I could use some help [Archive] - Wizards Community

I could use some help [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
NinjaGarret
07-11-05, 12:39 AM Hi.

I'm making a character for a NWN Server, and I'm having a little trouble with my background. My character, whose name is Colt, will be partnering up with a friend's character, who is a noblewoman(who happens to be a devious, evil, seductress).

Colt's going to be a nobleman, and this is where I run into problems. I've never actually played a sophisticated type character before. Much less an evil one. Most of my characters are either grimy dirtbags raised on the street, or simple guys who are just plain tough and badass(at least in their opinion).

I'm kinda hoping you guys might be able to help me. Let me throw out my little guidline of a bio so far.

Colt's born a nobleman. For some reason or another, he's orphaned/abadoned(leaning towards the latter), and is taken up by a blacksmith. For several years he is trained by this blacksmith as an apprentice. During this time, Colt practices his fighting skills, dreaming of being a warrior.

In his teens(I'm thinking 17ish?), Colt runs off and joins a mercenary company. There, he learns to fight and fight well. He chills out with these guys for a couple years.

Then, and this is my problem, he needs to get his nobility back somehow. But how? He's only starting at level 3, so it's not like he saved the kingdom from a dragon or some ****. But I need to figure out a way for him to regain his nobility(or maybe he never lost it?), so that he can partner up with my friend's character.

Anyway, any help is welcome. Oh, by the way, Colt is evil. He's also a fighter, taking blackguard levels when possible. Oh, also, that bio above isn't finished. I'll go into more detail before then :p
Abyssal Stalker
07-11-05, 09:21 AM He might be a child that has been lost by his parents. Maybe the parents have been the victims of a pirate raid, getting separated with their child. The child (you) have been brought to a quite distant place as a slave for the pirates/slavers. But eventually the slavers get caught by the law and finally the blacksmith adopts you. You don't remeber very much from your former life because you were so young, but you keep wondering why you have a half of an amulet or something like that. It actually is the half of an family amulet.

Meanwhile your parents use a lot of efforts to find you, but without success. They are afraid that you are dead, but still they won't give up hope until they get some evidence.

Finally you wander back to your homeland and one day you try to rob the king. Maybe you get to be face to face with your dad (the king), ready to slit his throat, when the amulet comes out from your shirt and your dad recognices it. He asks about the medallion and that brings back your memories, remebering the loving father...you break down and tell everything to your father and he brings you back to the castle as his long-lost son who just saved his life from the bandits.

You realize that you fit well in the noble world, probably because your blue-blooded heritage. You seem to have turned to a good person, but the evil seed still grows in your heart, caused by your traumatic childhood. Secretly you do evil deeds and worship foul gods, but during the day you show up as a good-hearted prospector...

Does this fit into what you have been thinking?
Dippiey
07-11-05, 03:22 PM Oooorrrrrr............

What if your character was born noble and when his parents died you went and became a blacksmith then mercenary. While on a mission with the mercs you have to work for some nobles who happen to claim you look exactly like a certain nobleman who met an unfortunate death/ lost his only child.
Need_A_Life
07-12-05, 02:31 AM Please make it a whole medallion, there's so many movies that has used the half medallion and it doesn't make sense not to mend a broken medallion.
Abyssal Stalker
07-12-05, 07:29 AM Please make it a whole medallion, there's so many movies that has used the half medallion and it doesn't make sense not to mend a broken medallion.

Behold the great Cliche! But isn't that what D&D is all about...:P
Jaisin
07-12-05, 04:39 PM Make your life of "hardship" as a blacksmith apprentice and mercenary your character's choice. Own it. Act of teenage rebellion? Then assume the mantle of noble again after earning your own reputation as a ruthless mercnary. Fall in with the evil seductress, who's in need of cash for all the bribes she's been throwing, take your mercenary thug-brothers, murder your parents, assume control of their estates, and act like the entire thing is just a game to pass the time. Be ruthless, be aloof, be noble. Own it - that makes all the difference.

In "Return to the Keep on the Borderlands" there is a couple of NPC's (2e), Tomas and Helga, who are assassins. Their entire goal is to eradicate/assassinate an entire town. I don't propose that you copy the agenda, just the ruthless and non-personal attitude. You're noble, everyone else is cattle - do with them what you please. Do everything intentionally and intently, even if it doesn't happen that way, RP it like it did.

That would be fun.
letsbefrank
07-18-05, 12:22 PM from your point of view you were always noble,

the blacksmith wasn't being good to you (in your mind) he was forcing you to work when he should have respected you as someone blatantly above him. Thats why you played with swords all day rather than working.
As soon as you could you ran away with as much money as you could take and ended up with the mercs.

The leader was also of noble birth but it was his uncle that had all the money so he had to work for a living. You took to him becasue he was the only one who may even be nearly as good as you. After a few years he hears that his uncle has died with no relatives and that he has inherited and plans to leave all the troops and go live it up back home. You're so angry that you kill him when you find this out. You then realise that you can step in and assume his identity (he hasn't been home since he was a boy and is only a little older) so you do just that.

So there you back with the power and station you deserve even if its not yours.
Cloud Clone
07-18-05, 11:37 PM I have an idea, but it leaves out the whole blacksmith thing (which I think is ok if you're just doing it to justify his adventuring class). I would go with having him growing up in the hierarchy of the political world, abandoned by his parents, but his parents are still alive, and in fact, they are higher-ups in the political chain. They detest you for some reason (Say, you were misfigured or they just detested the thought of having a child, or maybe you were concieved by another father but your parents didn't split over it, they just didn't keep you). Anyhow, it's no secret to those of higher authority, but they won't say anything about it, making you secretly hate them which manifests itself in your need to vent your frustrations with violence and become politically corrupt (I'm assuming he's Lawful Evil, right?).

What do you think?
DM-Vigilance
07-21-05, 11:21 PM For RPing a noble type, I'd reccomend reading a book or two to get a hold of how noble protagonists/antagonists act. It's late, so my best and only suggestion off the top of my head is Dune by Frank Herbert. It's Sci-Fi, but it captures the spirit of nobility perfectly, and has examples of both good and evil nobles.

Something you might try when RPing also might be: You are James Bond. Except evil. Think rogue secret agent. Somewhat boastful, best taste, big spender. But you have blackguard levels and you're not afraid to use them.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
NinjaGarret 07-11-05, 12:39 AM	Hi. I'm making a character for a NWN Server, and I'm having a little trouble with my background. My character, whose name is Colt, will be partnering up with a friend's character, who is a noblewoman(who happens to be a devious, evil, seductress). Colt's going to be a nobleman, and this is where I run into problems. I've never actually played a sophisticated type character before. Much less an evil one. Most of my characters are either grimy dirtbags raised on the street, or simple guys who are just plain tough and badass(at least in their opinion). I'm kinda hoping you guys might be able to help me. Let me throw out my little guidline of a bio so far. Colt's born a nobleman. For some reason or another, he's orphaned/abadoned(leaning towards the latter), and is taken up by a blacksmith. For several years he is trained by this blacksmith as an apprentice. During this time, Colt practices his fighting skills, dreaming of being a warrior. In his teens(I'm thinking 17ish?), Colt runs off and joins a mercenary company. There, he learns to fight and fight well. He chills out with these guys for a couple years. Then, and this is my problem, he needs to get his nobility back somehow. But how? He's only starting at level 3, so it's not like he saved the kingdom from a dragon or some ****. But I need to figure out a way for him to regain his nobility(or maybe he never lost it?), so that he can partner up with my friend's character. Anyway, any help is welcome. Oh, by the way, Colt is evil. He's also a fighter, taking blackguard levels when possible. Oh, also, that bio above isn't finished. I'll go into more detail before then :p
Abyssal Stalker 07-11-05, 09:21 AM	He might be a child that has been lost by his parents. Maybe the parents have been the victims of a pirate raid, getting separated with their child. The child (you) have been brought to a quite distant place as a slave for the pirates/slavers. But eventually the slavers get caught by the law and finally the blacksmith adopts you. You don't remeber very much from your former life because you were so young, but you keep wondering why you have a half of an amulet or something like that. It actually is the half of an family amulet. Meanwhile your parents use a lot of efforts to find you, but without success. They are afraid that you are dead, but still they won't give up hope until they get some evidence. Finally you wander back to your homeland and one day you try to rob the king. Maybe you get to be face to face with your dad (the king), ready to slit his throat, when the amulet comes out from your shirt and your dad recognices it. He asks about the medallion and that brings back your memories, remebering the loving father...you break down and tell everything to your father and he brings you back to the castle as his long-lost son who just saved his life from the bandits. You realize that you fit well in the noble world, probably because your blue-blooded heritage. You seem to have turned to a good person, but the evil seed still grows in your heart, caused by your traumatic childhood. Secretly you do evil deeds and worship foul gods, but during the day you show up as a good-hearted prospector... Does this fit into what you have been thinking?
Dippiey 07-11-05, 03:22 PM	Oooorrrrrr............ What if your character was born noble and when his parents died you went and became a blacksmith then mercenary. While on a mission with the mercs you have to work for some nobles who happen to claim you look exactly like a certain nobleman who met an unfortunate death/ lost his only child.
Need_A_Life 07-12-05, 02:31 AM	Please make it a whole medallion, there's so many movies that has used the half medallion and it doesn't make sense not to mend a broken medallion.
Abyssal Stalker 07-12-05, 07:29 AM	Please make it a whole medallion, there's so many movies that has used the half medallion and it doesn't make sense not to mend a broken medallion. Behold the great Cliche! But isn't that what D&D is all about...:P
Jaisin 07-12-05, 04:39 PM	Make your life of "hardship" as a blacksmith apprentice and mercenary your character's choice. Own it. Act of teenage rebellion? Then assume the mantle of noble again after earning your own reputation as a ruthless mercnary. Fall in with the evil seductress, who's in need of cash for all the bribes she's been throwing, take your mercenary thug-brothers, murder your parents, assume control of their estates, and act like the entire thing is just a game to pass the time. Be ruthless, be aloof, be noble. Own it - that makes all the difference. In "Return to the Keep on the Borderlands" there is a couple of NPC's (2e), Tomas and Helga, who are assassins. Their entire goal is to eradicate/assassinate an entire town. I don't propose that you copy the agenda, just the ruthless and non-personal attitude. You're noble, everyone else is cattle - do with them what you please. Do everything intentionally and intently, even if it doesn't happen that way, RP it like it did. That would be fun.
letsbefrank 07-18-05, 12:22 PM	from your point of view you were always noble, the blacksmith wasn't being good to you (in your mind) he was forcing you to work when he should have respected you as someone blatantly above him. Thats why you played with swords all day rather than working. As soon as you could you ran away with as much money as you could take and ended up with the mercs. The leader was also of noble birth but it was his uncle that had all the money so he had to work for a living. You took to him becasue he was the only one who may even be nearly as good as you. After a few years he hears that his uncle has died with no relatives and that he has inherited and plans to leave all the troops and go live it up back home. You're so angry that you kill him when you find this out. You then realise that you can step in and assume his identity (he hasn't been home since he was a boy and is only a little older) so you do just that. So there you back with the power and station you deserve even if its not yours.
Cloud Clone 07-18-05, 11:37 PM	I have an idea, but it leaves out the whole blacksmith thing (which I think is ok if you're just doing it to justify his adventuring class). I would go with having him growing up in the hierarchy of the political world, abandoned by his parents, but his parents are still alive, and in fact, they are higher-ups in the political chain. They detest you for some reason (Say, you were misfigured or they just detested the thought of having a child, or maybe you were concieved by another father but your parents didn't split over it, they just didn't keep you). Anyhow, it's no secret to those of higher authority, but they won't say anything about it, making you secretly hate them which manifests itself in your need to vent your frustrations with violence and become politically corrupt (I'm assuming he's Lawful Evil, right?). What do you think?
DM-Vigilance 07-21-05, 11:21 PM	For RPing a noble type, I'd reccomend reading a book or two to get a hold of how noble protagonists/antagonists act. It's late, so my best and only suggestion off the top of my head is Dune by Frank Herbert. It's Sci-Fi, but it captures the spirit of nobility perfectly, and has examples of both good and evil nobles. Something you might try when RPing also might be: You are James Bond. Except evil. Think rogue secret agent. Somewhat boastful, best taste, big spender. But you have blackguard levels and you're not afraid to use them.