need some direction for a mid level char [Archive] - Wizards Community

need some direction for a mid level char [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Elemir Hin
07-04-03, 02:29 AM i guess first off im going to try and avoid posting any specific "crunch" based information, because more what im looking for is..guess...
character development. Sorry in advance if this post drags on for a long time. I'll throw off the background so far so you all get a sense of who my PC was and maybe we can all figure out some interesting ways to take her. I should probley say this game is set in the Forgotten Realms.
***In the game im playing, my character Amlarain began the campaign as a twiced orphaned girl who never knew her human father and who slowley watched her elven mother succumb to heartbreak and apathy before passing on to Arvandor. In the ensuring years she was placed with a least one foster father, an aging human male, who taught her lore, the general layout of the realms, and began to show her that her racial status didnt so much alienate her in and of itself, it was more her fault for putting herself out. Of course these lesson's had only begun to sink in when Eldas died to old age, leaving Amy only a tome of essay's and his spell book to remember him and his lesson's by.
While she was still young (barely in her 15th) year. She soon found work as a midwife in Nesme and continued to persue that and learn what magic she could while doing that. This course continued until some years later when she met three other adventurer's (Cabe a half elf paladin, Charity a human monk, Theugan, a human bard) through a mutual aquantiance was set on a quest to find a rare spell componant Although Amy warmed to Theugan immediatly (even cutting his hair on occasion) it took her longer to warm up to Cabe, (she had known Charity for some years before this). Well to make a long story short in the enusing year the 4 soon became both inseperable and a capable adventuring group. During that year Amy had quiet warmed up to Cabe, although this was never taken anywhere because Charity also had quiet warmed up to cabe. Although to clarify... While there was a certain amount of platonic loyalty in that decision it was more a function of Amy simply not wanting to deal with the drama it may cause. Back to the story.. In that year the party lslew half fiends, mind flayers, became friends to the dwarves of Mithral Hall, found the ruins of Gauntlygrym and eventually set up shop in Silverymoon where Amy was born.
While in Silverymoon Amy converted her old home into an orphanage of Ilmater (the idea being that the priests would take kindly to the suffering of the orphans and help them adjust and find thier place). Amy also converted to the worship of the Crying God and soon found a place of honor amoung the spellguard of Silverymoon and the Harpers. It was then that Cabe fell under the influence of a group of demons and began to travel south killing any evil he happened by on the way. The party elected to stop him and the chase led them from Silverymoon to Calimport (her was going to attempt to destroy the Twisted Ruin). On the way there Amy began to see life differently, especially in terms of her Patron. She began to have a method of thinking that more or less follows:
"Why do i devote myself to a god who, despite any good intentions still promotes the kind of suffering that i have had to endure, and would not wish on anyone else?" After freeing cabe from the demons that promted him to go on his rampage Amy promptly returned to silverymoon and turned the orphanage over to the priests of lLierra whom she accepted as her new patron. Having a new sense of purpose she devoted herself completely to her new goddess as a Heartwarder (house-ruled that) and began to study the development of new magics with an abandon she had never known before. Currently the party has set out on a quest to find three pieces of a Nethese artifact, 1/3 of which had come into thier possesion.***
Thats a summary of about 3-4 years game time, and alot of sessions real time so theres quiet a bit left out. Over the course of the game i have taken Amy from a shy big sister role through an aloof, utterly objective phase, and into a passionate assertive role that she really seems to fall well into.
As it stands her Cabe sub plot has not been dealt with, she has never been to a mage fair (i keep bugging my co dm's about this), never met Elminster and mananged to survive to being a wiz5/harper mage5/heart warder 3 (of lLiera).
So, really im just looking for more ideas to throw into her and wanting to see if anyone here see's something i dont . i.e. some place to take the character that i havent thought of or some intersteing sub-plot type stuff i could see about working in. I definatly have the sense that Amy has only really begun to, as a person, be able express her feeling to anyone. My group will tell you all day long that she's a bossy, cynical, doomsayer but really i think they will also admit in regards to deeper things she has been quiet insecure and never one to emote very openly or for very long.

thanks in advance for any feeback or advice given!
Kharne
07-09-03, 05:55 PM Where do you see your character in the long run? Settling down? Adventuring as long as her legs can support her? Setting up a Wizard's tower and taking on apprentices? Being Mayor of some town? If any of these, where?

I think a good direction to take her would be figuring that out and looking at a way to start her down that path...even if ultimately she gets distracted from it later.
Trydan
07-22-03, 09:30 AM Your story so far sounds good. Why do you need to inject ideas? Let it go quiet for a bit, and simply help your companions. Take on their quests as your own.

Or, if you feel it going flat, then follow Kharne's idea and look to settling down.

Perhaps all you really need is a good quest to sink your teeth into. Mention it to your DM.

Just don't try to force it, when it isn't there. Let the character take its own turns, and follow and enhance the outcome. And if it continues to fade, then it is time for a fresh start and a new character.
Cloud Strife
07-22-03, 06:34 PM Maybe she'd like to become an Archamge someday? That's my characters goal, but he isn't very nice... (Lawful Evil Necromancer)

It sounds like she really want to help orphans so I bet she want to adventure to earn more money she can use to set up new orphanages....

Just my 0,5cp...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Elemir Hin 07-04-03, 02:29 AM	i guess first off im going to try and avoid posting any specific "crunch" based information, because more what im looking for is..guess... character development. Sorry in advance if this post drags on for a long time. I'll throw off the background so far so you all get a sense of who my PC was and maybe we can all figure out some interesting ways to take her. I should probley say this game is set in the Forgotten Realms. *In the game im playing, my character Amlarain began the campaign as a twiced orphaned girl who never knew her human father and who slowley watched her elven mother succumb to heartbreak and apathy before passing on to Arvandor. In the ensuring years she was placed with a least one foster father, an aging human male, who taught her lore, the general layout of the realms, and began to show her that her racial status didnt so much alienate her in and of itself, it was more her fault for putting herself out. Of course these lesson's had only begun to sink in when Eldas died to old age, leaving Amy only a tome of essay's and his spell book to remember him and his lesson's by. While she was still young (barely in her 15th) year. She soon found work as a midwife in Nesme and continued to persue that and learn what magic she could while doing that. This course continued until some years later when she met three other adventurer's (Cabe a half elf paladin, Charity a human monk, Theugan, a human bard) through a mutual aquantiance was set on a quest to find a rare spell componant Although Amy warmed to Theugan immediatly (even cutting his hair on occasion) it took her longer to warm up to Cabe, (she had known Charity for some years before this). Well to make a long story short in the enusing year the 4 soon became both inseperable and a capable adventuring group. During that year Amy had quiet warmed up to Cabe, although this was never taken anywhere because Charity also had quiet warmed up to cabe. Although to clarify... While there was a certain amount of platonic loyalty in that decision it was more a function of Amy simply not wanting to deal with the drama it may cause. Back to the story.. In that year the party lslew half fiends, mind flayers, became friends to the dwarves of Mithral Hall, found the ruins of Gauntlygrym and eventually set up shop in Silverymoon where Amy was born. While in Silverymoon Amy converted her old home into an orphanage of Ilmater (the idea being that the priests would take kindly to the suffering of the orphans and help them adjust and find thier place). Amy also converted to the worship of the Crying God and soon found a place of honor amoung the spellguard of Silverymoon and the Harpers. It was then that Cabe fell under the influence of a group of demons and began to travel south killing any evil he happened by on the way. The party elected to stop him and the chase led them from Silverymoon to Calimport (her was going to attempt to destroy the Twisted Ruin). On the way there Amy began to see life differently, especially in terms of her Patron. She began to have a method of thinking that more or less follows: "Why do i devote myself to a god who, despite any good intentions still promotes the kind of suffering that i have had to endure, and would not wish on anyone else?" After freeing cabe from the demons that promted him to go on his rampage Amy promptly returned to silverymoon and turned the orphanage over to the priests of lLierra whom she accepted as her new patron. Having a new sense of purpose she devoted herself completely to her new goddess as a Heartwarder (house-ruled that) and began to study the development of new magics with an abandon she had never known before. Currently the party has set out on a quest to find three pieces of a Nethese artifact, 1/3 of which had come into thier possesion.* Thats a summary of about 3-4 years game time, and alot of sessions real time so theres quiet a bit left out. Over the course of the game i have taken Amy from a shy big sister role through an aloof, utterly objective phase, and into a passionate assertive role that she really seems to fall well into. As it stands her Cabe sub plot has not been dealt with, she has never been to a mage fair (i keep bugging my co dm's about this), never met Elminster and mananged to survive to being a wiz5/harper mage5/heart warder 3 (of lLiera). So, really im just looking for more ideas to throw into her and wanting to see if anyone here see's something i dont . i.e. some place to take the character that i havent thought of or some intersteing sub-plot type stuff i could see about working in. I definatly have the sense that Amy has only really begun to, as a person, be able express her feeling to anyone. My group will tell you all day long that she's a bossy, cynical, doomsayer but really i think they will also admit in regards to deeper things she has been quiet insecure and never one to emote very openly or for very long. thanks in advance for any feeback or advice given!
Kharne 07-09-03, 05:55 PM	Where do you see your character in the long run? Settling down? Adventuring as long as her legs can support her? Setting up a Wizard's tower and taking on apprentices? Being Mayor of some town? If any of these, where? I think a good direction to take her would be figuring that out and looking at a way to start her down that path...even if ultimately she gets distracted from it later.
Trydan 07-22-03, 09:30 AM	Your story so far sounds good. Why do you need to inject ideas? Let it go quiet for a bit, and simply help your companions. Take on their quests as your own. Or, if you feel it going flat, then follow Kharne's idea and look to settling down. Perhaps all you really need is a good quest to sink your teeth into. Mention it to your DM. Just don't try to force it, when it isn't there. Let the character take its own turns, and follow and enhance the outcome. And if it continues to fade, then it is time for a fresh start and a new character.
Cloud Strife 07-22-03, 06:34 PM	Maybe she'd like to become an Archamge someday? That's my characters goal, but he isn't very nice... (Lawful Evil Necromancer) It sounds like she really want to help orphans so I bet she want to adventure to earn more money she can use to set up new orphanages.... Just my 0,5cp...