Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Megatron 01-16-05, 01:35 PM	Recently in my weekly game, I retired an old character and took up a new mantle. My old character was a gnome ranger6/wiz1 with issues with "family" and "Home." his highest stats went something like this like this: str: 7, dex: 12, con: 10, cha: 10, wis: 9, int: 12. SO, after he went off on his with his horde of homeless and rejected peasants in search of "something better" I started on a new character. This one started with just a mental image: a barbarian climbing the side of a cliff with nothing but a greataxe in each hand. Eventually I made the character... Zaldr Galgarig "Digerdoden" CN (really CG) Half-Giant Barbarian 6 Stats in Descending order Str, Cha, Dex, Con, Wis, Int. Ranging from 18 to 10. When raging, with magic items in play, He has a STR score of 30 (+10), +20 to Grapple, and so on... The entirety of his equipment is as follows: Bracelet of Frost Giant Strength +8, only works for half-frost giants continually, others only get the bonus 1/day Belt: 1/2 damage absorbed and spread out to 1 point per round Fleshgrinder: Wounding G-axe, +1 temp HP per 2 Con inflicted Argolas: Adamantine G-Axe, Blurs when swung swiftly, which allows me to reroll 1 missed attack Together we worked the Half-Giant race down to LA+0, getting rid of Fire Acclimation, Naturally Psionic, and the Psi-like ability. Feats: Two-Weapon Fighting, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus (GreatAxe) The rest of the party bought me a War Bull mount, which I named after myself, "Digerdoden" Now that the gist of his character sheet is out in the open, I’m stuck on a decent background that isn't just " I'm an orphan, raised by _____" The game takes place in the Forgotten Realms, which I know very little about, in the area around Silverymoon (which the DM said would be a good starting place for my characters origin.) He's only been in play for 2 sessions so his personality hasn't had a chance to show up much yet, which I'm thankful for because I just don't know where to go with him.
LiXinjian 01-17-05, 08:55 PM	If your previous character had issues with "Home" and "Family", I suppose you want something entirely new. How about issues with "Self"? So, he's always doubting himself. That's why he left home, where he felt he was a burden to his Frost Giant mother. The whole tribe looked down on him, and made him feel useless, so his mother always had to justify him or her actions (namely: getting inpregnated by a manling) to the other tribe members. When the tribe leader started being really pis*ed about him, your character left the tribe to spare his mother the trouble. He seeks to prove himself, to make his lone mother proud. He's really a mama's boy, who wishes to grow in strength to stand up to the tribe's mean leader. Then, he'll bring his mama to live with him in whatever place he'll have found that accepted him, and together they'll live a happy life. He'll indulge in his passion (weaponsmithing) while his mother is cooking some halfling... err... porc, in the kitchen. With all the riches he makes adventuring in his early years, he figures he'll pay for everything, and supplement this with the modest income of a master smith. Until then, he practices smithing whenever he gets a chance to, and might consider entering gladiator rings to earn a little money quick. The fame, he believes, will bring him acceptance among the smaller folks (humans, elves and all). Once he has money, he surveys houses that might be for sale, evaluating each of them, trying to acertain whether or not his mother would feel at home here, if the house is big enough, etc. I can foresee a very interesting future for such a lad. He might have to make difficult choices if, for instance, King Obould Many-Arrows rallied his tribe and marched on Silverymoon, where your character found acceptance. But that, of course, is up to your DM...
Bard-of-all-trades 01-19-05, 04:51 PM	LiXinjian makes a very compelling background. You might work it form the other side of the fence. Your mother was human. You are a half-breed, an outcast from your village. You were shunned and exiled for being “the spawn of evil giants”. You have always had a short fuse and the people you grew up around could always push your buttons to get you to fly off the handle, which always seemed to get you into trouble. You left to keep your shame away from your mother. You have traveled around picking up odd jobs that suit your strengths, literally. You learned to wield an axe as a lumberjack for a wood mill. The tool/weapon just felt right in your hand. You travel from place to place to escape the stereotype of your heritage. There are small things from each you could mix and match to come up with your own spin on your character as well. Good luck with him.
Megatron 01-19-05, 07:07 PM	Thanks a bunch both you. I think I'll use a mix of both. I like the race as a whole, and this is a fun character, but I have a little trouble coming up with an origin. Giant+Human just doesn't seem like it would...work that well. I like the smithing & oddjobs, and the mama's boy business.
Trydan 01-21-05, 07:16 AM	Anyone wielding a great axe needs to have dabbled in woodcutting. The fact that he is a barbarian makes this even more appealing. One thing that I sometimes think about, is how did the character come into his "starting gold". In this case, working the forests may be an option. It would explain the money, the axe, possibly some of the initial skill points, and the need to deal with the occasional forest monster. Just an idea, but it might help fill in some of the "missing years" in the character background.
Dishliquid 01-24-05, 10:27 PM	I always thought that if I played a half giant, his giant father would have been a "male escort" renowned for his giantness...