Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Adrian_Crane 03-27-06, 01:12 PM	I've barely ever played DnD, but I have a character concept that's been bouncing around inside my head for the better part of...about three years, I suppose. Never had a chance to play him. I'd appreciate any feedback and advice as far as making my character fit into the Forgotten Realms, as I know little of the geography and culture of the gameworld and essentially wrote up the story with the few things I had a grasp on. ----- Name: Tycho Zathras Vrinn (need help with this, picked the last name from a names list in the FRCS, and only later realized it's way too big a house for the purposes I had in mind) Race: Drow Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Diety: Somewhat passive follower of Eiliastraee, mainly because it's the most practical route if he wants to survive on the surface. He views most of her followers as blind idealists and fools, although he'll defend them if he's the only one around to do so. This isn't due to a sense of "good" so much as it's due to a sense of pragmatism--he'd be an idiot to make enemies with the diety that may well be his only potential divine ally. Appearance: Amber-colored eyes, white hair with slight overtones of silver, and deep gray skin bordering on black. Looks perpetually grim and serious. Personality: Reserved, suspicious, pragmatic, arrogant, and at times completely unpredictable. Much of Tycho's behavior is a fairly obvious result of the fact that he comes from a universally-hated race. He has no great love for surfacers, but he realizes that killing them (whether in defense or not) is unlikely to ingratiate him with the general populace, so he tends to retreat or out-and-out flee if faced with a possible conflict. He has a seething hatred of Elves that has more to do with his recent past than any of his former racial conditioning, although to observers this merely comes off as typical Drow blood-hatred. As far as game rules go, I'm aiming for a melee/arcane (gish) build. I've been dropping by the Char Op forums to make it effective, and I'm still sorting through various class combinations trying to strike a balance between roleplaying concept and mechanical viability. He'll almost certainly start out as a Fighter/Sorceror/Spellsword. ----- Backstory: The illegitimate offspring of a one-night coupling between an aspiring priestess and a common soldier in the House armies, Tycho's early life held little promise. He was raised and trained without ever really knowing or caring much about his parents, and his instructors guided him through the basic skills he would require to be a useful instrument in the House armies. Although proficient in combat, Tycho did not display any particularly extraordinary aptitude for anything. He was a skilled enough soldier, but far from special. Incidentally, he grew to favor polearms for their considerable advantages in keeping foes away within the cramped confines of the Underdark tunnels. If anything, the one thing the Drow had going for him was his looks. Rather striking among the rank-and-file, he became an easy target for House females seeking a distraction who had no choice but to keep quiet. Eventually, one such liason led to the surface; seeking a way to exploit her find or simply eliminate any evidence altogether, a lower-ranking House female had Tycho assigned to a raiding party. As a true test of mettle and cunning, he and a handful of other recruits were to infiltrate an Elven village, live undetected amongst their foes for a brief time, and then eliminate the settlement upon command. The half-dozen selectees were each summoned in private to meet with an instructor. There, each was given a ring that would alter their appearance to resemble a typical surface elf. It was by these rings alone that they would be able to identify each other--largely so that no one would know the true identity of any of his compatriots. After a rapid period of preparation, each indvidual was ported to a seperate location on the surface. From there it became their own job to find and infiltrate the village, establish a cover to work under, and make any necessary plans for the settlement's destruction. For his own entry, Tycho simply drew on the proud Drow tradition of backstabbing: he located and trailed another of the agents and killed him at the earliest opportunity, then linked up with another pair of Drow who were still trying to formulate their own strategy. The three agreed to use the body as their ticket in; they informed the sentinels that they'd stumbled across a skirmisher for a Drow raiding party while traversing the woods, and had felt it best to inform the nearby village of the threat. Tycho gradually settled into a job sharpening and maintaining weapons while the crew set about preparing for the assault and otherwise just biding their time. After a couple days of this had passed, he began noticing a certain female (wearing a ring that identified her as an operative) was making advances towards him. As a male of low station, Tycho didn't have the option of turning her away--but what surprised him was that her advances were far from the usual overbearing displays of threat and coercion used by every other Drow female he'd ever known. Gradually the two began spending time together, and Tycho's intial subdued hatred and fear gave way to uncertainty, then ease, then respect, and then the beginnings of love. Time passed, still no signal. Tycho spent his hours more and more frequently wandering the forests in the company of the woman, who'd introduced herself as Ildryna. On one such outing, things changed drastically. Driven by curiosity, his judgement clouded by unfamiliar emotions, Tycho finally gathered the stones to ask Ildryna if he might see what she looked like without her ring. Puzzled, she complied and slid the ring from her finger. Nothing happened. Rather than finding himself facing another Drow, Tycho was instead staring at the same Wood Elf he'd just been talking to. Gripped by panic, Tycho found himself with a dagger to her throat before he could even collect his thoughts, but his body would not obey his mind and he could do nothing but stand there, frozen, until finally he simply dropped the weapon and collapsed. After several minutes trying to catch his breath, he looked up, his eyes meeting Ildryna's for a moment. Then with an expression equal parts hatred, wonder, and resignation, he removed his own ring. A shadow crept over his skin, returning it to its former shade, and his hair bleached back to white, his other features altering ever so slightly until he was kneeling in front of her, back in his natural Drow form. She backhanded him and sent him sprawling. He lay flat on his back, eyes burning as he stared at the sky, saying nothing. Time fell away into endless minutes of silence. His life already forfeit, Tycho simply kept going on the path he'd stepped onto. He told Ildryna everything he knew--why he'd identified her as another agent, how he'd gained entry into the village; everything that he could tell her, he did. Somehow, she didn't kill him. Upon returning to the settlement, she went straight to the local leaders and wove her own story into that of Tycho's, conveniently excluding him as she informed them that there were spies among the populace. Pairs of rangers were assigned to tail the elves she marked as disguised foes. When the night finally came to strike, swarms of tiny spiders scurried into the lodgings of the Drow infiltrators, then left as quickly and quietly as they'd arrived. That was the signal; but as soon as any drew steel or set to executing their plans, they were shot down by arrows from the darkness. Tycho, in the meantime, met Ildryna at the stables as she'd told him to. Cloaked and masked, he took the horse she offered without question. Their eyes met one last time, then with a clatter of hoofbeats he was gone into the night, melting into the darkness. He rode for days, as far as he could, his mount finally giving way under the strain. From there, the Drow simply found a place to hole up and wait, again. Several weeks passed. Ildryna had informed him that she would follow when the opportunity arose, but there was still no sign of her. Finally, after some deliberation, Tycho set back on foot to find her. When he did reach the village, it became immediately clear why she hadn't pursued him: he found her body hanged outside the perimiter. It had been discovered that she had aided a Drow in escaping, and she had been sentenced to death for treason. Tycho recovered the corpse and escaped with it, finally burying Ildryna in the same clearing where he'd tried to kill her when she had first removed her ring at his request. He then left the place behind him for good. From that point, there's a few sketchy details that I haven't fleshed out as much; he's been introduced to the church of Eiliastraee (although that could well happen ingame, too). His main goal is getting Ildryna ressurrected (he carries a lock of her hair), though this might eventually give way to acceptance depending on her own wishes. There's also bits and pieces of ideas for an arch-enemy--a Drow who survived the betrayal. Or even better, one who didn't. Are intelligent undead necessarily aware that they're undead? Then again, if I make said villain a bit insane, it won't matter regardless. ;) ----- A few pictures for flavor purposes Wearing a Breastplate; I consider this my most accurate depiction thus far of what I think his face/expression should look like http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/ghost_sentinel/Notebook_06.jpg Wearing Mithral Full Plate http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/ghost_sentinel/Notebook_08.jpg Weapon concept art (placeholder name is a FF rip, woohoo!) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/ghost_sentinel/Polearm.jpg ----- The one thing I need the most help with is sorting out details that don't fit in with the setting or the culture. For example, not sure if Ildryna and the targeted village should be Wood Elves or Wild Elves or some other variant. I'm also reasonably sure I've come up with a whole host of things that need alterations or just complete replacement. I can't decide if hanging seems like something Elves would even do, it strikes me as a bit crude... Can't argue with the dramatic camera angles you could get from it, though. :P I've read the initial Drow trilogy by Salvatore, but that's about it by way of background. Thanks in advance. :bow:
Lord Karsus 03-28-06, 01:55 AM	-Just a couple of little things. It's Eiliastraee. I saw it spelled incorrectly somewhere or other. I would have the Elves be Wood Elves. Wild Elves are far too savage, and would more likely than not kill the Drow. If you don't already own it, go out and buy Races of Faerūn. It's chock full of information. -Overall, this is a pretty well made, and detailed back story.
Adrian_Crane 03-28-06, 02:39 AM	-Just a couple of little things. It's Eiliastraee. I saw it spelled incorrectly somewhere or other. I would have the Elves be Wood Elves. Wild Elves are far too savage, and would more likely than not kill the Drow. If you don't already own it, go out and buy Races of Faerūn. It's chock full of information. -Overall, this is a pretty well made, and detailed back story. Fixed the spelling. I'll see if I can track down that book, thanks for the recommendation and the compliment. :) ...and do you think the hanging bit works within Elven culture? I couldn't make up my mind as to whether or not it seemed "too lawful."
Lord Karsus 03-28-06, 02:46 AM	Fixed the spelling. I'll see if I can track down that book, thanks for the recommendation and the compliment. :) ...and do you think the hanging bit works within Elven culture? I couldn't make up my mind as to whether or not it seemed "too lawful." -Races of Faerūn is easily availible in most bookstores, and online stores. You shouldn't have too much of a problem tracking it down. -About the hanging...Well, Elves place an emphasis on the importance of the body, and burial. I think that, even though Drow are hated enemies, the Elves would still give the Dark Elf some kind of proper burial. Not wanting to offend the Elven Goddess Sehanine Moonbow, who is the patron of such things, I think they would at least bury the body. If you go with the Wild Elves, instead of Wood Elves, I could see them leaving a hanging body. It would be a lot like a warning sign to all passer-bys. But, like I said before, I don't think that Wild Elves would be good for this story.
Adrian_Crane 03-28-06, 04:55 AM	I think that, even though Drow are hated enemies, the Elves would still give the Dark Elf some kind of proper burial. Not wanting to offend the Elven Goddess Sehanine Moonbow, who is the patron of such things, I think they would at least bury the body. If you go with the Wild Elves, instead of Wood Elves, I could see them leaving a hanging body. It would be a lot like a warning sign to all passer-bys. But, like I said before, I don't think that Wild Elves would be good for this story. Hm. I need to write that part a bit clearer. Point being that she wasn't Drow, she was just another elf.
Fithero 03-28-06, 05:26 AM	Tycho finally gathered the stones to ask Ildryna if he might see what she looked like without her ring. You were going good up until that line :P Nar, its actually a really good background, very detailed, very unique. Perhaps the village didnt hang her (because that does seem a bit crude) instead what if they just banished her, and she hung herself. This would allow Tycho to think that the village hung her for aiding him (and he would be quite shocked when he went to raise her... and she refuses) As for the whole wild/wood elf... i dont think it matters that much, perhaps its just an elven community with elves of all mixed heritage (except drow of course) ...actually perhaps there could be drow there... that would totally be an interesting aspect to play. For this drow raiding party to be sent to the surface, only to find that other drow are living freely amoung the surfacers. Perhaps thats what gives Tycho the hope that he can survive on the surface. Hope this helps. Later
Adrian_Crane 03-28-06, 05:30 AM	The 'stones' thing was how I phrased it when talking to a friend, couldn't resist. :D ...interesting ideas there, though. Definitely excellent points to think on. It would also give the mission a more concrete reason than "go kill elves"...specifically, "go kill traitors." EDIT: Anything regarding the last name? From what I gather, House Vrinn is fairly active and influential. It's not the sort of name I want attached to my character, and I'm not even sure he could wear the name since he's only a lowly soldier.
Fithero 03-28-06, 08:49 AM	I think only royality have the family name, everybody else (common soldiers etc) is just called John Smith (ie use your own last name) of House Vrinn... or whatever. Cant say that ive heard of house Vrinn, what drow city is it from? Later
Adrian_Crane 03-28-06, 09:19 AM	I just got it from one of the surname lists, but when I was playing Neverwinter Nights on a Myth Drannor RP server, a lot of people were reacting to my character as though he had a whole bunch of "house baggage" attached due to the name. I suppose it's a moot point. He'd ditch it as soon as he cut his ties to the Underdark.