Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ian0311 09-21-07, 09:57 AM	Melanie Griese is a lawful neutral (possible LG tendencies) rogue (formerly a poor beggar/thief, who's gone straight now) living in a city where class differences and corruption are rather commonplace. She has obeyed the law since she was reformed and has had no reason not to (largely, she has been unaware of the corruption in the city, because her position in the lower class is actually a step up from the slums where she grew up). She cannot help but be a little altruistic (she might expect no reward for a minor task, like finding a cat or rebuilding a fence), but isn’t overly generous (she won’t waive a fee or donate an award for something much riskier than the average odd job). She avoids lying, cheating, and stealing like the plague, but she realizes that, sometimes, she’ll have to defy her morals. After all, if ten innocent civilians are danger, she’s not going to tell the truth if that would get them killed. She might do so for a loved one, trusted comrade, or friend, as well. However, if the risk of intervening in a situation is too large for too small a number of lives (IE, a half dozen trolls guarding one civilian, and Melanie will have to fight them alone), she will simply avoid the trouble. She may feel guilt for leaving someone to die in that situation, but she values her own life and believes that she can’t save everyone, too. She has a soft spot in her heart for the poor, especially the children; she’ll often part with a couple coppers if a beggar asks her for some money, perhaps a few if it's a child. She doesn’t particularly care much for the religious, because she was wronged by a priest in her youth (he blamed her for a theft that she did not commit). Nowadays, she is more of a freelancer than anything, living on what money she can earn by dancing and doing odd jobs. I ask you, the community, for thoughts, comments, and criticism. Also, maybe some views on how a character like this would respond to corruption once made aware of it and all that...
Uberwoot 09-21-07, 10:44 AM	I don't really think you've given us enough of an insight into her personality for us to really decide how she would react to corruption. Lacking any further knowledge of the character, and assuming a corruption in the government, my choice would be four words: "none of my business." Trying to fight The Man without any clout would be a good way to get herself burned, and would likely put her on the wrong side of the law- a situation she's trying to avoid. She probably believes that this corruption should be dealt with, but she feels she's powerless to stop it. With the right friends, and a little bit of persuasion, she might jump at (with more or less enthusiasm) the opportunity to use her talents to expose the corruption- but would definitely rather nobody know about her role, and would probably rather let someone else tend to its final destruction. Again... this is just my first take on the matter. More information would be extremely helpful. /woot
Fithero 09-21-07, 11:23 AM	I feel that the background is slightly at odds with itself, you give an example, the contradict it in the next sentence. It reads like youve got an individual who has their own set of morals in a world where the social standard has become slightly esque. Flesh out your characters code of ethics a little more, because "don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal, etc" doesnt really cut it in the end. Would your character refuse to lie even if it would result in the death of innocent orphans, would they not cheat if a whole village was on the line, would they not steal if the future of a loved one was as stake? These minor details are what make a character... but also what situations would arise that cause her to break her own rules. Does she have a soft spot in her heart for beggars, ie: never give evidence against them, always give aleast 2 gold coins to each begger she crosses. Does she hate corrupt officials, even if they are corrupt against an unjust law...? (this can be the difference between a Lawful Good and a Lawful Evl character.) Hope these dunken insights help some.......... Peace
Ian0311 09-21-07, 01:54 PM	Indeed... The first post has been revised. Thanks for your insights, the both of you. I did add more about what would cause her to break her code and what would cause her to keep to them. Since I already made the revisions to the first post, I'll leave it at that.
Winged_Edge 09-21-07, 09:10 PM	She feels like the kind of character that wouldn't know they were being corrupted in the first place. It might just be me, but it seems like she'd probably do a few 'slightly' questionable acts to make ends meet, or in the name of the greater good. For example, a corrupt (unknown to her) government person could ask for her help in doing a few odd jobs that would 'eventually help the lower class.' Or so they say. To the character that'd sound great. Killing a few 'bad guys' that are hurting the city (despite truth) and other instances like that where she trusts someone corrupt (unknowingly) could lead her astray very quickly. However, it looks like if she believes someone is corrupt, there would be a vast amount of skepticism in what she chooses to do. She'd probably double-check and verify that everything is actually for the greater good, or at least not hurting anyone that she wouldn't want hurt. But, at the same time, I guess that's an issue all Good/Neutral characters have to face. Sense Motive ranks, anyone? Now if you mean that someone walks up to her point blank and tries to corrupt her... that's different. To me she seems fairly resilient against things of that nature.
Ian0311 09-21-07, 09:41 PM	It does seem like she would be quite easy to corrupt, provided that the corruption was kept on the sly. Luckily, four ranks in sense motive keep her from being tricked into doing something blatantly wrong, but, of course, anyone can be tricked into doing almost anything, given the right circumstances... You have brought up a point I completely neglected in my brainstorms, Winged_Edge, thanks for that.
Morka 09-24-07, 02:20 PM	Currently, she sounds more CG than LN. She won't hesitate to lie, or cheat to protect innocent ones. A LN character would instead insist on seeing evidences, request a trial, etc. With LG tendencies, the character would insist on civil treatment, and providing the least severe sentence for the circumstances (i.e., a beggar who stole a chunk of bread can be sent to jail, but should not be tortured.)
Ian0311 09-24-07, 03:11 PM	Under normal circumstances, however, she'd stick to obeying the law and living by her code. I'm sure that a lot of other characters would break alignment for their close friends and loved ones... A chaotic would have little or no tolerance for sticking to an honor code or any such thing under any circumstances... In any case, neutral-x would probably be better a alignment than chaotic-x.
Karsil_Draken 09-24-07, 05:53 PM	Hmm Interesting... I actually think see sounds like a good number of this worlds citizens, as too how much see will go out of the way to help others and such... She does sound a little NPC'ish to me. Why? She is not ready to take the "Next Big Step" - that from an ordinary life into a heroic/adventures life. She does sound like the person that would shake her head at silly adventureres. Could you shed some light, for us and yourself, what bigger world context she fits into(is this a Eberron, FR, Ravenloft or a completely different setting. Is she indeed going out to "adventure"* at some point. I am thinking in Joseph Campell's model now... What would make her go beyond the first threshold**, in other words: What is her passion. It would not seem to fight corruption. What is then, that ticks her off. Also: describe how and where she gew up, with whom, and where she lives now. That will help you define the "Safe World". Also find out, what is her BIG DREAM, cause then you know how the "Ideal World" is. This MIGHT be the same thing as the "Safe World", in fact in many fairy tales have this. There is a Good state, then some evil comes to change that, and they fight to get the safe state back. I have a Star Wars Character, that does not accept Good or Evil as face values. He doesn't believe that the Rebels are "just good" and Empire is "just evil". Why? because he was in law enforcement once, and thought he was doing good stuff, but half the station was dirty, and he got framed. Lost hes belief in "doing the right thing". What he want the most is a huge ranch on Dantooine, with a blue sky(it was grey sky, and grey dirt and no grass were his and his mother grew up in near slavery)*** and green grass. Most importantly he wants to do things absolutely 100% his way, even if he losses money on it. This guy will end up fighting against the Empire... why? because with them around he will never have his own farm, with no goverment interference. It would be a good idea to write down, what kind of persons she like, and can get along with. You should try to get along with all in your party, but its more to define her. Also, I think, that you should try to write down, what kind of person she would fall in love with. okay, lots to think about... I will check up on this. ...Karsil *) Adventuring seen as moving out of the "Safe World" **) Heroes of traditional fairy tales, they live in a Safe World or ideal world - this is Status Quo, eveything is nice - Think Frodo or Luke Skywalker. Then some Big Bad Evil Guy challenges this. Think Sauron or Vader/Empire. When they threaten this world, the heroes are reluctant - but something happens that throws them out there in the world, to make it return to its safe state. Council of Elrond, or as Luke wantsto stay at the farm, is uncle and aunt are killed by the Evil(Traditional heroes does not challenge status quo, they seek to uphold it) *** I designed his homeplanet, because its a huge part of his BG.
Ian0311 09-24-07, 07:20 PM	She hasn't really been thrown over 'the edge' yet; nothing's really caused her to become a real, full-fledged adventurer yet (she's only level one). She recently got involved with a group of adventurers when a little girl came into a tavern and needed help finding her cat. Meanwhile, they ended up fighting a wererat, a fight she spent the first round of trying to talk her way out of it. The rest of the party, with her help, were able to dispose of it, but the experience was less than encouraging (she got hurt, and another member of the party was badly injured). Her ideal world is one where there is no lower class, no, she doesn't want to 'purify' the world and remove the 'lesser' (she doesn't consider them lesser), she wants to elevate the standard of living. Once she sees the corruption, she'll realize that her ideal world is impossible unless there is some serious change. That, most likely, will throw her over the edge and force her to adventure to gain power and influence, since she lacks the wealth to change the system. Anyway, enough on that for now... The background is a Homebrew with high magic in a large city. This city has many layers and it is quite hard to move between them without the proper wealth, connections, or enough 'creativity' to find other ways around. I can't tell you much more now, because I don't know much more than that off hand. She grew up in a house with a drunkard and a mother that barely cared enough to keep her own children from starving. In fact, her little sister starving to death was what caused her to run away at age seven. Days later, a kindly priest took her in, keeping her with some other orphans in a room of the church. She lived in relative peace there, though she often found herself disagreeing with another female orphan. Three years later, the contents of the tithe jar were found under Melanie's bed. The priest (a very strict man) threw her out. She lost her faith in the religious as well as goodness that day. She spent the next few years on the streets, fighting other orphans, begging, and stealing from merchants. If not for her innate toughness, abilities, and skills, she probably would have died. Most of her skills were honed in these years spent on the streets, more so than anywhere else. Eventually, a middle aged warrior (hired to deal with the thief) caught her and, in lieu of turning her over to the guards (once he saw her potential), trained her and, in exchange, expected total obedience from her. If she were to disobey him or do anything illegal while living with him, he promised to swiftly turn her over to the authorities. Five years later, when she was a quarter year older than eighteen, she was released from service and her training was finished when her master died of disease. In her first unethical decision in a long time, she decided to take some equipment and money from him, before leaving. She was bitter from her service; even though she had some time for socializing and other things, she only stayed because she was being blackmailed. From there, she took up odd jobs, and, generally, did what she could to stay on the right side of the law (and to avoid being blackmailed again). She was scared straight and, even though she was capable of much less legal things, has not broken the law since...
Uberwoot 09-24-07, 09:28 PM	I like the story, though there's one thing I'm curious about: what kind of duties did she have while being blackmailed? It comes out to me as one major hole in your story that I would very much like to hear. Still, I'd like to emphasize that the story is not bad at all. /woot
Ian0311 09-24-07, 10:07 PM	Hm...I did not put too much thought into that. Though her duties would probably include maid work. I figure, however, that she would not stay if she was being harmed very much. She would probably be his servant, though, as stated, she did have a little freedom when not training or executing her duties.
Karsil_Draken 09-25-07, 04:35 AM	Training in using a sword and bow or other Rogue proficiencies? Okay anyways, I love the fact that you made a character that actually IS, for the time being, more comfortable in her home world and not over the edge. I tried to start campaigns up like this... but most players jump to adventure "because thats kinda expected from them..." That kind of neglect as a kid tend to do all kind of things to your head. How does she feel about attachment? How does she feel about authorities?(besides being convicted ofc, but more: when someone holds power over her: the cityhall, the party leader, the warrior.) Als, is she the one making jokes about people? Or trying to stop people making fun of someone even tho its kind hearted? Does she want to be in charge, or just heard? or does she really want to be led by a good leader? What other parts do you want help to develop...? ...Karsil
Ian0311 09-25-07, 02:30 PM	Well, yes, since one on the streets with no money wouldn't really learn much about any weapons except for their fists. As far as attachment, she's fairly careful about getting close with people, but she isn't antisocial or cold to people. As far as the issue of having leadership/being led, she'd prefer to lead, but she's perfectly fine following, as long as she isn't a servant or slave (she's been through that once and doesn't really need to go through it again). Her attitude towards authority figures is thus: if they aren't bothering her, she shouldn't bother them. The opposite may be true, but it might take a little take a bit of convincing to get her to take action... She doesn't often start making jokes about people, and she prefers to laugh with someone rather than at them. However, she doesn't stop a joke unless it is proving hurtful or seems to be proving hurtful towards someone. And, well, as far as that last point, I don't really know. I mean, the other posters have helped me develop quite a bit already. Perhaps there is more to develop, but this all has definitely been helpful.
Uberwoot 09-26-07, 12:33 AM	...would it be terrible of me to suggest giving her bossy and abrasive tendencies? It seems like it would fit; a character like yours would certainly have no particular degree of sophistication (leaving a lot of room for a few bad habits), and it seems like some degree of confidence and bossiness might spring naturally from the self-sufficient life she lived on the streets. Just another thought. /woot
Ian0311 09-26-07, 07:03 AM	It would not be terrible of you to make such a suggestion. :) I'll keep it in mind.