Post/Author/DateTime	Post
seekanddestroy 10-12-03, 01:11 AM	Hi all I haven't played D&D in a while and so far we have played a little. Just a few small modules, and now its time to start the character that we want to play in a long campaign. So here is the character that I came up with just wanted to keep it simple. 3.5 rules Wood Elf Ranger1/Fighter4/Ootbi/ and maybe if the DM allows a little Deepwood Sniper later on. My alignment is C.G., my main weapon focus is on the C. Long Bow, and I am always going to be lightly armored. My abilitiy scores are- Str-18 Dex-20 Con-16 Wis-14 Int-12 Cha-10 I hope this is enough info as far as the character is concerned. I have no idea how to come up with a cool background, and would appreciate any help with this possible. By the way we are playing in the Forgotten Realms C.S. Thanks in advance
seekanddestroy 10-12-03, 01:19 AM	If you need any more information on the character let me know. Thanks
Gingerbread Guy 10-12-03, 01:33 PM	Hiho, Argh, I hate coming up with backgrounds to fit the character sheet. I prefer doing things the other way around. There isn't much substance to work with here, so I'm just going to make a few suggestions.. 1. Don't be the typical "My parents were killed by ogres, and now I hate ogres," deal. Way way way too tired. 2. Figure out a background catch that explains why your wood elf is bothering to travel with non-elves. There will probably be Dwarves and junk in your group, and wood elves don't just travel with them for fun. Maybe he's exiled or otherwise shunned by his community. Maybe he's just lost. 3. Do something really original. Say, have your character be a Reincarnated creature. Perhaps in his past he was a wolf or something that was awakened by a Druid. He served the druid well as a companion and eventually died in service. As repayment, the Druid reincarnated the wolf and gave him his freedom. Nature gave him the body of a wood elf. He's spent years getting used to his new body, including learning the use of the bow, but deep down inside he's still a wolf. When you find an adventuring group, treat them like a pack. Think like a wolf. Become the alpha male of the "pack", etc. Whatever. It sure beats "My parents were killed by ogres.." ~Ginger
Vexxan 10-15-03, 07:35 AM	Ranger, fighter, sniper, chaotic... it fits the bill for an elf who is used to doing things on his own but is never truly satisfied with much for long. The Forgotten Realms is such a diverse and expansive setting that a character stricken with wanderlust can easily occupy themselves an entire lifetime and still not see everything. New cultures, new landscapes, new intrigues and new friends are around every corner. Perhaps your character became disillusioned with the monotony and routine of his homeland. The Dalelands is full of opportunities so perhaps somewhere more tame could be your characters homeland. Tethyr and the Great Dale are expansive and relatively static in terms of diverse experiences. With a good heart your character roams Faerun looking for some place to truly settle and not feel lulled into complacency. It's in your nature to be complacent eventually so you pick up your feet, your bow, your will and you move on. Travelling with nary a whim at times leads to unexpected adventures. It's simple (you said you wanted to keep it that way) and is only as cliche as the adventures you have. As long as you don't metagame (use outside knowledge to provide an advantage during gameplay), you could make up stories about your past experiences as you play; add some spice and make it up as you go along. Heck, maybe that's what your character does... makes up fascinating (or boring) stories that you relate to the friends you make along the way. Who's going to call your bluff when you tell them about the mist dragon that watched and followed you as you drifted down the Reinhardt river through the twisted forest of Fahr? Relevant? Probably not. True? Maybe. Interesting? You bet. Let your personality flesh out the minor details about your past and truly define who you are.
Morka 10-15-03, 11:36 AM	Play it like Legolas! You are the best archer of your generation, your ability with a bow is your pride, and the elven king (or tribe chieftain, since you're a wood elf, not an high elf) send you on some special mission. Being chaotic doesn't mean you are always changing. You can lie to non-elvens, but if you promise something to a true friend, you put you honnor to respect this. You have average charisma, you could be in love with some female elf, and you promised to return to her at the end of your mission. An high charisma could conduct to many elven maiden followers, while a low charisma could conduct to no one... Now for the mission, it could depend of the rest of the party. If one have a special mission, you could swore to protect this one. Or you could have a special message to deliver to a copper dragon, or another king. You could have an evil artefact artifact to destroy (and be slowly corrupted by this artefact), or you could have to find something to heal your people from a plague.
seekanddestroy 10-15-03, 03:38 PM	Thanks for the ideas and if you have any more let me know. It will proablly be about a week before we play so that gives me a little time.
Lhiannon Sidhe 10-17-03, 09:16 PM	Originally posted by Gingerbread Guy Hiho, Argh, I hate coming up with backgrounds to fit the character sheet. I prefer doing things the other way around. There isn't much substance to work with here, so I'm just going to make a few suggestions.. 1. Don't be the typical "My parents were killed by ogres, and now I hate ogres," deal. Way way way too tired. 2. Figure out a background catch that explains why your wood elf is bothering to travel with non-elves. There will probably be Dwarves and junk in your group, and wood elves don't just travel with them for fun. Maybe he's exiled or otherwise shunned by his community. Maybe he's just lost. 3. Do something really original. Say, have your character be a Reincarnated creature. Perhaps in his past he was a wolf or something that was awakened by a Druid. He served the druid well as a companion and eventually died in service. As repayment, the Druid reincarnated the wolf and gave him his freedom. Nature gave him the body of a wood elf. He's spent years getting used to his new body, including learning the use of the bow, but deep down inside he's still a wolf. When you find an adventuring group, treat them like a pack. Think like a wolf. Become the alpha male of the "pack", etc. Whatever. It sure beats "My parents were killed by ogres.." ~Ginger How about "My Ogre was killed by my parents" Prehaps the character had an unusual friend, an uncharacteristically good Ogre, goblin or whatever. The elf's parents, not understanding the situation, come across the two together and think the monster is attacking the elf and promptly kill the monster. Angered by the murder of his friend, the elf leaves the village.