Need ideas for a history for my fighter. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Need ideas for a history for my fighter. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Illithid Tentacles
12-05-03, 01:42 AM This is the basic info on him. This is for an online thing I do that's based somewhat on D&D.

Name: Turquin. Nicknamed 'Tank' several years ago by some friends.
Race: 7/8 Human, 1/8 Dwarf
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 197 lbs
Age: 20
Class: Mighty Warrior (e.g. fighter)
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Weapon: His grandfather's Silver Sword, Hamnir Jormol
Armor: Iron fullplate until something better becomes available
Personality: Quiet, serious, dedicated, loyal
Alignment: True Neutral, some Lawful Evil tendencies

Description: A broad, muscular, imposing man. He is visibly extremely powerful physically. His skin is tanned and leathery, and crisscrossed with dozens, possibly hundreds of scars. One scar is particularly noticeable; it is quite large and thick, slanting downward across his right eye and nose. His shoulder-length hair is dark and usually unkempt. He has a rough beard and rarely shaves. On the occasions he speaks, his voice is low and rolling, like thunder, and has a hint of an accent, as though English isn't his native tongue (it isn't).

History: Except for the fact that he was once extremely powerful (maybe level 22-23 in D&D terms) and somehow was hammered back to level 1 by an unkown force (I haven't decided exactly what yet), he has almost no history.

I briefly considered the 'revenge' thing, but it's so damn old and tired and cliche, as is 'trying as best he can to make the world a better place for all'. Plus, they're boring, and the latter is almost completely contrary to his personal beliefs. Also, journeying to become the greatest warrior alive is too grandiose and unrealistic to suit the character. He's aware that it's possible, but "If you make a reputation for yourself as being the best, then you get a bunch of damn kids trying to do the same by bumping you off."

As far as personality, he's a loner and a wanderer. He makes friends slowly, and it's not too difficult to become his enemy for life.

Basically, I see him as the 'dark hero' type. He doesn't have that inner light thing that all those uppity paladins have, and he'd rather kill a cornered/captured enemy than let him go or attempt to convert him to the side of good. I see him as kind of giving off a 'Don't bother me, I have no reservations about killing you should I feel the need' vibe.
Morka
12-05-03, 10:28 AM Originally posted by Illithid Tentacles

Basically, I see him as the 'dark hero' type. He doesn't have that inner light thing that all those uppity paladins have, and he'd rather kill a cornered/captured enemy than let him go or attempt to convert him to the side of good. I see him as kind of giving off a 'Don't bother me, I have no reservations about killing you should I feel the need' vibe.

It could be some kind of revenge, but instead of "I shall hunt and kill any [INSERT MONSTER NAME HERE] because they killed my familly", his familly and/or town could have been victim of something more vague, or inexorable. His father could have been killed at war. Trained all his life to be a fighter, he decided that war is not a good thing, and now his before nothing. He will oppose anyone who try to gather an army, but will leave alone to dispatch the more opponents possible.

A little side question here: don't you think that 6'1" is very tall for an 1/8 dwarf?
The_Yellow_Dart_Swinger
12-05-03, 10:59 AM Originally posted by Morka
A little side question here: don't you think that 6'1" is very tall for an 1/8 dwarf?

If he has any dwarf blood in him, then yea, he seems too tall, i'd just make him full human.

Now here's my idea I just had (should talk to your DM for plot hooks) maybe your character has amnesia, he woke up somewhere, wearing nothing but a pair of clothes and could remember who the hell he was. He could have a slip of paper in his pocket with a name on it, it doesn't mean anything to your character, but maybe it will give him a clue in his identity. So that would be your goal is to find this person and on the way your meet your party and maybe as you travel you find more clues about this person and maybe a few other things like you have flashbacks.

Now this might be a problem since your character was epic level, and generally once you hit epic level its like your name is a household word generally because your very powerful. That however would take all the fun out of not remembering your history, and since you have tendencies towards Lawful Evil, maybe when you were epic you were a blackguard (or something similar), roaming the land causing evil where ever you went, you always wore fullplate and a helmet (w/ ring of sustance so you never had to take it off)

Then one day the evil epic you met up with a good epic paladin and you two duked it out, with you losing of course. Using a few magical items the paladin had, he stripped you of your dark powers and maybe using some enchantment type magic that made you forget (but the amnesia isn't magical) and he left you near a town where maybe you could begin anew.

So thats my idea, use it or abuse it as you feel.
Illithid Tentacles
12-05-03, 11:12 AM Originally posted by Morka
It could be some kind of revenge, but instead of "I shall hunt and kill any [INSERT MONSTER NAME HERE] because they killed my familly", his familly and/or town could have been victim of something more vague, or inexorable. His father could have been killed at war. Trained all his life to be a fighter, he decided that war is not a good thing, and now his before nothing. He will oppose anyone who try to gather an army, but will leave alone to dispatch the more opponents possible.

That's an interesting character concept, but not really plausible. Since there are already about five or six different kingdoms in the game (it's not a very large world), he would quickly become an outlaw to most of them, and then he'd have a bunch of people hunting him down to kill him. This is basically a PKer concept (remember this is for an online thing, not an actual D&D game), and PKing those a good deal weaker than yourself is highly frowned upon and will get your ass handed to you by almost literally everybody.

A little side question here: don't you think that 6'1" is very tall for an 1/8 dwarf?

Not really. I mean , one of his great-grandparents was a dwarf. Everybody else in the past four generations not directly decended from that dwarf was a full human. Tell me, how much do you look like any of your great-grandfathers? Not a whole lot, I'll bet.
Illithid Tentacles
12-05-03, 11:21 AM Originally posted by The_Yellow_Dart_Swinger
If he has any dwarf blood in him, then yea, he seems too tall, i'd just make him full human.

See above.

Now here's my idea I just had (should talk to your DM for plot hooks) maybe your character has amnesia, he woke up somewhere, wearing nothing but a pair of clothes and could remember who the hell he was. He could have a slip of paper in his pocket with a name on it, it doesn't mean anything to your character, but maybe it will give him a clue in his identity. So that would be your goal is to find this person and on the way your meet your party and maybe as you travel you find more clues about this person and maybe a few other things like you have flashbacks.

Now this might be a problem since your character was epic level, and generally once you hit epic level its like your name is a household word generally because your very powerful. That however would take all the fun out of not remembering your history, and since you have tendencies towards Lawful Evil, maybe when you were epic you were a blackguard (or something similar), roaming the land causing evil where ever you went, you always wore fullplate and a helmet (w/ ring of sustance so you never had to take it off)

Then one day the evil epic you met up with a good epic paladin and you two duked it out, with you losing of course. Using a few magical items the paladin had, he stripped you of your dark powers and maybe using some enchantment type magic that made you forget (but the amnesia isn't magical) and he left you near a town where maybe you could begin anew.

So thats my idea, use it or abuse it as you feel.

That's a possibility. Once again though, this isn't for an actual D&D game, so prestige classes don't exist.

At the height of his power, he wasn't actively Evil, he just had some traits that no Good person would have, and few Neutral people would. For example, slaying his enemies without first giving them a chance for repentance, and taking a great deal of pleasure in torturing one particular person who happened to **** him off significantly (the Lawful part came from the fact that he trained hard every day and never betrayed a friend).
Morka
12-05-03, 11:45 AM Training hard every day is not a lawful thing, it is discipline. Even a CE barbarian who rule using terror will train every day if he wants to remain the incontested ruler.

6'1" is already tall for a human, especially in a medieval-like setting. No, I don't look like my grandfathers. But in 2 generations, the alimentation improved greatly, that's why I'm 2" taller than my father, who is himself 4" taller than my grandfather. OTOH, I always tought that dwarven genes were greatly dominants, so 1/8 dwarven blood is enough to look a bit like a dwarf. But all this is in my mind, if you want your character be 6'1" and descendant from a dwarf, then so be it! ;)

Sorry, missed the part where you said he passed from level 22 to level 1. So a little variant of my suggestion: he was himself a great warrior, who was severly injured during a war (even victim of some curse?). Lacking clerical power to heal him, he retires to cultivate cabbage in a small town, losing most of his fighting skills. But someday, the same evil ruler against who he was fighting sent an army to invade his town. That is too much for him, and even if he loose most of his capacities, he took his weapon and armor and start a resistance.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Illithid Tentacles 12-05-03, 01:42 AM	This is the basic info on him. This is for an online thing I do that's based somewhat on D&D. Name: Turquin. Nicknamed 'Tank' several years ago by some friends. Race: 7/8 Human, 1/8 Dwarf Height: 6'1" Weight: 197 lbs Age: 20 Class: Mighty Warrior (e.g. fighter) Hair: Black Eyes: Brown Weapon: His grandfather's Silver Sword, Hamnir Jormol Armor: Iron fullplate until something better becomes available Personality: Quiet, serious, dedicated, loyal Alignment: True Neutral, some Lawful Evil tendencies Description: A broad, muscular, imposing man. He is visibly extremely powerful physically. His skin is tanned and leathery, and crisscrossed with dozens, possibly hundreds of scars. One scar is particularly noticeable; it is quite large and thick, slanting downward across his right eye and nose. His shoulder-length hair is dark and usually unkempt. He has a rough beard and rarely shaves. On the occasions he speaks, his voice is low and rolling, like thunder, and has a hint of an accent, as though English isn't his native tongue (it isn't). History: Except for the fact that he was once extremely powerful (maybe level 22-23 in D&D terms) and somehow was hammered back to level 1 by an unkown force (I haven't decided exactly what yet), he has almost no history. I briefly considered the 'revenge' thing, but it's so damn old and tired and cliche, as is 'trying as best he can to make the world a better place for all'. Plus, they're boring, and the latter is almost completely contrary to his personal beliefs. Also, journeying to become the greatest warrior alive is too grandiose and unrealistic to suit the character. He's aware that it's possible, but "If you make a reputation for yourself as being the best, then you get a bunch of damn kids trying to do the same by bumping you off." As far as personality, he's a loner and a wanderer. He makes friends slowly, and it's not too difficult to become his enemy for life. Basically, I see him as the 'dark hero' type. He doesn't have that inner light thing that all those uppity paladins have, and he'd rather kill a cornered/captured enemy than let him go or attempt to convert him to the side of good. I see him as kind of giving off a 'Don't bother me, I have no reservations about killing you should I feel the need' vibe.
Morka 12-05-03, 10:28 AM	Originally posted by Illithid Tentacles Basically, I see him as the 'dark hero' type. He doesn't have that inner light thing that all those uppity paladins have, and he'd rather kill a cornered/captured enemy than let him go or attempt to convert him to the side of good. I see him as kind of giving off a 'Don't bother me, I have no reservations about killing you should I feel the need' vibe. It could be some kind of revenge, but instead of "I shall hunt and kill any [INSERT MONSTER NAME HERE] because they killed my familly", his familly and/or town could have been victim of something more vague, or inexorable. His father could have been killed at war. Trained all his life to be a fighter, he decided that war is not a good thing, and now his before nothing. He will oppose anyone who try to gather an army, but will leave alone to dispatch the more opponents possible. A little side question here: don't you think that 6'1" is very tall for an 1/8 dwarf?
The_Yellow_Dart_Swinger 12-05-03, 10:59 AM	Originally posted by Morka A little side question here: don't you think that 6'1" is very tall for an 1/8 dwarf? If he has any dwarf blood in him, then yea, he seems too tall, i'd just make him full human. Now here's my idea I just had (should talk to your DM for plot hooks) maybe your character has amnesia, he woke up somewhere, wearing nothing but a pair of clothes and could remember who the hell he was. He could have a slip of paper in his pocket with a name on it, it doesn't mean anything to your character, but maybe it will give him a clue in his identity. So that would be your goal is to find this person and on the way your meet your party and maybe as you travel you find more clues about this person and maybe a few other things like you have flashbacks. Now this might be a problem since your character was epic level, and generally once you hit epic level its like your name is a household word generally because your very powerful. That however would take all the fun out of not remembering your history, and since you have tendencies towards Lawful Evil, maybe when you were epic you were a blackguard (or something similar), roaming the land causing evil where ever you went, you always wore fullplate and a helmet (w/ ring of sustance so you never had to take it off) Then one day the evil epic you met up with a good epic paladin and you two duked it out, with you losing of course. Using a few magical items the paladin had, he stripped you of your dark powers and maybe using some enchantment type magic that made you forget (but the amnesia isn't magical) and he left you near a town where maybe you could begin anew. So thats my idea, use it or abuse it as you feel.
Illithid Tentacles 12-05-03, 11:12 AM	Originally posted by Morka It could be some kind of revenge, but instead of "I shall hunt and kill any [INSERT MONSTER NAME HERE] because they killed my familly", his familly and/or town could have been victim of something more vague, or inexorable. His father could have been killed at war. Trained all his life to be a fighter, he decided that war is not a good thing, and now his before nothing. He will oppose anyone who try to gather an army, but will leave alone to dispatch the more opponents possible. That's an interesting character concept, but not really plausible. Since there are already about five or six different kingdoms in the game (it's not a very large world), he would quickly become an outlaw to most of them, and then he'd have a bunch of people hunting him down to kill him. This is basically a PKer concept (remember this is for an online thing, not an actual D&D game), and PKing those a good deal weaker than yourself is highly frowned upon and will get your ass handed to you by almost literally everybody. A little side question here: don't you think that 6'1" is very tall for an 1/8 dwarf? Not really. I mean , one of his great-grandparents was a dwarf. Everybody else in the past four generations not directly decended from that dwarf was a full human. Tell me, how much do you look like any of your great-grandfathers? Not a whole lot, I'll bet.
Illithid Tentacles 12-05-03, 11:21 AM	Originally posted by The_Yellow_Dart_Swinger If he has any dwarf blood in him, then yea, he seems too tall, i'd just make him full human. See above. Now here's my idea I just had (should talk to your DM for plot hooks) maybe your character has amnesia, he woke up somewhere, wearing nothing but a pair of clothes and could remember who the hell he was. He could have a slip of paper in his pocket with a name on it, it doesn't mean anything to your character, but maybe it will give him a clue in his identity. So that would be your goal is to find this person and on the way your meet your party and maybe as you travel you find more clues about this person and maybe a few other things like you have flashbacks. Now this might be a problem since your character was epic level, and generally once you hit epic level its like your name is a household word generally because your very powerful. That however would take all the fun out of not remembering your history, and since you have tendencies towards Lawful Evil, maybe when you were epic you were a blackguard (or something similar), roaming the land causing evil where ever you went, you always wore fullplate and a helmet (w/ ring of sustance so you never had to take it off) Then one day the evil epic you met up with a good epic paladin and you two duked it out, with you losing of course. Using a few magical items the paladin had, he stripped you of your dark powers and maybe using some enchantment type magic that made you forget (but the amnesia isn't magical) and he left you near a town where maybe you could begin anew. So thats my idea, use it or abuse it as you feel. That's a possibility. Once again though, this isn't for an actual D&D game, so prestige classes don't exist. At the height of his power, he wasn't actively Evil, he just had some traits that no Good person would have, and few Neutral people would. For example, slaying his enemies without first giving them a chance for repentance, and taking a great deal of pleasure in torturing one particular person who happened to **** him off significantly (the Lawful part came from the fact that he trained hard every day and never betrayed a friend).
Morka 12-05-03, 11:45 AM	Training hard every day is not a lawful thing, it is discipline. Even a CE barbarian who rule using terror will train every day if he wants to remain the incontested ruler. 6'1" is already tall for a human, especially in a medieval-like setting. No, I don't look like my grandfathers. But in 2 generations, the alimentation improved greatly, that's why I'm 2" taller than my father, who is himself 4" taller than my grandfather. OTOH, I always tought that dwarven genes were greatly dominants, so 1/8 dwarven blood is enough to look a bit like a dwarf. But all this is in my mind, if you want your character be 6'1" and descendant from a dwarf, then so be it! ;) Sorry, missed the part where you said he passed from level 22 to level 1. So a little variant of my suggestion: he was himself a great warrior, who was severly injured during a war (even victim of some curse?). Lacking clerical power to heal him, he retires to cultivate cabbage in a small town, losing most of his fighting skills. But someday, the same evil ruler against who he was fighting sent an army to invade his town. That is too much for him, and even if he loose most of his capacities, he took his weapon and armor and start a resistance.