Translating a backstory from FR to Eberron [Archive] - Wizards Community

Translating a backstory from FR to Eberron [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Adrian_Crane
01-20-07, 03:04 PM The more I read up on the Eberron campaign setting, the more I prefer it to the epic-fest that is FR. With that in mind, I'm trying to alter a character backstory to fit this setting, but there are several plot points and differences that are making it a challenge. I am here to entreat those of you more experienced in this setting to perhaps lend me some help in making this all fit together. :bow:

(This has also been posted in Eberron: General)

FR: Tycho Zathras Vrinn, CN Drow Ftr/Wiz/Gish
Eberron name: Tyn'ien Xinn (which sounds much better IMO)

ORIGINAL BACKSTORY

Born an illegitimate child to a mother of no importance, Tycho's life in the Underdark was hard and cruel, as might well be expected. The boy had a penchant for calculated violence, and this served him well. He grew to become a soldier in the armies of House Vrinn, and his life was one of unending slaughter. Never satisfied with what little power he could attain through force of arms, Tycho was constantly on the lookout for ways to expand his abilities. He was always eager to pick up any scraps of arcane techniques that he could, although such opportunities were few. A common soldier had no hope of actually gaining access to Sorcere itself.

Eventually, the Drow’s natural good looks caught the attentions of one of the House females. She abused his charms liberally for quite some time, but eventually grew tired of him. In order to eliminate any possible complications, Tycho was "volunteered" for a surface infiltration of a Wood Elf settlement.

The mission was fairly straightforward: several pairs of Drow were to be teleported to the surface, where they had to find the assigned target and integrate themselves into the population. Towards this end, each was given a ring, the design of which was copied from jewelry found on some corpses from a previous raid. These trinkets would permit the operatives to alter their appearance to a single, fixed alternate guise.

Tycho was assigned to work with a longtime rival of his, a rogue by the name of Zamethrin Qenir'van. As soon as the pair were on the surface, they went for each other's throats. Tycho emerged the victor in the battle, and he promptly stripped Zam of his ring and used the Drow's corpse as his ticket into the village, claiming he was a traveler who'd been attacked by a scout and that the guards should investigate. With the ensuing commotion, it was relatively easy to manipulate the elves' fears and ingratiate himself, and over the course of several days he settled in.

As the days wore on with no signal to strike, the keyed-up anticipation that had built inside Tycho gradually gave way to boredom. He had already identified several of his compatriots within the area by their rings, although he hadn't needed to make contact with any of them yet. However, when one of the females began making advances on him, he had no choice but to cooperate. Interestingly, his companion, Ildryna, proved remarkably restrained and subtle in her behavior, quite unlike the pushy tactics Tycho was used to.

Tycho began to respect the woman, and that slowly gave way to a mutual friendship, something unheard of among Drow. The two spent time together talking about matters within the village, although both were careful to stay clear of discussions related to the mission, as observers were omnipresent. They also became sparring partners, often researching and perfecting new techniques in combat against each other. It was here that Tycho began to more fully practice weaving arcane magic into his combat style.

One day, during a stroll through a more secluded part of the forest, Tycho’s curiosity finally got the better of him and he actually summoned the gall to ask Ildryna to remove her ring so he could see what she looked like. She seemed puzzled by the request at first, but after some badgering she slid the band off her finger.

Nothing happened.

There was a long pause where Tycho’s stomach fell into his feet, then he swore and tackled her with the intention of cleaning up the loose end he’d just created. Unfortunately, when he had the knife to her throat, he realized he couldn’t do it. That moment’s hesitation was all the opening Ildryna needed to kick him in the gut and send him sprawling. He lay in the grass for several moments, then sighed and removed his own ring.

Ildryna would probably have killed him had she not fainted at seeing his true form.

By the time she regained consciousness, Tycho was sitting on a nearby log, once more disguised. The pair talked things out, and Tycho’s loyalties finally broke. He revealed everything about the mission, including how to identify the agents by looking for the signets they wore. It turned out that the corpses from which the rings had been taken were Elves in Ildryna’s tribal line, hence her own identical ring.

Life returned to some semblance of normality, and one night soon after the signal came. Spiders scuttled into the rooms where the agents had made their lodgings. The vermin were gone as quickly as they’d come, but it was all the alert that the Drow required. They stormed from their bunks, weapons drawn—and were felled by arrows from the darkness, fired by rangers assigned to track them.

The skilled and the fortunate managed to put up resistance, and the night lit up with blue spellfire and the clash of steel. Still, the Drow were dead already, and they knew it.

Tycho, whose identity Ildryna had not revealed to the authorities, met her at the stables. She had a horse waiting for him. The two said their goodbyes, and then he galloped off into the night, promising to return within a fortnight.

He rode his steed to death in a panicked effort to get as far away as possible, then spent the rest of the time lying low and waiting. Finally, the time passed, and he began to make his way back to the settlement.

When he returned, he found Ildryna’s body hanged outside the village walls. Starlight bathed her face in a ghostly pallor, and her neck was skewed in graceful mockery of its natural form. She had been executed for conspiring with the foe, her body left on display for all to bear witness.

Tycho’s world shattered. He collapsed, sobbing for what must have seemed hours, unable to speak, barely able to breathe. When the violent fit of emotion passed, he carefully, reverently removed the body, carrying it to the clearing where he’d first removed his ring. He slid the band from her finger and donned it against his own. Then he buried her.

From there, it is uncertain where precisely his wanderings have taken him.
-------------------------

I prefer several things about the Eberron setting, one of which being that while the presence of a Drow party member will raise eyebrows, it won't be as drastic as in the Realms. That said, my backstory obviously needs a major overhaul to fit into a world where the Drow/Elf genocidal tendencies don't really exist.

I'm already finding some story elements that might tie things together. Aundaire's Arcane Congress is reason enough for a Drow with a wizardly bent to travel abroad in search of greater knowledge; the major catch is, why leave Xen'drik in the first place when it, too is a source of great magical power?

So far I'm working with the following ideas:

-Tyn'ien enlists with a group of adventurers returning to Khorvaire from Stormreach; I'm still trying to figure out a good reason for him to do so, but below are some thoughts.

-Why leave Xen'drik? The best I've come up with so far is that Tyn'ien wants to forge alliances with the powerful factions of Khorvaire before they completely take root in Xen'drik. Through these networks, he plans to both elevate his family's standing and to increase his own power within it (he is the second-born son).

-Ildryna would be a Valenar elf, and her martial prowess would be reason enough for Tyn'ien to respect her (as the major Eberron Drow beef with other elves is that they're pansies who ran away because they couldn't fight). She is either part of the group of adventurers Tyn'ien initially leaves with, or he encounters her later; either way, they strike up a relationship but she ends up killed.

The exact circumstances of her death would be completely different from the original story, and depending who kills her, Tyn'ien may end up with lifelong animosity towards a certain kingdom, race, or organization. She might even be offed by one of the groups Tyn'ien is attempting to form an alliance with, perhaps because they feel she is a distraction. Hell, if it's Karrnath who takes her out, they may keep the corpse and use threats of undeath to gain leverage. This could lead to a whole subplot involving the Aerenal elves as Tyn'ien attempts to find some sort of salvation for her.

Any further ideas and comments or criticisms of the above would be great. I want to keep the central theme of my character's backstory, but I want his history to be very much rooted in this new campaign setting. More than anything, I want to ensure this all fits, so please let me know if any of the plans I'm making are completely out of place. :)
ratslinky
01-20-07, 09:02 PM Well one way to do things is to have Ildryna be some kind of giant as the animosity between drow and giants is kind of the same.
Thomar_of_Uointer
01-22-07, 02:10 AM Okay, as a drow you've gotta replace all the underground references with jungle references. Drow are tribal (it's the high elves that have houses) but they fill the same role. The wood elf village can easily be replaced by an expedition looking for artifacts on Xen'Drik (it's a bit implausible that a few dozen elves randomly show up on a savage continent, maybe you could let them all be "found" by the group and claim they were members of a known expedition that disappeared in a similar manner, at which point they integrate themselves into the expedition by profession). You might want to throw in something about him going to Stormreach and from there heading for Kovharie, but that's up to where the campaign starts.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Adrian_Crane 01-20-07, 03:04 PM	The more I read up on the Eberron campaign setting, the more I prefer it to the epic-fest that is FR. With that in mind, I'm trying to alter a character backstory to fit this setting, but there are several plot points and differences that are making it a challenge. I am here to entreat those of you more experienced in this setting to perhaps lend me some help in making this all fit together. :bow: (This has also been posted in Eberron: General) FR: Tycho Zathras Vrinn, CN Drow Ftr/Wiz/Gish Eberron name: Tyn'ien Xinn (which sounds much better IMO) ORIGINAL BACKSTORY Born an illegitimate child to a mother of no importance, Tycho's life in the Underdark was hard and cruel, as might well be expected. The boy had a penchant for calculated violence, and this served him well. He grew to become a soldier in the armies of House Vrinn, and his life was one of unending slaughter. Never satisfied with what little power he could attain through force of arms, Tycho was constantly on the lookout for ways to expand his abilities. He was always eager to pick up any scraps of arcane techniques that he could, although such opportunities were few. A common soldier had no hope of actually gaining access to Sorcere itself. Eventually, the Drow’s natural good looks caught the attentions of one of the House females. She abused his charms liberally for quite some time, but eventually grew tired of him. In order to eliminate any possible complications, Tycho was "volunteered" for a surface infiltration of a Wood Elf settlement. The mission was fairly straightforward: several pairs of Drow were to be teleported to the surface, where they had to find the assigned target and integrate themselves into the population. Towards this end, each was given a ring, the design of which was copied from jewelry found on some corpses from a previous raid. These trinkets would permit the operatives to alter their appearance to a single, fixed alternate guise. Tycho was assigned to work with a longtime rival of his, a rogue by the name of Zamethrin Qenir'van. As soon as the pair were on the surface, they went for each other's throats. Tycho emerged the victor in the battle, and he promptly stripped Zam of his ring and used the Drow's corpse as his ticket into the village, claiming he was a traveler who'd been attacked by a scout and that the guards should investigate. With the ensuing commotion, it was relatively easy to manipulate the elves' fears and ingratiate himself, and over the course of several days he settled in. As the days wore on with no signal to strike, the keyed-up anticipation that had built inside Tycho gradually gave way to boredom. He had already identified several of his compatriots within the area by their rings, although he hadn't needed to make contact with any of them yet. However, when one of the females began making advances on him, he had no choice but to cooperate. Interestingly, his companion, Ildryna, proved remarkably restrained and subtle in her behavior, quite unlike the pushy tactics Tycho was used to. Tycho began to respect the woman, and that slowly gave way to a mutual friendship, something unheard of among Drow. The two spent time together talking about matters within the village, although both were careful to stay clear of discussions related to the mission, as observers were omnipresent. They also became sparring partners, often researching and perfecting new techniques in combat against each other. It was here that Tycho began to more fully practice weaving arcane magic into his combat style. One day, during a stroll through a more secluded part of the forest, Tycho’s curiosity finally got the better of him and he actually summoned the gall to ask Ildryna to remove her ring so he could see what she looked like. She seemed puzzled by the request at first, but after some badgering she slid the band off her finger. Nothing happened. There was a long pause where Tycho’s stomach fell into his feet, then he swore and tackled her with the intention of cleaning up the loose end he’d just created. Unfortunately, when he had the knife to her throat, he realized he couldn’t do it. That moment’s hesitation was all the opening Ildryna needed to kick him in the gut and send him sprawling. He lay in the grass for several moments, then sighed and removed his own ring. Ildryna would probably have killed him had she not fainted at seeing his true form. By the time she regained consciousness, Tycho was sitting on a nearby log, once more disguised. The pair talked things out, and Tycho’s loyalties finally broke. He revealed everything about the mission, including how to identify the agents by looking for the signets they wore. It turned out that the corpses from which the rings had been taken were Elves in Ildryna’s tribal line, hence her own identical ring. Life returned to some semblance of normality, and one night soon after the signal came. Spiders scuttled into the rooms where the agents had made their lodgings. The vermin were gone as quickly as they’d come, but it was all the alert that the Drow required. They stormed from their bunks, weapons drawn—and were felled by arrows from the darkness, fired by rangers assigned to track them. The skilled and the fortunate managed to put up resistance, and the night lit up with blue spellfire and the clash of steel. Still, the Drow were dead already, and they knew it. Tycho, whose identity Ildryna had not revealed to the authorities, met her at the stables. She had a horse waiting for him. The two said their goodbyes, and then he galloped off into the night, promising to return within a fortnight. He rode his steed to death in a panicked effort to get as far away as possible, then spent the rest of the time lying low and waiting. Finally, the time passed, and he began to make his way back to the settlement. When he returned, he found Ildryna’s body hanged outside the village walls. Starlight bathed her face in a ghostly pallor, and her neck was skewed in graceful mockery of its natural form. She had been executed for conspiring with the foe, her body left on display for all to bear witness. Tycho’s world shattered. He collapsed, sobbing for what must have seemed hours, unable to speak, barely able to breathe. When the violent fit of emotion passed, he carefully, reverently removed the body, carrying it to the clearing where he’d first removed his ring. He slid the band from her finger and donned it against his own. Then he buried her. From there, it is uncertain where precisely his wanderings have taken him. ------------------------- I prefer several things about the Eberron setting, one of which being that while the presence of a Drow party member will raise eyebrows, it won't be as drastic as in the Realms. That said, my backstory obviously needs a major overhaul to fit into a world where the Drow/Elf genocidal tendencies don't really exist. I'm already finding some story elements that might tie things together. Aundaire's Arcane Congress is reason enough for a Drow with a wizardly bent to travel abroad in search of greater knowledge; the major catch is, why leave Xen'drik in the first place when it, too is a source of great magical power? So far I'm working with the following ideas: -Tyn'ien enlists with a group of adventurers returning to Khorvaire from Stormreach; I'm still trying to figure out a good reason for him to do so, but below are some thoughts. -Why leave Xen'drik? The best I've come up with so far is that Tyn'ien wants to forge alliances with the powerful factions of Khorvaire before they completely take root in Xen'drik. Through these networks, he plans to both elevate his family's standing and to increase his own power within it (he is the second-born son). -Ildryna would be a Valenar elf, and her martial prowess would be reason enough for Tyn'ien to respect her (as the major Eberron Drow beef with other elves is that they're pansies who ran away because they couldn't fight). She is either part of the group of adventurers Tyn'ien initially leaves with, or he encounters her later; either way, they strike up a relationship but she ends up killed. The exact circumstances of her death would be completely different from the original story, and depending who kills her, Tyn'ien may end up with lifelong animosity towards a certain kingdom, race, or organization. She might even be offed by one of the groups Tyn'ien is attempting to form an alliance with, perhaps because they feel she is a distraction. Hell, if it's Karrnath who takes her out, they may keep the corpse and use threats of undeath to gain leverage. This could lead to a whole subplot involving the Aerenal elves as Tyn'ien attempts to find some sort of salvation for her. Any further ideas and comments or criticisms of the above would be great. I want to keep the central theme of my character's backstory, but I want his history to be very much rooted in this new campaign setting. More than anything, I want to ensure this all fits, so please let me know if any of the plans I'm making are completely out of place. :)
ratslinky 01-20-07, 09:02 PM	Well one way to do things is to have Ildryna be some kind of giant as the animosity between drow and giants is kind of the same.
Thomar_of_Uointer 01-22-07, 02:10 AM	Okay, as a drow you've gotta replace all the underground references with jungle references. Drow are tribal (it's the high elves that have houses) but they fill the same role. The wood elf village can easily be replaced by an expedition looking for artifacts on Xen'Drik (it's a bit implausible that a few dozen elves randomly show up on a savage continent, maybe you could let them all be "found" by the group and claim they were members of a known expedition that disappeared in a similar manner, at which point they integrate themselves into the expedition by profession). You might want to throw in something about him going to Stormreach and from there heading for Kovharie, but that's up to where the campaign starts.