need help with background story [Archive] - Wizards Community

need help with background story [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
valnar
07-02-03, 01:32 PM I have been playing an evil campaign for about 5 months. One of my friends and I are having our characters leave and we're making a ranger/cleric duo or a ranger/rouge one. We have to include before we meet, how we meet, after we meet.

I'm the ranger. My ranger is a male wild elf that is a hunter/tracker/knife fighter type. My friend is a female elf and we would like to know what is best an evil cleric or rouge.

I also want to know would it be better if we were just friends, boyfriend and girlfriend, if we were married.

Please help me(we are starting at 3rd level)
dirk hightower
07-02-03, 05:37 PM Since you are different types of elves.... and elves don't necessarily mix well..... have the 2 elves build a Romeo & Juliet background where they were both FORCED to leave home because of a family prohibition. They could be young lovers and not married, but dependent on each other to survive.... and required to leave home...and take up adventuring (or in your case - highway robbery)
Talmariel
07-02-03, 09:14 PM Word to the wise, be careful of in-character romance. If you think you're up to it, it can be the most rewarding experience in role playing. If it feels just a bit awkward, I'd recommend keeping it to friendship. An excellent relationship setup is from Record of Lodoss War (D&D: the anime, unofficially of course; if you haven't seen it, it's a must for D&D players).

Here's the gist. There were two characters, a male berserker and a female fighter, both human (berserker's name was Orson, but I can't remember the woman...). Orson is so consumed by rage while berserk that he is dead to emotion otherwise. The woman treats him as a comrade, and ultimately tries to win over the hero, Parn (who loves someone else). She's talkative and wears her heart on her sleeve, but is very protective of Orson. The truth of the whole thing is that she loves Orson, but can't admit it because it would hurt too much to see the man she loves tormented by his rage (actually a demon posessing him).

That one ends up tragic, because the woman realizes her true feelings when Orson, having cast out the demon, calls it back to gain the power it gave him and save the woman. He dies in the attempt.

Point being, secret love could make a fun twist on friendship, as long as it doesn't come up between the two characters (at least extremely rarely). The rest of the party might be in on it, but the two involved can't admit it. Plus, a woman's scorn can drive a man to insanity, making a great hook for the evil part. Given that setup of a kind of mercenary duo, the ranger/rogue pair would work best, I think. You end up with an odd pair either way because the ranger is sort of half cleric, half rogue. Either way, your character will have part of the other's skills.
valnar
07-04-03, 03:55 PM I was thinking of even doing a brother sister combo.
The One and Only...
07-04-03, 04:37 PM Hmm... brother/sister bounty hunter team, maybe?

The ranger's tracking ability can shine here, and it certainly fits his class. Although a rogue is more commonly a bounty hunter, a cleric would also work (takes some of the money back to her church, etc.). Just check to see what your friend wants to play the most, and go from there.
valnar
07-09-03, 05:04 PM The dm wants him to be a rogue since we don't have one. One of my other friends wants to join the group and in are background. He might be a rogue to but what other classes would be better? We are doing ae bountyhunter/assasin concept for are characters. We are planning to have them be brother and sister and break in to my owner's(I'm a slave) house to rob it, and they find me and decide to free me. So what other class would work best with this concept, or should we just stay with 2 rogues?We are being a trio because the group has no loyalty to each other and we want are characters to have some to each other.
Talmariel
07-11-03, 11:23 PM A trio of bounty hunters? It would definately be a rarety in the business, where typically you have the loner or the duo. If you've already got a rogue, and you are playing a ranger, what else would you want? I'd say you'll want someone else who can cast in some capacity. Odds are I'm guessing your rogue is the sneak-about-and-hide type of rogue. I think your team needs Charisma. Either another rogue with a focus on social skills, a sorcerer, or a bard.

Here's the deal with each. The rogue is so broad a class that it's easy to have more than one in the same place without copycatting each other. If your sister (you're the brother, right?) plays a Dexterity-based rogue, a Charisma-based rogue is definately a departure.

A sorcerer would give you the obvious edge of arcane spells. This would open you up to advantages in the Enchantment, Illusion, and Abjuration schools (I find these are best for assassins). You can gain Evocations later on through Illusion with the shadow illusion chain. Plus, since a sorcerer already needs Charisma for casting, you've got your charismatic character built into it.

A bard would be a cross of both of these. You'd get the roguish social skills, but you'd also pick up some arcane magic, and focused in the above schools. The only thing with the bard is the focus on playing music, which does not fit into bounty hunting very well (except in open combat).

On the other hand, clerics of the right patron deity can always work wonders. They'll cover the spellcasting (albeit not arcane), and won't be too shabby for fighting, if it comes to blows.

Ultimately, I would say a ranger and a rogue are lacking in either Charisma or magic (or both), and that would be what you want to have your friend work into. Everyone in the group needs to be able to be important to the team or there would be no good reason to work together.

As the late Mr. Croup of Croup and Vandemar once said, "You can't make an omelet without killing a few people." That's not really relevant, but they were assassins, too, and it was a damn funny quote :D.
Trydan
07-17-03, 01:22 PM Okay, how about they don't want to work together, but they have been forced to by their superiors. Outwardly, they resent the idea, but inwardly, they realise it really was the best thing after all.

"Sure the team did a great job of dispatching that Ogre-mage, but if it was just me, then I wouldn't have attracted its attention in the first place!!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
valnar 07-02-03, 01:32 PM	I have been playing an evil campaign for about 5 months. One of my friends and I are having our characters leave and we're making a ranger/cleric duo or a ranger/rouge one. We have to include before we meet, how we meet, after we meet. I'm the ranger. My ranger is a male wild elf that is a hunter/tracker/knife fighter type. My friend is a female elf and we would like to know what is best an evil cleric or rouge. I also want to know would it be better if we were just friends, boyfriend and girlfriend, if we were married. Please help me(we are starting at 3rd level)
dirk hightower 07-02-03, 05:37 PM	Since you are different types of elves.... and elves don't necessarily mix well..... have the 2 elves build a Romeo & Juliet background where they were both FORCED to leave home because of a family prohibition. They could be young lovers and not married, but dependent on each other to survive.... and required to leave home...and take up adventuring (or in your case - highway robbery)
Talmariel 07-02-03, 09:14 PM	Word to the wise, be careful of in-character romance. If you think you're up to it, it can be the most rewarding experience in role playing. If it feels just a bit awkward, I'd recommend keeping it to friendship. An excellent relationship setup is from Record of Lodoss War (D&D: the anime, unofficially of course; if you haven't seen it, it's a must for D&D players). Here's the gist. There were two characters, a male berserker and a female fighter, both human (berserker's name was Orson, but I can't remember the woman...). Orson is so consumed by rage while berserk that he is dead to emotion otherwise. The woman treats him as a comrade, and ultimately tries to win over the hero, Parn (who loves someone else). She's talkative and wears her heart on her sleeve, but is very protective of Orson. The truth of the whole thing is that she loves Orson, but can't admit it because it would hurt too much to see the man she loves tormented by his rage (actually a demon posessing him). That one ends up tragic, because the woman realizes her true feelings when Orson, having cast out the demon, calls it back to gain the power it gave him and save the woman. He dies in the attempt. Point being, secret love could make a fun twist on friendship, as long as it doesn't come up between the two characters (at least extremely rarely). The rest of the party might be in on it, but the two involved can't admit it. Plus, a woman's scorn can drive a man to insanity, making a great hook for the evil part. Given that setup of a kind of mercenary duo, the ranger/rogue pair would work best, I think. You end up with an odd pair either way because the ranger is sort of half cleric, half rogue. Either way, your character will have part of the other's skills.
valnar 07-04-03, 03:55 PM	I was thinking of even doing a brother sister combo.
The One and Only... 07-04-03, 04:37 PM	Hmm... brother/sister bounty hunter team, maybe? The ranger's tracking ability can shine here, and it certainly fits his class. Although a rogue is more commonly a bounty hunter, a cleric would also work (takes some of the money back to her church, etc.). Just check to see what your friend wants to play the most, and go from there.
valnar 07-09-03, 05:04 PM	The dm wants him to be a rogue since we don't have one. One of my other friends wants to join the group and in are background. He might be a rogue to but what other classes would be better? We are doing ae bountyhunter/assasin concept for are characters. We are planning to have them be brother and sister and break in to my owner's(I'm a slave) house to rob it, and they find me and decide to free me. So what other class would work best with this concept, or should we just stay with 2 rogues?We are being a trio because the group has no loyalty to each other and we want are characters to have some to each other.
Talmariel 07-11-03, 11:23 PM	A trio of bounty hunters? It would definately be a rarety in the business, where typically you have the loner or the duo. If you've already got a rogue, and you are playing a ranger, what else would you want? I'd say you'll want someone else who can cast in some capacity. Odds are I'm guessing your rogue is the sneak-about-and-hide type of rogue. I think your team needs Charisma. Either another rogue with a focus on social skills, a sorcerer, or a bard. Here's the deal with each. The rogue is so broad a class that it's easy to have more than one in the same place without copycatting each other. If your sister (you're the brother, right?) plays a Dexterity-based rogue, a Charisma-based rogue is definately a departure. A sorcerer would give you the obvious edge of arcane spells. This would open you up to advantages in the Enchantment, Illusion, and Abjuration schools (I find these are best for assassins). You can gain Evocations later on through Illusion with the shadow illusion chain. Plus, since a sorcerer already needs Charisma for casting, you've got your charismatic character built into it. A bard would be a cross of both of these. You'd get the roguish social skills, but you'd also pick up some arcane magic, and focused in the above schools. The only thing with the bard is the focus on playing music, which does not fit into bounty hunting very well (except in open combat). On the other hand, clerics of the right patron deity can always work wonders. They'll cover the spellcasting (albeit not arcane), and won't be too shabby for fighting, if it comes to blows. Ultimately, I would say a ranger and a rogue are lacking in either Charisma or magic (or both), and that would be what you want to have your friend work into. Everyone in the group needs to be able to be important to the team or there would be no good reason to work together. As the late Mr. Croup of Croup and Vandemar once said, "You can't make an omelet without killing a few people." That's not really relevant, but they were assassins, too, and it was a damn funny quote :D.
Trydan 07-17-03, 01:22 PM	Okay, how about they don't want to work together, but they have been forced to by their superiors. Outwardly, they resent the idea, but inwardly, they realise it really was the best thing after all. "Sure the team did a great job of dispatching that Ogre-mage, but if it was just me, then I wouldn't have attracted its attention in the first place!!