Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Elemental_Elf 12-22-05, 05:52 PM	I'm starting a new campaign in the Forgotten Realms Setting. I'm a Gold Dwarf, Cleric of Gond with the Fire and Metal Domains as well as a Sorcerer (or a Bard, I haven’t decided yet). My character, Balmundr Eldreki, was the son of a great merchant who traveled the world selling and conning people as well as crafting his own items. One day, when I was young (about 12), an Orc party raided the caravan that my Father and I were in. I was separated from my father during the battle. I wandered many years, searching for my father, who was reportedly taken captive by the Orc party. I settled in Uthner by the age of 20. From there I learned the ways of the Sorcerer (or Bard). I learned to kindle the first inklings of inner arcane power (or, if Bard, inspire people while in Combat) as well as how to defeat any enemy that crossed my path. Eventually a band of people from Uthner and I decided to go on a raid to liberate our kin from the Mulhorhandi. It failed miserably. One of the people in our party was double agent working for the Mulhorandi military. Those that were not slaughtered in battle were taken as slaves back to Mulhorand. The man that purchased me recognized early on my innate love of battle and lore. He immediately freed me and compelled me to join his church - the church of Gond. I delved deeply into the history of my new God as well as protecting his church's claim on Smoke powder by any means necessary. Also I was quickly drawn to Fire in all of its magnificence. I learned to kindle the power of the flame and took Fire as one of my domains. Also my love of battle clearly warranted the Metal Domain. Bye-and-bye, many years passed and I was sent on increasingly more difficult missions, until finally I was sent out on an open ended mission to protect the worshipers of Gond, protect the inventions of our kin as well as inventing items for myself (though I'm not overly good at crafting items). From Mulhorand I traveled east to Cormyr and to a little city called, Dhedluk for a large tournament that was being held. A huge force of Orcs and Goblinoids raided the city at that time (I know probably the worst time to do so but, hey, no one ever said they were smart). I helped defend the town from these barbarous creatures. The enemy was defeated and those still alive fled. Now a party of the bravest warriors from the defense of the town have been charged Thiombar to find and destroy the remainder of the Raiders fleeing the town through the King's Forest. ~~ And then the campaign begins. ~~ Ok I'm just looking for some advice about my history, should I change any of it? Or is it good enough to play with? Also what do y'all think the personality of my character should be? I was assuming relativly smart (compared to peasants), kinda charasmatic. He also LOVES Battle as well as anything to do with Fire. Whether Fire creatures or simply a Fire enchanted Items, he will be enthralled with them.
Pandaemoni 12-22-05, 09:37 PM	I think the backstory is fine. If it were me, I'd flesh out a bit more the life as a slave and the awakening of your character's religious inclinations, to make sure it explains the answers to the questions I posed here (http://boards1.wizards.com/showpost.php?p=8060424&postcount=4) (it already does answer some of them, obviously). As for personality, it's hard to say based on the history...certainly your character appears to be fairly martially oriented. While no cleric with their associated high wisdoms should ever be a "hot head" in my opinion, what you wrote suggests some pride in his ability to kill. If your character is good, that can be a decent hook for a moral dilemma. Thinking more about the sorts of missions your character has undertaken for his religion, the moral, ethical and personal challenges he faced on those missions can be a great springboard for finding character hooks that you'll enjoy RPing. How did he feel about those missions? Was he annoyed at being given the "open-ended" mission "to protect the worshippers of Gond"? Was giving that mission a reward because he was so capable, was it a way to prevent him from rising to prominence in his particular church, was there some personality conflict within the church hierarchy that made them want to get rid of him, or perhaps they wanted him to learn more about the world and temper his love of combat? (Depending on the facts, there are countless possibilities for why he was ordered on that quest, but, for example, in 2000 years Roman Catholic priests have never been set free to wander aimlessly in the hope that maybe they'd be able to help out Catholics. They are assigned to churches around the world, but there's always oversight by the central authority for them.) Training clerics costs money, and simply telling them "Go forth and do good" can't be common. Was he excited happy to no longer have a higher ranking cleric to whom to report? How does the character think of other races and religions he encountered on his missions? Does he attempt to lead others into his religion as he was himself led? What are his views on slavery, since it seems to have worked for him? Does the Time of Troubles not bother him? Knowing that there is a being, Lord AO, superior to Gond has got to have profound theological implications, assuming he simply doesn't just disbelieve in Lord AO. In any event, knowing that gods can and have died has to have implications as well. Knowing his alignment (assuming you have one) is usually the first step in developing a personality for a character.