some ideas as to why the pc became wizard/druid or for the mentor 1] Druid,Cohabitation with arcane spellcasters and thus became interested in arcane spells and learned them through study hardwork etc 2] All magic must serve nature, i'll try and bend this unnatural and destructive arcane magic to serve/protect nature 3] Druidic or clerical Land where mages shunned because of unnatural or destructive magic, son or friend of mage or a mage wants to prove that arcane magic is as user wishes it, and wants to prove that it can assist and nurture nature and divine causes 4] A sage or showoff wanting to master all/many forms of magic 5] Studies either form of magic because of necessity [example: fireball needed to fight water elementals commonly attacking in a seaside town] Some random ideas The ship was attacked by "villain" who wanted someone in the ship dead, who were they ?[villain & Target] The organisation is ....... "Animal Assassins"[AA] a assassin's guild, wizard/druids who ruthlessly kill enemies by changing into innocuous looking animal forms & sneaking into prey's room or maul enemies in bear/wolf form so death is blamed on animal attack and escape/avoid detection through wizard spells The character may have been a apprentice to a AA on a mission, before something went awry that fateful day [Ship burning day]
Orchomenos 07-26-07, 12:47 PM	I also have an amnesiac player in my campaign, perhaps could it help you! He's a Wu Jen (oriental wizard). He appeared during a Formian invasion, as a thrall to a taskmaster. Via flashbacks, I had him remember he was part of a large LE army, entering a montainous area (a.k.a. Tibet) to destroy rebel opposition to the Emperor. In the last flashback, only a wooden temple remained with a handful of monks inside; a few platoon were sent to take care of them, but none returned. He was chosen to lead yet another platoon to take care of the monks. He entered, and found the monks. The elder told him to return whence he came, or he would unleash a terrible curse. The PC didn't want to get back, so the monk unleashed the curse: the soldiers were transformed into formians, and he was Dominated by the Taskmaster... But here's a detail he doesn't know yet: He hails from the same material plane as my campaign setting, but from a land far to the East. And all this happened 1000 years ago. After these events, he spent a long time on the Astral Plane. During this time, many monks travelled to the West (up to my campaign setting), and founded some schools. His story was past from generation to generation, and they will likely recognize him sooner or later...
Free1983 07-27-07, 08:12 AM	Cool story Orchomenos. And thank you Warwinner for the suggestions. I'm going for an Arcane Hierophant as tutor. It was an elf who has chosen exile from his motherland to observe the different cultures of humans that live next to the elven lands. As to the background. In my last campaign I had an avatar of the horde that was rampaging its way through the western continent, but that had split his troops in order to open a second front on the eastern continent (where people are unaware of the western continent). I think I'll have her enslaved by the horde, only to be transported to the other continent. That way, she'll start out quite isolated. Thanks for the ideas. Cheers