Rent Darkwinter, a Warlock Story [Archive] - Wizards Community

Rent Darkwinter, a Warlock Story [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
LosGunD
03-01-05, 05:46 PM I had a story idea for a Warlock but I have a slight problem. How is he going to act?? I don't want an evil character though, so I'm kinda stuck. Here's his story.
Rent Darkwinter was just another farmer in the small town of Hollowvale. He had a wife of 5 years and had just recieved his first child. He lived a good life under the protection of a local lord. One dark winter night though, during a drought the likes of which the land hadn't seen for years, orcs descended upon Hollowvale. The villagers feebly struggled against the raiders who burned most of the town. Rent grabbed a dagger and a pitchfork and ran outside to protect his home, only to be knocked out by an orc from behind. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was an orc approaching his wife and new-born son. His spirit was approached by a being who offered him power. So much power, the creature claimed, that he could destroy the entire orc horde and save his village. All the entity would require is a small "favor" in exchange. Without a second thought Rent accepted the offer. At the time the nature of the being before him was a mystery. Strength and power suffused Rent's very soul and he reveled in it. Filled with rage, the desire for vengeance because of the senseless destruction, and with the desire to protect the other villagers Rent used this power and without the slightest effort upon his part managed to slay every last orc there. The protection the lord offered turned out to be nothing but a farce and the lord had done nothing to protect anyone but himself. Upon the death of the last orc the being returned to Rent. "Ah, feel the anger well up inside of you. The lord who was supposed to protect you has caused so much suffering!! Take the anger and release it now upon him, and your task will be complete!!" the creature howled. Realization struck Rent that this was no entity of good,this was in fact a devil. Horrified, Rent refused. The devil was outraged, and used it's power to possess Rent. The devil carried out the contract, and more. The lord and his entire house was killed by Rent's new power and then the devil went and slayed every single villager. Rent witnessed himself commiting these heinous crimes with his own eyes. He watched himself kill the lord, the town elder, his parents, his wife, and his only child. The devil, knowing how much worse the torment would be to let him live, left Rent's body in tact and the power as a constant reminder of his crime. Thus his name gained new meaning, and Hollowvale became hollow once more.
And that's the story of Rent Darkwinter. He definitely wants revenge upon the Devil who ruined his life. So what is your verdict on how he should act now that he lived through as much as he did? The other question is what do you call his alignment?? I kinda want him to be good in a repentant sort of way.
Dell Kallyan
03-01-05, 10:42 PM I actually worked on a CG warlock before...

I don't know, this sounds a bit corny, but if you've ever watched Teen Titans, I always imagined him to act sort of like Raven. He was a sort of detached and almost gothic.

Anyway, about Rent Darkwinter (nice name, IMO), he has a good background to work with a Warlock. To start with, I think that a demon would be more likely to do what the devil did in the background, but that is just me being nitpicky. Nonetheless, Rent would probably not trust any evil outsiders and probably hate them (and certainly hate the devil who screwed him over). I'm assuming he would be CG and try to redeem himself, or go CN and just sort of wander, trying to figure out where he belongs with his new powers, and what he should do with his life. Or maybe he could be on a quest to find and slay the devil...

You really could go a few ways with that background. Personally, I'd make him have a fear of attachment and settling down (he wouldn't want to risk making friends when he is so dangerous to be around), and thus be a CN wanderer, searching for who he is and what he should do with his new life. I'd base how his personality and alignment shift off what happens to him as he wanders. If he selfishly abuses his power, he is NE. If he starts going insane and becomes violent because he can't handle his dark past, he is CE. I don't see him becoming LE... but it is your choice. If he continues to wander forever or just does things on a whim with no consistancy, he can stay CN. I don't really see him going true neutral or lawful neutral. As CG I see him becoming a wanderer who helps people out, because nobody could help him, he decides to help other that are in situations like he was in (maybe not situations as dire, but sticky wickets nonetheless). As NG I see him the same way as CG but he stops wandering and settles down.

Anyway, as far as personality I guess he'd become a pretty dark gothic kind of person, almost self loathing for having killed his familty and making himself into a puppet for some devil's amusement. Perhaps he would be full of self hatred and self pity? Or he could come to grips with what he did, realizing he couldn't have saved his village but that he tried, and acknowledge that it is truly the local lord's fault that the orcs weren't stopped in the first place.

Back to alignment though, I could see him going good pretty easily. If you want him to repent and become good, I'd say he could be the sort of "fight fire with fire" good guy, I'd play him as a CG. He'd likely not hold law to great value, since the local lord was selfish, and thus he would resent authority as being self serving. He'd probably wander a lot trying to help people, but not trying to become close too close to anyone. Helps them out, then before they can thank him or buy him an ale, he's gone (almost like a super hero).

Anyway, have fun, an excellent character with a cool name (I seriously can't play a character unless I think they have an awesome name)!
LosGunD
03-01-05, 11:28 PM Thanks. Believe it or not I spent about a half hour pacing my bedroom with that very problem. "John Smith! Nah... Cal Rould! Nah... Fineas P. Butterbee! Nah... Rent sounds nice... Now a last name... Canos? No... Ariastree?? No..." and so on and so forth. I was quite pleased with the end result! :D
Tippy100
03-02-05, 05:00 PM Well, this is what I would do, but I like playing characters with fears, I find it fun. If he was forced to use his power to kill everyone he knew and loved, he might be afraid of these powers. I mean, before, he was just a farmer, and suddenly he had incredible powers. But then he saw how evil the powers were, so he'd use them, but occasionally get flashbacks, and curl into the fetal position, or be unable to eldrith blast someone, because of his haunting memories.

Just my take on it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
LosGunD 03-01-05, 05:46 PM	I had a story idea for a Warlock but I have a slight problem. How is he going to act?? I don't want an evil character though, so I'm kinda stuck. Here's his story. Rent Darkwinter was just another farmer in the small town of Hollowvale. He had a wife of 5 years and had just recieved his first child. He lived a good life under the protection of a local lord. One dark winter night though, during a drought the likes of which the land hadn't seen for years, orcs descended upon Hollowvale. The villagers feebly struggled against the raiders who burned most of the town. Rent grabbed a dagger and a pitchfork and ran outside to protect his home, only to be knocked out by an orc from behind. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was an orc approaching his wife and new-born son. His spirit was approached by a being who offered him power. So much power, the creature claimed, that he could destroy the entire orc horde and save his village. All the entity would require is a small "favor" in exchange. Without a second thought Rent accepted the offer. At the time the nature of the being before him was a mystery. Strength and power suffused Rent's very soul and he reveled in it. Filled with rage, the desire for vengeance because of the senseless destruction, and with the desire to protect the other villagers Rent used this power and without the slightest effort upon his part managed to slay every last orc there. The protection the lord offered turned out to be nothing but a farce and the lord had done nothing to protect anyone but himself. Upon the death of the last orc the being returned to Rent. "Ah, feel the anger well up inside of you. The lord who was supposed to protect you has caused so much suffering!! Take the anger and release it now upon him, and your task will be complete!!" the creature howled. Realization struck Rent that this was no entity of good,this was in fact a devil. Horrified, Rent refused. The devil was outraged, and used it's power to possess Rent. The devil carried out the contract, and more. The lord and his entire house was killed by Rent's new power and then the devil went and slayed every single villager. Rent witnessed himself commiting these heinous crimes with his own eyes. He watched himself kill the lord, the town elder, his parents, his wife, and his only child. The devil, knowing how much worse the torment would be to let him live, left Rent's body in tact and the power as a constant reminder of his crime. Thus his name gained new meaning, and Hollowvale became hollow once more. And that's the story of Rent Darkwinter. He definitely wants revenge upon the Devil who ruined his life. So what is your verdict on how he should act now that he lived through as much as he did? The other question is what do you call his alignment?? I kinda want him to be good in a repentant sort of way.
Dell Kallyan 03-01-05, 10:42 PM	I actually worked on a CG warlock before... I don't know, this sounds a bit corny, but if you've ever watched Teen Titans, I always imagined him to act sort of like Raven. He was a sort of detached and almost gothic. Anyway, about Rent Darkwinter (nice name, IMO), he has a good background to work with a Warlock. To start with, I think that a demon would be more likely to do what the devil did in the background, but that is just me being nitpicky. Nonetheless, Rent would probably not trust any evil outsiders and probably hate them (and certainly hate the devil who screwed him over). I'm assuming he would be CG and try to redeem himself, or go CN and just sort of wander, trying to figure out where he belongs with his new powers, and what he should do with his life. Or maybe he could be on a quest to find and slay the devil... You really could go a few ways with that background. Personally, I'd make him have a fear of attachment and settling down (he wouldn't want to risk making friends when he is so dangerous to be around), and thus be a CN wanderer, searching for who he is and what he should do with his new life. I'd base how his personality and alignment shift off what happens to him as he wanders. If he selfishly abuses his power, he is NE. If he starts going insane and becomes violent because he can't handle his dark past, he is CE. I don't see him becoming LE... but it is your choice. If he continues to wander forever or just does things on a whim with no consistancy, he can stay CN. I don't really see him going true neutral or lawful neutral. As CG I see him becoming a wanderer who helps people out, because nobody could help him, he decides to help other that are in situations like he was in (maybe not situations as dire, but sticky wickets nonetheless). As NG I see him the same way as CG but he stops wandering and settles down. Anyway, as far as personality I guess he'd become a pretty dark gothic kind of person, almost self loathing for having killed his familty and making himself into a puppet for some devil's amusement. Perhaps he would be full of self hatred and self pity? Or he could come to grips with what he did, realizing he couldn't have saved his village but that he tried, and acknowledge that it is truly the local lord's fault that the orcs weren't stopped in the first place. Back to alignment though, I could see him going good pretty easily. If you want him to repent and become good, I'd say he could be the sort of "fight fire with fire" good guy, I'd play him as a CG. He'd likely not hold law to great value, since the local lord was selfish, and thus he would resent authority as being self serving. He'd probably wander a lot trying to help people, but not trying to become close too close to anyone. Helps them out, then before they can thank him or buy him an ale, he's gone (almost like a super hero). Anyway, have fun, an excellent character with a cool name (I seriously can't play a character unless I think they have an awesome name)!
LosGunD 03-01-05, 11:28 PM	Thanks. Believe it or not I spent about a half hour pacing my bedroom with that very problem. "John Smith! Nah... Cal Rould! Nah... Fineas P. Butterbee! Nah... Rent sounds nice... Now a last name... Canos? No... Ariastree?? No..." and so on and so forth. I was quite pleased with the end result! :D
Tippy100 03-02-05, 05:00 PM	Well, this is what I would do, but I like playing characters with fears, I find it fun. If he was forced to use his power to kill everyone he knew and loved, he might be afraid of these powers. I mean, before, he was just a farmer, and suddenly he had incredible powers. But then he saw how evil the powers were, so he'd use them, but occasionally get flashbacks, and curl into the fetal position, or be unable to eldrith blast someone, because of his haunting memories. Just my take on it.