The Binder Universe [Archive] - Wizards Community

The Binder Universe [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
BenjaminBinder
09-15-04, 02:09 AM For two or three years now, I have been working on the story of Benjamin Binder and the characters who surround him. Ben was my first real PC, and he and the others have appeared as NPCs in various games that I've DM'd, in multiple continuities. My first DM'ing experiences were rather chaotic and I didn't have a clear idea of who these characters were or what their story was. I want to flesh out these characters more and develop a clear storyline for them. Allow me to present what I know so far. I shall try to express specific concerns as I go.

The Binders—In the distant past, this family of halflings was blessed (cursed?) by (Elves? Dragons? Celestials?) Originally, they were blessed with magical powers and became a family or sorcerers. However, now I think maybe they were simply cursed with luck, good and ill, in equal measures. In each generation, adventure seems to find the Binders, calling them from their home (the family estate, Bindenbungle), taking them to strange places, and occasionally letting them return to tell the tale.

Benjamin Binder—Ben... how can I describe him? Part of my problem with Ben is that I want him to be too many things at once. Ben is a sorcerer... or maybe a wizard. He may also be a rogue or a swashbuckler. Ben is the definitive hero, a halfling of action. He is a legend in his own mind. He is small, but capable of great things. He's a tricky rascal, a fast talker, a tactless fool, a grumpy old bear, a snarky bastard. He's been all these things at various times, depending on my mood, because in a way, Ben is me.
Ben is the son of Bensalazar "Bezoar" Binder and Florence Ankle. Bezoar walked out on his mother when Ben was an infant. Florence died of illness, and Ben was raised by aunts and uncles. Ben's story starts with him as a student at Mervane University, a magical college. He has talent, but he is lazy. He purposefully holds back... maybe he is afraid of growing up? Afraid of the outside world?
One day, Ben receives word that his aunt has passed away and that he is now the master of Bindenbungle. On his way home, he stops at a roadside inn. That night, a high-ranking retired paladin is mysteriously murdered. This is how Ben meets Peach, the young halfling paladin sent to investigate. The core of the Ben Story is his tempestuous relationship with Peach. They eventually come to love each other deeply, but because of their clashing personalities, they fight like an old Jewish couple. If anyone's seen Ranma 1/2 or InuYasha, you get the idea.
Anyhow, together Ben and Peach solve the mystery and save the day. They continue to have adventures together. These are the Young Ben days.

Peach L'queur—Like Ben, Peach originally suffered from being too many things at once. Her original name was Peach Brandy. She looked like an anime character, with strange-colored hair and eyes. This didn't fit her personality at all, because Peach is a total *****. Peach is less like Juliet and more like Kate (Taming of the Shrew). She is a strong, confident woman with jet black hair, a piercing gaze, and a shrewd mind.
Peach comes from a wealthy halfling family who apparently think they're French. She was sent to prestigeous academy (not sure what kind), and when she graduated, she joined the Holy Order of the Paladins, around the same time that Madagoya the White Witch took charge of the organization. Peach quickly rose through the ranks, proving herself time and again to be a brilliant battlefield tactician. She was welcomed into Madagoya's inner circle. Eventually, however, she began to notice corruption in the paladins, and to her horror, that the corruption stemmed from Madagoya herself, whom she had trusted and admired. However, she knew too many of Madagoya's secrets (not sure what those might be) to just walk away. With Ben's help, she was able to escape and go into hiding.

Madagoya the White Witch—Take Saruman and make him an old woman... you have Madagoya. Originally, Madagoya was much like the Istari: a celestial polymorphed into a human, under oath not to use her full abilities. Each of the 16 deities of my campaign world were supposed to have a similar champion. Madagoya is the champion of Aran Brightmane (LG, sun goddess). Recently, I've begun to think maybe she's a normal human, just very powerful. She is a blacksmith, a maker of weapons of war.
Madagoya is the head of the Holy Order of the Paladins in the Holy City of Zíl ('zeal'). She is loved and respected by all who worship Good deities, and not the least by the paladins who serve her. However, Madagoya has fallen from grace. I really have no good explanation why or how. Going with the idea that she is a celestial in a human body, I thought perhaps she resented being trapped on the Prime Material Plane, forced to aid weak, pathetic humans, many of whom were just as wicked as the evil she tried to protect them from. That begs the question of why she would have been sent to the Prime Material in the first place... my campaign world, right now, really has no great, unified evil force that needs to be fought. Perhaps I need to create one. Then there's the question of what's she doing that's so evil? Is she researching evil magic? To what end? She already has plenty of power and people at her command. What could she possibly want to gain?
Madagoya's darkest secret is her daughter, Madeline. Frustrated with living in the body of an old woman, she researched a potion to make herself young again. Unfortunately, this potion also temporarily robbed her of her common sense, and she got a little careless. Madeline was the result. Madeline may be imprisoned within Madagoya's tower, or she may be banished to a dark forest somewhere. Madeline is the only one who can defeat Madagoya and clense the taint of evil within the paladin ranks.

Belinda Binder—With Belinda, we get into the days of Old Ben. Somehow amidst their arguing, their adventuring and their running away from the law, Ben and Peach manage to have a daughter. Belinda is not my character at all, but a PC in a game I DM'd. I may give up on her storyline, since her player and I can't agree on how it should go, but I present it here for completeness.
Belinda was raised by her father in Bindenbungle. Ben told Belinda that her mother had died soon after she was born. I don't know why. In reality, Ben knew perfectly well that Peach was living in hiding from Madagoya. I don't know why Ben wasn't also living in hiding, since Madagoya wanted him just as much.
Belinda had a few adventures of her own, along with a party of halflings and a dwarf from her community. During these adventures, she found Peach and brought her parents together long enough to actually get married. Belinda also stumbled across Madeline. When Peach learned of this, she charged Belinda with raising the young half-celestial, guarding her until she was ready to fulfil the prophesy (see above).

To sum up, I want to get a clearer idea of who Ben is and pick a character class for him already. I also need to get a clearer idea of who Madagoya is, what her motives are, and what her goals are. There's another imporant character that I haven't included here: Ben's father, Bezoar Binder. However, it's 2AM and I need to sleep, and I think I've given you good people enough to chew on. So thank you, and goodnight.
Sir Gimp
09-15-04, 08:49 PM cool backgrounds/ story dude cant wait to hear more :)
Morka
09-15-04, 09:55 PM Ben should be an arcane trickster, starting with the 3 rogue levels. He was at some magic academy, but he was too lazy to focus on the arcane, so he became a rogue. Later, he was needing some use of magic, he found his old notes, and finally realize it wasn't soo complicated. Do you really need a reason why a rogue-wizard would become an arcane trickster? Perhaps one of his old teacher, the less boring of the bunch, was an arcane trickster, and he met him a few years after leaving college.

Madagoya is more complicated, but you have a really good starting point: she had a one-night stand with some man. Perhaps did she fall in love with this man, and for him, she rejected her celestial condition. This is not evil by itself, but it could be the first step. Who was this man? Some drunk sailor? Some silver-tongued bard? Ben, or Bezoar? Was she ready to bend the law for this mysterious lover, who finally bring her nothing really good?
On the other hand, the common flaw of paladin is their pride. Everyone loved Madagoya. Being on the Material Plane, she could have very few contact with Aran Brightmane, her goddess; she could begin to think that she is the goddess, and begin to direct the order so she will have the best publicity.
Do you have some other Orders? Could Madagoya have been victim of jealousy?
BenjaminBinder
09-15-04, 11:33 PM The father of Madeline is unimportant. Madagoya was simply "drunk" from the aftereffects of the age-reversing magic. It could have been anybody. The poor sap was likely executed the next day when Madagoya regained her senses.

Pride is definitely Madagoya's downfall. However, pride alone is not so bad. If she's just abusing her position of authority to gain wealth and prestige for herself, well, it's bad, but it doesn't make her much of a threat to the world in general. It doesn't make her a villain. She needs to have some scheme or goal that makes her dangerous. Something that makes Ben and Peach say, 'This woman is mad and needs to be dethroned.'

Now that I'm more awake, here is Bezoar's bio...

Bensalazar 'Bezoar' Binder—I'm sketchy on the details of Bezoar's life. He was a misfit child. He didn't like his father (who was not a Binder, he took his mother's last name) very much. In an early bio I wrote 'Bezoar claims he murdered his father, but that is probably a lie.' I'm still not sure if it's true or not. Bezoar ran away from home at a young age. He wandered from place to place and studied dark magic. Eventually, he ran afoul of the law (Madagoya may or may not have been involved) and had to go into hiding far, far away. Sometime before this, he met and fell in love with Florence Ankle. Their relationship didn't last long, and Bezoar left her soon after Ben was born, claiming he couldn't study his magic with a noisy child in the house. Fleeing from the law, Bezoar hid in a faraway jungle. He enslaved a tribe of primitive, jungle halflings (Agogwe, from the Nyambe book) and performed evil experiments on them. He has levels in wizard and ranger.

Ben later tells Belinda that he only once ever met his father as an adult. I'm not sure when and how this happened. It may have been in a vision.

Bezoar gets his strange nickname from the copious amounts of greasy, oily body hair that covers his back, chest and arms. For those who don't know, a bezoar is a hairball extracted from a goat's stomach, supposedly able to cure poisons. I like the idea that Bezoar is a disgusting, vile person, and his ugly physical appearance reflects this.

Bezoar does not resurface until the days of Old Ben. Despite being Ben's father, a 'Darth Vader' type, he is more an enemy of Belinda. Bezoar makes a deal with a night hag to bring her the soul of an especially powerful paladin in exchange for a particular item or spell component that he needed. Bezoar tracks down Peach while she is staying in Bindenbungle and takes her by surprise, trapping her soul in a gem. Ben was far away at the time, so it was up to Belinda to save her mother. Belinda chased Bezoar halfway around the world until she eventually caught up with him, defeated him, and recovered her mother's soul. Unfortunately, Madagoya and the paladins also caught up with the Binder family, surrounding them during the final confrontation in the middle of a swamp. Bezoar was arrested and locked up tight in the lowest levels of Madagoya's tower. Peach was likewise arrested and probably sentenced to execution.

Madagoya realized the potential in Belinda. As the daughter of a powerful wizard and a brilliant soldier, Belinda showed amazing potential. Madagoya believed she could train Belinda as a paladin and make her a tool for her ambitions. She offered to let Peach go free if Belinda accepted... this is where Belinda's player and I disagreed on how to continue, so we may never know the end of this storyline.
Morka
09-16-04, 10:06 PM What if we translate Madagoya's pride into ambition, or even megalomania? Is there some other good-aligned orderin your setting? Madagoya could have seen them as a shadow if not a threat to the shinning of her goddess, and made them outlaw...

It's hard to find an evil goal for Madagoya. The most common evil goal is "to rule the world", but Madagoya already has this in some kind of way. Her position allow her to send who she want to the front, eliminating who she want; she is in position to commit all the murder she want in all impunity, but it's still not a threat to the world. The fact that she is a celestial prevent her to do simply mean things...

Perhaps does she want to do like Lathander in FR, and prepare a "Dawn Cataclysm": destroy the world and let only live those of good alignment. That is not too far from her good alignment, and it's a really big threat to the world.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
BenjaminBinder 09-15-04, 02:09 AM	For two or three years now, I have been working on the story of Benjamin Binder and the characters who surround him. Ben was my first real PC, and he and the others have appeared as NPCs in various games that I've DM'd, in multiple continuities. My first DM'ing experiences were rather chaotic and I didn't have a clear idea of who these characters were or what their story was. I want to flesh out these characters more and develop a clear storyline for them. Allow me to present what I know so far. I shall try to express specific concerns as I go. The Binders—In the distant past, this family of halflings was blessed (cursed?) by (Elves? Dragons? Celestials?) Originally, they were blessed with magical powers and became a family or sorcerers. However, now I think maybe they were simply cursed with luck, good and ill, in equal measures. In each generation, adventure seems to find the Binders, calling them from their home (the family estate, Bindenbungle), taking them to strange places, and occasionally letting them return to tell the tale. Benjamin Binder—Ben... how can I describe him? Part of my problem with Ben is that I want him to be too many things at once. Ben is a sorcerer... or maybe a wizard. He may also be a rogue or a swashbuckler. Ben is the definitive hero, a halfling of action. He is a legend in his own mind. He is small, but capable of great things. He's a tricky rascal, a fast talker, a tactless fool, a grumpy old bear, a snarky bastard. He's been all these things at various times, depending on my mood, because in a way, Ben is me. Ben is the son of Bensalazar "Bezoar" Binder and Florence Ankle. Bezoar walked out on his mother when Ben was an infant. Florence died of illness, and Ben was raised by aunts and uncles. Ben's story starts with him as a student at Mervane University, a magical college. He has talent, but he is lazy. He purposefully holds back... maybe he is afraid of growing up? Afraid of the outside world? One day, Ben receives word that his aunt has passed away and that he is now the master of Bindenbungle. On his way home, he stops at a roadside inn. That night, a high-ranking retired paladin is mysteriously murdered. This is how Ben meets Peach, the young halfling paladin sent to investigate. The core of the Ben Story is his tempestuous relationship with Peach. They eventually come to love each other deeply, but because of their clashing personalities, they fight like an old Jewish couple. If anyone's seen Ranma 1/2 or InuYasha, you get the idea. Anyhow, together Ben and Peach solve the mystery and save the day. They continue to have adventures together. These are the Young Ben days. Peach L'queur—Like Ben, Peach originally suffered from being too many things at once. Her original name was Peach Brandy. She looked like an anime character, with strange-colored hair and eyes. This didn't fit her personality at all, because Peach is a total *****. Peach is less like Juliet and more like Kate (Taming of the Shrew). She is a strong, confident woman with jet black hair, a piercing gaze, and a shrewd mind. Peach comes from a wealthy halfling family who apparently think they're French. She was sent to prestigeous academy (not sure what kind), and when she graduated, she joined the Holy Order of the Paladins, around the same time that Madagoya the White Witch took charge of the organization. Peach quickly rose through the ranks, proving herself time and again to be a brilliant battlefield tactician. She was welcomed into Madagoya's inner circle. Eventually, however, she began to notice corruption in the paladins, and to her horror, that the corruption stemmed from Madagoya herself, whom she had trusted and admired. However, she knew too many of Madagoya's secrets (not sure what those might be) to just walk away. With Ben's help, she was able to escape and go into hiding. Madagoya the White Witch—Take Saruman and make him an old woman... you have Madagoya. Originally, Madagoya was much like the Istari: a celestial polymorphed into a human, under oath not to use her full abilities. Each of the 16 deities of my campaign world were supposed to have a similar champion. Madagoya is the champion of Aran Brightmane (LG, sun goddess). Recently, I've begun to think maybe she's a normal human, just very powerful. She is a blacksmith, a maker of weapons of war. Madagoya is the head of the Holy Order of the Paladins in the Holy City of Zíl ('zeal'). She is loved and respected by all who worship Good deities, and not the least by the paladins who serve her. However, Madagoya has fallen from grace. I really have no good explanation why or how. Going with the idea that she is a celestial in a human body, I thought perhaps she resented being trapped on the Prime Material Plane, forced to aid weak, pathetic humans, many of whom were just as wicked as the evil she tried to protect them from. That begs the question of why she would have been sent to the Prime Material in the first place... my campaign world, right now, really has no great, unified evil force that needs to be fought. Perhaps I need to create one. Then there's the question of what's she doing that's so evil? Is she researching evil magic? To what end? She already has plenty of power and people at her command. What could she possibly want to gain? Madagoya's darkest secret is her daughter, Madeline. Frustrated with living in the body of an old woman, she researched a potion to make herself young again. Unfortunately, this potion also temporarily robbed her of her common sense, and she got a little careless. Madeline was the result. Madeline may be imprisoned within Madagoya's tower, or she may be banished to a dark forest somewhere. Madeline is the only one who can defeat Madagoya and clense the taint of evil within the paladin ranks. Belinda Binder—With Belinda, we get into the days of Old Ben. Somehow amidst their arguing, their adventuring and their running away from the law, Ben and Peach manage to have a daughter. Belinda is not my character at all, but a PC in a game I DM'd. I may give up on her storyline, since her player and I can't agree on how it should go, but I present it here for completeness. Belinda was raised by her father in Bindenbungle. Ben told Belinda that her mother had died soon after she was born. I don't know why. In reality, Ben knew perfectly well that Peach was living in hiding from Madagoya. I don't know why Ben wasn't also living in hiding, since Madagoya wanted him just as much. Belinda had a few adventures of her own, along with a party of halflings and a dwarf from her community. During these adventures, she found Peach and brought her parents together long enough to actually get married. Belinda also stumbled across Madeline. When Peach learned of this, she charged Belinda with raising the young half-celestial, guarding her until she was ready to fulfil the prophesy (see above). To sum up, I want to get a clearer idea of who Ben is and pick a character class for him already. I also need to get a clearer idea of who Madagoya is, what her motives are, and what her goals are. There's another imporant character that I haven't included here: Ben's father, Bezoar Binder. However, it's 2AM and I need to sleep, and I think I've given you good people enough to chew on. So thank you, and goodnight.
Sir Gimp 09-15-04, 08:49 PM	cool backgrounds/ story dude cant wait to hear more :)
Morka 09-15-04, 09:55 PM	Ben should be an arcane trickster, starting with the 3 rogue levels. He was at some magic academy, but he was too lazy to focus on the arcane, so he became a rogue. Later, he was needing some use of magic, he found his old notes, and finally realize it wasn't soo complicated. Do you really need a reason why a rogue-wizard would become an arcane trickster? Perhaps one of his old teacher, the less boring of the bunch, was an arcane trickster, and he met him a few years after leaving college. Madagoya is more complicated, but you have a really good starting point: she had a one-night stand with some man. Perhaps did she fall in love with this man, and for him, she rejected her celestial condition. This is not evil by itself, but it could be the first step. Who was this man? Some drunk sailor? Some silver-tongued bard? Ben, or Bezoar? Was she ready to bend the law for this mysterious lover, who finally bring her nothing really good? On the other hand, the common flaw of paladin is their pride. Everyone loved Madagoya. Being on the Material Plane, she could have very few contact with Aran Brightmane, her goddess; she could begin to think that she is the goddess, and begin to direct the order so she will have the best publicity. Do you have some other Orders? Could Madagoya have been victim of jealousy?
BenjaminBinder 09-15-04, 11:33 PM	The father of Madeline is unimportant. Madagoya was simply "drunk" from the aftereffects of the age-reversing magic. It could have been anybody. The poor sap was likely executed the next day when Madagoya regained her senses. Pride is definitely Madagoya's downfall. However, pride alone is not so bad. If she's just abusing her position of authority to gain wealth and prestige for herself, well, it's bad, but it doesn't make her much of a threat to the world in general. It doesn't make her a villain. She needs to have some scheme or goal that makes her dangerous. Something that makes Ben and Peach say, 'This woman is mad and needs to be dethroned.' Now that I'm more awake, here is Bezoar's bio... Bensalazar 'Bezoar' Binder—I'm sketchy on the details of Bezoar's life. He was a misfit child. He didn't like his father (who was not a Binder, he took his mother's last name) very much. In an early bio I wrote 'Bezoar claims he murdered his father, but that is probably a lie.' I'm still not sure if it's true or not. Bezoar ran away from home at a young age. He wandered from place to place and studied dark magic. Eventually, he ran afoul of the law (Madagoya may or may not have been involved) and had to go into hiding far, far away. Sometime before this, he met and fell in love with Florence Ankle. Their relationship didn't last long, and Bezoar left her soon after Ben was born, claiming he couldn't study his magic with a noisy child in the house. Fleeing from the law, Bezoar hid in a faraway jungle. He enslaved a tribe of primitive, jungle halflings (Agogwe, from the Nyambe book) and performed evil experiments on them. He has levels in wizard and ranger. Ben later tells Belinda that he only once ever met his father as an adult. I'm not sure when and how this happened. It may have been in a vision. Bezoar gets his strange nickname from the copious amounts of greasy, oily body hair that covers his back, chest and arms. For those who don't know, a bezoar is a hairball extracted from a goat's stomach, supposedly able to cure poisons. I like the idea that Bezoar is a disgusting, vile person, and his ugly physical appearance reflects this. Bezoar does not resurface until the days of Old Ben. Despite being Ben's father, a 'Darth Vader' type, he is more an enemy of Belinda. Bezoar makes a deal with a night hag to bring her the soul of an especially powerful paladin in exchange for a particular item or spell component that he needed. Bezoar tracks down Peach while she is staying in Bindenbungle and takes her by surprise, trapping her soul in a gem. Ben was far away at the time, so it was up to Belinda to save her mother. Belinda chased Bezoar halfway around the world until she eventually caught up with him, defeated him, and recovered her mother's soul. Unfortunately, Madagoya and the paladins also caught up with the Binder family, surrounding them during the final confrontation in the middle of a swamp. Bezoar was arrested and locked up tight in the lowest levels of Madagoya's tower. Peach was likewise arrested and probably sentenced to execution. Madagoya realized the potential in Belinda. As the daughter of a powerful wizard and a brilliant soldier, Belinda showed amazing potential. Madagoya believed she could train Belinda as a paladin and make her a tool for her ambitions. She offered to let Peach go free if Belinda accepted... this is where Belinda's player and I disagreed on how to continue, so we may never know the end of this storyline.
Morka 09-16-04, 10:06 PM	What if we translate Madagoya's pride into ambition, or even megalomania? Is there some other good-aligned orderin your setting? Madagoya could have seen them as a shadow if not a threat to the shinning of her goddess, and made them outlaw... It's hard to find an evil goal for Madagoya. The most common evil goal is "to rule the world", but Madagoya already has this in some kind of way. Her position allow her to send who she want to the front, eliminating who she want; she is in position to commit all the murder she want in all impunity, but it's still not a threat to the world. The fact that she is a celestial prevent her to do simply mean things... Perhaps does she want to do like Lathander in FR, and prepare a "Dawn Cataclysm": destroy the world and let only live those of good alignment. That is not too far from her good alignment, and it's a really big threat to the world.