Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Callista 01-30-06, 02:07 AM	So here's a backstory for my newest character. I would appreciate comments, pointing out of inconsistencies, advice on whether to change alignment from CN to something else, and tips on how to RP. My main goal here is to show the "caught-in-the-middle" nature of the half-elf: Blaze Half-Elf Bard 2 [To be realistic, I should've given her Commoner levels. But I'm not that much of a glutton for punishment.] CN, deity Fharlanghn Age 65 (Middle-Aged) Physical stats average, mental stats INT 14/WIS 11/CHA 15 Blaze is the result of a summer's romance between a young peasant girl and an elven warrior, part of an army that helped save a village from an orcish invasion. Her father left at summer's end; her mother never saw him again. Blaze's mother's skill as a weaver gave Blaze a comfortable childhood. Her mixed blood often distanced her from others in her village; and Blaze had to work especially hard to gain friendship and acceptance. Still, her good looks ensured she had many suitors as soon as she came of age. These, Blaze all rejected, knowing that she would outlive them. For her first fifty years, Blaze lived quietly with her mother. Her mother's marriage to a local blacksmith allowed her a reasonably prosperous life, though she had little skill or patience for either her mother or stepfather's profession. Blaze's growing wanderlust was stilled by the realization that both her mother and stepfather were growing old, while she remained young. They died of old age within two months of each other. Blaze grieved for them; but soon her lust to find her father, to explore her elven side, reasserted itself. Her journey took her to her father's homeland. There, with little more than a name and her father's description, she found that her father had died as well; an arrow had killed him in battle. At a loss for what to do, Blaze would have left to return to her home village; but her uncle, a loremaster, took her under his wing. She lived with him for quite some time, learning history and finding in herself a love for the chanted epic poetry, a window to the whole of the world and a connection to times past, which she had, subconsciously, long sought. No more than fifteen years had passed by the time Blaze once again found herself wanting to leave her new home. She had learned a great deal from her uncle; and she had even overcome, for the most part, the elves' reticence to accept someone who was half-human. Still, Blaze had never truly wanted to stay in one place; and she saw herself growing older as the elves around her stayed young. Knowing that she would not have the seemingly endless span of years given to the elves, Blaze took her leave and began a journey, tossing a coin at each crossing to decide which way to take. The elvish poetry she learned from her uncle is well-received at most inns; and when the poetry doesn't bring enough coin, Blaze buys and sells from the small store of minor magical items she carries with her. Truly happy for the first time in her life, nothing could make Blaze give up her love of the road.
JulesCARV 01-30-06, 03:06 AM	Looks fine to me. I like it a lot. I like how she doesn't go through some extraordinarily implausible childhood experience, as many seem to be tempted to do for their PCs. She just seems like an ordinary person who's having a bit of a midlife crisis and is hitting the road. I might flesh out what she was doing in her first fifty years more. She wasn't into blacksmithing or weaving like her mum or stepdad, but surely she was doing something in the first 50 years of existence, wasn't she? Did she have an interest in human poetry? Good luck, and have fun playing her.
Callista 01-30-06, 08:41 AM	Ouch! Haha, yes, good point-- there needs to be something to fill the first fifty years... Let's see now: What does a half-elf do when she's stuck in the same village, and probably bored?... Hmm... I could always have her be a traveler on a small scale, selling Mom and Dad's work to nearby villages...