Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Nedylene Illistyn 06-20-05, 10:07 PM	I'm just starting my first campaign ever. My boyfriend's a role-player and wanted me to do this... I like reading about Faerun, but I'm not so sure about actually role-playing because I'm awful at acting and even worse at making up good dialogue on the spot. But anyway... I've come up with an idea for a female drow. Her name is my screen name. She's the child of two drow who used to live in the Underdark, but converted to the church of Eilistraee. In short, my girl has lived her entire life in a relatively utopian existence. She's been taken care of by the Eilistraee-worshipping hippies (Come on, that's basically what they are. You know it, I know it, let's just come out and say it.) in the High Forest. My boyfriend, the GM, has promised to shatter everything she believes about everything. That sounds cool, but I still don't want to go into the campaign with a sickeningly sweet, sunshine-and-buttercups, naive little hippie girl. She has to have something bad about her. And because I can't bear to make my characters' lives difficult in any way, I'd appreciate some ideas from you guys. ;) Anyone want to help me add some drama and darkness to Nedylene's backstory or personality? (Or both?)
wellyrn 06-20-05, 10:41 PM	She doesn't need to be sugar and spice and everything nice. I imagine she could be a spoiled "witch" not used to getting everything she wants without working for it. She could be manipulative, bossy, demanding, stubborn, and/or childish. Maybe when she doesn't get her way she mopes or even becomes passive agressive. Or just plain agressive. If she gets in trouble she of course bats her eyes and turns into little miss buttercup.
Nedylene Illistyn 06-20-05, 10:56 PM	Heh. Those are all excellent ideas. They'd certainly make the campaign entertaining! I knew I'd run into trouble when I asked my bf what kind of character I should make, and he suggested playing the person I wished I could be. Obviously, that person has no flaws. But the spoilt brat sounds like an entertaining character. Thanks!
Ithilorien 06-21-05, 02:17 AM	Much as Eilistraeens may seem to have hippie overtones I think "sunshine and buttercups" is a serious disservice to them. Eilistraee is noted as a poarticularly melancholy goddess - largely because she is an outcast, and he drow worshippers are outside of their immediate society universal outcasts as well. Also, swordcraft and adventure are primary tenets of her faith. One of the prime methods of Eilistraeen worship or wild hunts in which the priestesses go naked and armed only with a single sword to bring down the most terrifying prey they can find. The character can certainly still have a highly developed sense of innocence, but Eilistraee drow are really very much like surface elves. Art, beauty, discipline... the main difference seems to be a preference for bardic or clerical magic of wizardly might. Another way to play the character would be a lot like Zealot from WildCATS. Tough, stony, efficient. She has been raised a beautiful, harmonious community of starlight and song but is now out wandering amongst lesser being who can't even take the time to ponder in their short-lived existences how much they do to harm each other. Nothing a human (or dwarf, or halfling...) does can fully satisfy you, because you know better.
Need_A_Life 06-21-05, 05:51 AM	Anything but wielding two scimitars... What class? Monk? Cleric? Rogue? Anyway I suggest that you go 'the easy way' and go here: Building a character (http://www.roleplayingtips.com/readissue.php?number=126) quirks (http://www.roleplayingtips.com/readissue.php?number=40) questionare. a good place to start (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=337518) Oh, and try to get tips from him, he encouraged you and he can't just expect you to know it all in advance. Anyway, roleplaying is actually something you're likely to have done as a child. Lying, playing, acting, it's all roleplaying. Just try to be someone you're not (comes easy to a lot of people, I've noticed) and work from there. Oh, and if you start with a character without flaws I'll warn you, there won't be any entertainment. Falling down, making rash (and stupid) decisions etc. that's what roleplaying is all about. And, I thought I should mention it, a place centered on roleplaying OUTSIDE OF D&D: Quentriandal (quen3.palindrome-development.com/forum). It's good for learning how to roleplay, trust me (my username is Aidan there, if you decide to join)
Nedylene Illistyn 06-21-05, 01:39 PM	Based on responses here, more research, and more thinking... I've decided I'm going to make my character a cleric. My character will tend towards being serious, withdrawn, and bookish. She will be deeply religious and keep to the dogma as well as she can, but sometimes her shyness will get in the way of her being kind to everyone. (That is, people may perceive her as being colder than she's actually trying to be.) I feel like I know more about Eilistraee than I did when I started working on this, but I'm sure there's still a lot that I don't know, so I'd appreciate more information/suggestions. :)
revaar 06-21-05, 08:08 PM	one thing that is always interesting to do is putting a bad romance in your charactor's past, even funner since you BF is the dm (tell him it's a warning). you could actually make it a reason for your charactor joinging the preisthood. you know, the basic "bad lover, so i bacame a nun (basically)" type thing
Nedylene Illistyn 06-22-05, 09:36 PM	one thing that is always interesting to do is putting a bad romance in your charactor's past, even funner since you BF is the dm (tell him it's a warning). you could actually make it a reason for your charactor joinging the preisthood. you know, the basic "bad lover, so i bacame a nun (basically)" type thing LOL! That's a good idea. Although I don't think a priestess of Eilistraee is chaste. But the bad romance idea is cool.
Harrow Blade 06-23-05, 12:11 AM	I denfinitely agree with the idea of staying away from twin scimitars, it has been done to death. I can suggest that you get a 'signature' weapon such as a greatsword. It would be most amusing to see a diminutive drow priestess waving around a greatsword, perhaps in conjunction with a glove of storing to deal with the problems of small body and huge sword. in addition to the character building links Need_A_Life gave there is a link to one in my sig. it's quite good if I do say so myself. :D Having spent your entire life in the utopian existence of the worshipers of Eilistree you may be tempted to explore the darker side of life to 'fully understand' get drunk and have a barroom brawl just know what it is like, become romanticly involved with some one you know is bad for you just for the experience. Become the rebelious teenager that you never got to be. But that is just a suggestion.
Nedylene Illistyn 06-23-05, 12:27 PM	I denfinitely agree with the idea of staying away from twin scimitars, it has been done to death. I can suggest that you get a 'signature' weapon such as a greatsword. It would be most amusing to see a diminutive drow priestess waving around a greatsword, perhaps in conjunction with a glove of storing to deal with the problems of small body and huge sword. My weapon is going to be a bastard sword, like Eilistraee. It's funny, because I happened to roll a ridiculously low number this one time, so my strength ended up being 5. My bf had to increase it to 13 just so I could lift my sword! I'm still pitifully weak... and dexterity? Forget about it. Having spent your entire life in the utopian existence of the worshipers of Eilistree you may be tempted to explore the darker side of life to 'fully understand' get drunk and have a barroom brawl just know what it is like, become romanticly involved with some one you know is bad for you just for the experience. Become the rebelious teenager that you never got to be. But that is just a suggestion. That might be an interesting idea... hmm...