Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Sunblast 08-25-05, 11:06 PM	A friend of mine has made a character with a birthmark on her forehead. The birthmark is star-shaped and the color of a lotus. She never actually planned anythign behind it; she was actually hoping someone would see it and suggest something for her. Kinda lazy there, but I think it would be nice to help her with this. She doesn't overly enjoy that character because nothing interesting happens to her, so this would certainly be enjoyable for her. Now, here's the details. This is in the game Forgotten Kingdoms, a MUD based in the Forgotten Realms setting. Since it's a star, I would think that something based on Selune would be especially appropriate, though I know very little about Selune. Since this is a MUD, it shouldn't be anything earth shattering like she's a Deity's former avatar from the Times of Trouble or something crazy like that. It should be small enough that it doesn't really affect other players; a personal role-play as it were. Her character has never met her parents; she was abandoned at the Temple of Tyr in Waterdeep from a young age (Her parents were both good adventurers who cared about her, just couldn't raise her and couldn't give up their lifestyle). She grew up there doing meniel work and often visited the grove in the Temple of Mielikki. Her character has the same love for nature a ranger would, though she has actually become a fighter with the desire to protect her friends (She doesn't want to lose them due to abandonment issues). Due to the desire to protect, she's leaning towards Helm as her patron. She is engaged to a ranger, one which is leaning towards worshipping Selune due to his tendencies to explore. So, any ideas? I wish I knew more about Selune due to the star shape. I have a couple ideas, but they're half-baked and may have too much of an impact on the game world (Like it's the mark of Selune. Oooooooh! :confused: ). Can someone help me do this for her?
Gingerbread Guy 08-26-05, 03:31 PM	Wow, thats kinda tough.. Its hard to walk the line between being unique and special, and being, as you say, earthshattering. I think it would be neat if the birthmark was just coincidence, but everyone thought it had special meaning of some kind. Everyone could have their own interpretation, and her character is kinda left stuck in the middle of all these prophecies and divine theories, unsure what to make of herself. The birthmark could also be a powerful form of Arcane Mark, perhaps planted there by a spellcaster of some kind for whatever reason. Perhaps she was separated from her parents at birth, and one of them, a spellcaster, placed a mark on her head so that she could be found again. Perhaps instead the mark was placed by an evil creature, such as a dragon or demon to whom her parents owed a debt, and the birthmark is a signal that her soul essentially belongs to another (and she could quest to kill that being in order to break the contract). Uhm.. what else? What class is she? Maybe the mark is indeed a blessing from some higher being, and is the source of her spells/faith/psionics/whatever. Anyway, just some quick, really not that fantastic ideas. I wish you two the best of luck. ~Ginger
Sunblast 08-27-05, 10:18 AM	Ooh, those were some pretty good ideas, actually. That should help out quite a bit. If she had divine magic, then that last idea would be good, but she's a fighter (A member of the fighter's guild). I'm sorry for this odd request, but I do want it to be fun and interesting for her, but we can't offend the people who run the game or any of the other players by declaring ourselves Gods (Unless our characters are lying, in which case that would be fun, but self-destructive). I think I really like the idea of it being an Arcane Mark from one of her parents. After all, they did care about her, just couldn't take care of her. Perhaps they'll be coming to find her soon? If that's the case, then we'll need to work out the kinks in their story, like why did they have to leave their daughter? But that won't be too hard. ;) Thanks for the help, Gingerbread Guy. I think she'll like those ideas. ^_^
Horias_Norehammer 09-04-05, 11:15 PM	Maybe her parents were slaves in a distant land. The mark on her forehead maybe a brand that was put upon her at birth or early childhood marking her as a slave to the ruling people of that land. Maybe her parents paid someone to put her on a boat across the waters, or a couple of the ruling class fell in love with the child and took her in as their own. That way they would have to move to another land so she would not be looked at as a slave. Then you could even incorporate a whole campaign around the idea that someone from the land noticed her as a slave and is trying to steal her back. The would defininantly add some spice to her character. Just an idea...
Sorcerer 09-05-05, 12:02 AM	A mundane mark can be much more interesting.... Say if that was the birthmark of a dynasty of thief kings. Misguided paladins might seek to hunt her down. Thieves guilds in a new city would assume she is here to move in on their territory. Other city thives recognizing that mark, might hail her openly by her theiving family name, trying to bring the guard down on her. Still others would try to draw her into elaborate criminal schemes, and when she turns them down, they would think she is up to her own nefarious plans and they would compete to "get in on the action." As a DM, I would not tell her anything about het birthmark. She would be mystified by the actions until she figured it out herself. By this time a theive's guild would also realize she was ignorant of her heritage, and decide to hold her for ransom. Then her real family would show up, and the fireworks would really start up. See, anything simple can be blown out of porportion and into an adventure.
Sunblast 09-05-05, 10:48 AM	Horias and Sorcerer, your ideas are both pretty cool, I'll give you that. Unfortunately, that's more suited to a D&D campaign, since the DM could cause those things to happen. This takes place in the Forgotten Kingdoms MUD (http://www.forgottenkingdoms.com/), so for those things to happen, we'd need a lot of intervention from the people running the game. I don't think we can pull that off. :( Thanks, though, as those could be used if this character was put into a more conventional campaign. :D