Jaron Sunglass, the birth of a paladin [Archive] - Wizards Community

Jaron Sunglass, the birth of a paladin [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
bonelock
01-06-07, 09:26 PM Getting some great tips on playing a paladin from some of the threads in this forum. Here is some backstory on a paladin I am starting this week. The character will mutliclass into a sorcerer (much to his unhappiness). Would welcome comments on backstory and suggestions on character development.

Note that there is only a CN and LN deity in this world so I won't be a devotee of a diety.

Jaron Sunglass is the youngest son of a minor noble family. Even from a young age he was different from his brothers. While they play-acted putting down the peasant revolt, Jaron wanted to protect the kidnapped children, rescue the maiden and defeat the bandit- king.

As a lad, he would stand up to bullies who were picking on smaller, weaker children. Often the bullies were larger than himself.

His family ignored the plight of the lower classes while Jaron would personally make sure any household leftovers were collected and distributed to the less fortunate.

None of this impressed his father Hakon, who wished the boy would sometime shirk his duties or show a little rebellious spirit. His son was a little too squeaky clean as far as he was concerned.

Although he grew tall and strong and had the makings of a fine warrior, the elder Sunglass wondered what to do with him; the boy was too honest and forthright to act as a diplomat for the court. As for a military career, while he possessed undeniable leadership potential, his father thought he was too inflexible to win the loyalty of a company of men and to conservative to make a good general. His mother was a devoted follower of the duality; distant to all the children but especially Jaron.

As is common with the noble classes, Jaron served as a page, from the time he was ten in another family’s holding. His father hoped that some time in another house would give him some perspective.

The captain of the foster family’s guards made no secret about brutalizing the peasants. As fate would have it, Jaron was returning from a ride and discovered the man beating an elderly peasant for no reaon. Incensed that the man was abusing his authority over the old man and beating him, Jaron confronted the captain, reminded him of his duty and demanded he stop. Enraged at the goody-two shoes, who had been getting under his skin for years, the man drew steel against the young squire. Jaron defended himself with a nearby stave. At that moment, something in the squire allowed him to beat the older, more experienced fighter and he knocked the man unconscious.

Jaron’s beating of the man has caused no small friction between his family and the foster family. His father hoped that his absence might ease the tension and has asked him to visit some distant relatives to the North. Eager to obey his father, Jaron has also heard of coming troubles and wants to help.

Jaron doesn’t yet know the contents, but he carries a letter from his father that explains that he is illegitimate. He was conceived during a tryst with a bewitching woman who lived on the edge of the woods and sold cures and hexes to the peasants. Nikos’ religious wife would not tolerate intermingling between the classes and pretended the boy was hers. Pregnant herself, she just explained the boy as a twin and threatened the mid-wife with dire consequences should she ever tell. Nikos gave his son the sealed letter with instructions to open it after a set of conditions had been met. Jaron’s father has told him this information partially because of the grief he caused him with the other family but mostly because he hopes of bringing the boy down a couple pegs and also to keep him away from home a little longer.
Stormbrand
01-07-07, 02:21 PM Excellent! I LOVE IT! Really, I LOVE IT!! This is a fantastic portrayal of a paladin.

So what is the sorcerer angle? Any idea what the mother is? Just a witch? Or a fey?

What are the 2 dieties in the campaign world? Perhaps from a religious standpoint, if there are still most outsiders in the campaign, you could pledge your loyalty to the angels and celestial realms.

For future, look at the Abjurant Champion, I played a paladin/sorcerer who gained his sorcerer magic from a dark force (trained by fiends) and once experiencing the call for paladinhood focused on using his experience of dark forces to better keep them at bay.

You refer to his father as both Hakon and Nikos, which is it really and who is the other one?
bonelock
01-08-07, 01:18 PM Thanks for the compliment!

The bio-mom will probably be a sorcerer herself. She might have planned the seduction of the paladin's father and to pass on a child with sorcerer abilities as a revenge of some sort against the sunglass family.

The two deities are from my DM's home brew world. I don't want to list them here without his permission as they are his intellectual property. Another thing to note is there is no alignments in this game.

Jaron's father is supposed to named Nikos. Hakon was an eariler name I forgot to edit out.

Jaron will start as a paladin and around third level his sorcerer abilities will show themselves. He will try to deny these abilities (he wants to be a paladin after all not a spell caster) which should make for some interesting RP'ing. I was thinking of him repressing the memories of casting spells in combat, gathering spell compnents etc. Eventually he will accept his sorcerer heritage and try to merge the classes together (taking levels in the spellsword PrC).

Themes of this character are rebelling against one's true nature and the trials of trying to live up to perfection.
Stormbrand
01-09-07, 03:44 PM It does a very fine and real job of portraying one honest gem amongst a right shower of bastards.

So how does the paladin angle work without alignments? What do you detect? What do you smite? I guess you smote the captain?

What about other outsiders?

From what you describe with the peasantry and apparant fuedal system, and the cures and hexes from the witch, this world seems dark age-ish. Perhaps with an element of superstition in there?

Something you might want to look at, if you have Neverwinter Nights, download the module "Bone Kenning - Art of the Thanaturge." Although a non-good-aligned module, much of the flavour of the module seems to apply to what you

As for suppressed memories, I would not go with it - the character seems too strong-minded to blank out something like that. He would probably be horrified with his new magic, and probably try to avoid developing those powers (return to paladin progress after his first sorcerer level, for example).

As an aside (and a courtesy), I write fiction in my spare time as a hobby, and much of this (all of it really) is really worth lifting. Do you have any objections to me using some of this material somewhere else? (only the basic backstory)

What kind of route, theme, or trend would you like your spells to take? Somehow I don't see him as a blasting sorcerer.

As for Spellsword, it is underpowered for what you want. Only medium combat and half spell progression. My advice is to only take the one Sorcerer level and use Abjurant Champion to meet the pre-requisistes for Spellsword. From an effectiveness angle it helps you remain a functioning fighter while building your way towards Spellsword, from an RP angle it better reflects the character struggling to remain a paladin - focusing on weapons and protection.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
bonelock 01-06-07, 09:26 PM	Getting some great tips on playing a paladin from some of the threads in this forum. Here is some backstory on a paladin I am starting this week. The character will mutliclass into a sorcerer (much to his unhappiness). Would welcome comments on backstory and suggestions on character development. Note that there is only a CN and LN deity in this world so I won't be a devotee of a diety. Jaron Sunglass is the youngest son of a minor noble family. Even from a young age he was different from his brothers. While they play-acted putting down the peasant revolt, Jaron wanted to protect the kidnapped children, rescue the maiden and defeat the bandit- king. As a lad, he would stand up to bullies who were picking on smaller, weaker children. Often the bullies were larger than himself. His family ignored the plight of the lower classes while Jaron would personally make sure any household leftovers were collected and distributed to the less fortunate. None of this impressed his father Hakon, who wished the boy would sometime shirk his duties or show a little rebellious spirit. His son was a little too squeaky clean as far as he was concerned. Although he grew tall and strong and had the makings of a fine warrior, the elder Sunglass wondered what to do with him; the boy was too honest and forthright to act as a diplomat for the court. As for a military career, while he possessed undeniable leadership potential, his father thought he was too inflexible to win the loyalty of a company of men and to conservative to make a good general. His mother was a devoted follower of the duality; distant to all the children but especially Jaron. As is common with the noble classes, Jaron served as a page, from the time he was ten in another family’s holding. His father hoped that some time in another house would give him some perspective. The captain of the foster family’s guards made no secret about brutalizing the peasants. As fate would have it, Jaron was returning from a ride and discovered the man beating an elderly peasant for no reaon. Incensed that the man was abusing his authority over the old man and beating him, Jaron confronted the captain, reminded him of his duty and demanded he stop. Enraged at the goody-two shoes, who had been getting under his skin for years, the man drew steel against the young squire. Jaron defended himself with a nearby stave. At that moment, something in the squire allowed him to beat the older, more experienced fighter and he knocked the man unconscious. Jaron’s beating of the man has caused no small friction between his family and the foster family. His father hoped that his absence might ease the tension and has asked him to visit some distant relatives to the North. Eager to obey his father, Jaron has also heard of coming troubles and wants to help. Jaron doesn’t yet know the contents, but he carries a letter from his father that explains that he is illegitimate. He was conceived during a tryst with a bewitching woman who lived on the edge of the woods and sold cures and hexes to the peasants. Nikos’ religious wife would not tolerate intermingling between the classes and pretended the boy was hers. Pregnant herself, she just explained the boy as a twin and threatened the mid-wife with dire consequences should she ever tell. Nikos gave his son the sealed letter with instructions to open it after a set of conditions had been met. Jaron’s father has told him this information partially because of the grief he caused him with the other family but mostly because he hopes of bringing the boy down a couple pegs and also to keep him away from home a little longer.
Stormbrand 01-07-07, 02:21 PM	Excellent! I LOVE IT! Really, I LOVE IT!! This is a fantastic portrayal of a paladin. So what is the sorcerer angle? Any idea what the mother is? Just a witch? Or a fey? What are the 2 dieties in the campaign world? Perhaps from a religious standpoint, if there are still most outsiders in the campaign, you could pledge your loyalty to the angels and celestial realms. For future, look at the Abjurant Champion, I played a paladin/sorcerer who gained his sorcerer magic from a dark force (trained by fiends) and once experiencing the call for paladinhood focused on using his experience of dark forces to better keep them at bay. You refer to his father as both Hakon and Nikos, which is it really and who is the other one?
bonelock 01-08-07, 01:18 PM	Thanks for the compliment! The bio-mom will probably be a sorcerer herself. She might have planned the seduction of the paladin's father and to pass on a child with sorcerer abilities as a revenge of some sort against the sunglass family. The two deities are from my DM's home brew world. I don't want to list them here without his permission as they are his intellectual property. Another thing to note is there is no alignments in this game. Jaron's father is supposed to named Nikos. Hakon was an eariler name I forgot to edit out. Jaron will start as a paladin and around third level his sorcerer abilities will show themselves. He will try to deny these abilities (he wants to be a paladin after all not a spell caster) which should make for some interesting RP'ing. I was thinking of him repressing the memories of casting spells in combat, gathering spell compnents etc. Eventually he will accept his sorcerer heritage and try to merge the classes together (taking levels in the spellsword PrC). Themes of this character are rebelling against one's true nature and the trials of trying to live up to perfection.
Stormbrand 01-09-07, 03:44 PM	It does a very fine and real job of portraying one honest gem amongst a right shower of bastards. So how does the paladin angle work without alignments? What do you detect? What do you smite? I guess you smote the captain? What about other outsiders? From what you describe with the peasantry and apparant fuedal system, and the cures and hexes from the witch, this world seems dark age-ish. Perhaps with an element of superstition in there? Something you might want to look at, if you have Neverwinter Nights, download the module "Bone Kenning - Art of the Thanaturge." Although a non-good-aligned module, much of the flavour of the module seems to apply to what you As for suppressed memories, I would not go with it - the character seems too strong-minded to blank out something like that. He would probably be horrified with his new magic, and probably try to avoid developing those powers (return to paladin progress after his first sorcerer level, for example). As an aside (and a courtesy), I write fiction in my spare time as a hobby, and much of this (all of it really) is really worth lifting. Do you have any objections to me using some of this material somewhere else? (only the basic backstory) What kind of route, theme, or trend would you like your spells to take? Somehow I don't see him as a blasting sorcerer. As for Spellsword, it is underpowered for what you want. Only medium combat and half spell progression. My advice is to only take the one Sorcerer level and use Abjurant Champion to meet the pre-requisistes for Spellsword. From an effectiveness angle it helps you remain a functioning fighter while building your way towards Spellsword, from an RP angle it better reflects the character struggling to remain a paladin - focusing on weapons and protection.